Henry Marbridge Conspiracy

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Unfortunately not all giddy minds can be suppressed through the frenzied excitement of foreign quarrels, as some have long memories and remarkable persistence for minds supposedly so giddy. It becomes apparent in act two that Lord Scroope, Thomas Gray and Richard, Earl of Cambridge have accepted French gold to conspire against the King. Regrettably for the conspirators, Henry has already foreknown the existence of the plot and subsequently exposes and denounces their treachery, leading to the inevitable conclusion of their execution. The conspiracy has brought forth centre stage the wide disparity of responses the play has elicited regarding Shakespeare’s concept of his protagonist. Partisans of Henry view this incident as further illustration …show more content…

(Wentersdorf, 1976, pg. 268). However, a closer inspection of this episode seems to suggest that the allure of gold may not have been the sole motivation for the ‘traitorous’ conspirators, and Henry may not have been acting out purely in a princely manner. Holinshed argues that the Earl of Cambridge conspired against the King, ‘onlie to the intent to exalt to the crowne his brother in law Edmund earle of March’, and because the imprisoned Edmund Mortimer was without children, ‘the earle of Cambridge was sure that the crowne should come to him by his wife, and to his children, of hir begotten’ (Holinshed, pg. 71). Therefore, the role of Cambridge in this incident can be summarised as one man’s attempt to acquire the throne for the legitimate King of England. Interestingly the Shakespeare’s text doesn’t seem to allude to the issue of rightful succession, as ‘the long shadow that the incarcerated Mortimer casts across this play is not visible from a seat in the theatre.’ (Goddard, 1951,

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