Bibliography
Course Hero. "Henry VI, Part 1 Study Guide." Course Hero. 23 June 2017. Web. 28 May 2023. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Henry-VI-Part-1/>.
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(Course Hero)
Bibliography
Course Hero. (2017, June 23). Henry VI, Part 1 Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved May 28, 2023, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Henry-VI-Part-1/
In text
(Course Hero, 2017)
Bibliography
Course Hero. "Henry VI, Part 1 Study Guide." June 23, 2017. Accessed May 28, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Henry-VI-Part-1/.
Footnote
Course Hero, "Henry VI, Part 1 Study Guide," June 23, 2017, accessed May 28, 2023, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Henry-VI-Part-1/.
| Character | Description |
|---|---|
| King Henry VI | King Henry VI assumes the English throne after the death of his father, Henry V. He struggles to control his noblemen in the drawn-out conflict with France. Read More |
| Talbot | Lord Talbot is the heroic commander of the English forces in France. Read More |
| Gloucester | Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, is the Lord Protector of England, the man responsible for overseeing the realm until Henry VI reaches adulthood. Read More |
| Winchester | The Bishop of Winchester is the king's great-uncle and adviser; he plans to exploit his high rank within the Church to amass power and wealth. Read More |
| Somerset | The Duke of Somerset is a member of the House of Lancaster and the main rival to Richard Plantagenet; his quarrel with Plantagenet undermines the English campaign in France and later escalates into the Wars of the Roses. Read More |
| Richard Plantagenet | Richard Plantagenet is the son of the Earl of Cambridge, legally barred from his inheritance because his father was declared a traitor; he is later restored to his birthright and given the further title of Duke of York. Read More |
| Joan la Pucelle | Joan la Pucelle is better known as Joan of Arc, la Pucelle ("the Maiden"). She is brash and obnoxious in the play but has a kind of noble humanity that makes her character memorable. Read More |
| Alanson | The Duke of Alanson (Alençon) is a French nobleman who gives advice and military aid to his countryman, the Dauphin. |
| Basset | Basset is a lower-ranking follower of the Duke of Somerset; he engages in a brief but violent quarrel with Vernon, who serves the Duke of York. |
| Bastard | The Bastard of Orleance (Orléans) is a high-ranking French nobleman and cousin to Charles the Dauphin; he introduces Joan la Pucelle to Charles, hoping she will lift the siege from his city. |
| Bedford | The elderly Duke of Bedford is Regent of France and a once-great warrior; he dies onstage after witnessing the English victory at Roan (Rouen). |
| Boy | The Boy is the son of the Master Gunner of Orleance (Orléans); acting on his father's orders, he fatally shoots the Earl of Salisbury. |
| Burgundy | The Duke of Burgundy is a French nobleman collaborating with the English; he later abandons the English cause and joins the Dauphin. |
| Captains | Captains of the French and English armies appear in military scenes throughout the play; most do not speak, but one (in Act 3) upbraids Sir John Fastolf for his cowardice. |
| Charles the Dauphin | Charles, the Dauphin of France, is the leader of the French army and (in the eyes of the English) the pretender to the French throne. |
| Countess | The Countess of Auvergne invites Lord Talbot to her castle in the hope of capturing him there; she gives up the attempt when she realizes Talbot has brought his entire army along. |
| Exeter | The Duke of Exeter, great-uncle to King Henry, is part of the "old guard" from the days of Henry V; he fears England's future will be marred by civil war. |
| Fastolf | Sir John Fastolf is a cowardly knight who leaves Talbot to be captured at the Battle of Patay; he is later stripped of his knighthood and banished by the king. |
| Fiends | The nonspeaking Fiends are summoned by la Pucelle in a final attempt to save France from defeat; they refuse to help her, and she is captured soon afterward. |
| Gargrave | Sir Thomas Gargrave, an advisor to the English at Orléans, is killed by cannon fire in the single scene in which he appears. |
| General | The General commands the French forces at Bordeaux; when Talbot comes to besiege the city, he scoffs at the Englishman's threats. |
| Glansdale | Sir William Glansdale is an English knight who serves as a military advisor during the siege of Orléans. |
| Governor of Paris | The Governor of Paris appears at King Henry's coronation, where he pledges obedience to the new king. |
| Lawyer | The Lawyer, a minor character, pledges himself to Richard Plantagenet's faction in the Temple Garden quarrel. |
| Lucy | Sir William Lucy is a military officer sent to bring reinforcements to the besieged Talbot; he is disgusted by the nobles' refusal to cooperate. |
| Margaret | Margaret of Anjou is the daughter of Reignier and the eventual bride of King Henry; her marriage to the king is engineered by Suffolk, who becomes her lover in Part 2. |
| Master Gunner | The Master Gunner of Orleance (Orléans) spies for a chance to shoot down the Englishmen besieging his city; he leaves the stage before he can accomplish the deed. |
| Mayor of London | The Mayor of London is responsible for maintaining peace and order within his city; in Act 1 he breaks up a street brawl between servants of Gloucester and Winchester. |
| Messenger | A Messenger appears in the opening scene to inform the English of their recent losses in France; in later acts messengers keep the English and French noblemen (and the audience) apprised of developments in the war. |
| Second Messenger | The Second Messenger brings further bad news to the English court in Act 1, Scene 1. |
| Third Messenger | The Third Messenger appears just once, in the opening scene; he brings the worst news of all: Talbot has been captured by the French. |
| Mortimer | Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, is the dispossessed uncle of Richard Plantagenet; he was imprisoned long ago for asserting his claim to the English throne. |
| Officer | Of the many officers in Henry VI, Part 1 only one has a speaking part; in Act 1, Scene 3 he reads the proclamation that breaks up the fight between Gloucester's and Winchester's servants. |
| Porter | The Porter assists the Countess of Auvergne in her attempt to capture Lord Talbot. |
| Reignier | Reignier (René) is the Duke of Anjou and Maine, the king of Naples, and an important military aide to the Dauphin; in Act 5 he consents to the betrothal of his daughter Margaret to King Henry. |
| Salisbury | The Earl of Salisbury is commander of the English forces at Orléans while Talbot is imprisoned; he dies early on in the play, felled by French cannon fire. |
| Scout | A French Scout appears in Act 5 to inform his commanders of an imminent battle with the English. |
| Sentinels | Two Sentinels stand guard over the walls of Orleance (Orléans) but are ambushed by English forces. |
| Sergeant | The Sergeant oversees the defenses of Orleance (Orléans) but is caught off guard by an English ambush. |
| Servingmen | Servingmen with occasional speaking parts form the entourages of Gloucester and Winchester; their frequent brawling is an extension of the conflict between their patrons. |
| Shepherd | The Shepherd, father to Joan la Pucelle, appears only once in the play; as Joan is being led to the stake the Shepherd bemoans the bad end to which his daughter has come. |
| Soldiers | Soldiers appear throughout the play on both the English side and the French, generally without speaking roles. |
| Suffolk | William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, is a minor character until Act 5, when he captures Margaret of Anjou and convinces Henry to make her his queen; he reveals his treasonous plans in the final soliloquy of the play. |
| John Talbot | John Talbot is the son of Lord Talbot and joins him in battle at the siege of Bordeaux; he survives only two scenes before being killed by the French. |
| Vernon | Vernon is one of Richard Plantagenet's supporters in the Temple Garden dispute; he later quarrels with Basset about the merits of their respective leaders. |
| Warders | Two Warders guard the Tower of London. Acting on Winchester's orders, they deny Gloucester admission to the Tower. |
| Warwick | The Earl of Warwick is an English nobleman who sides with Richard Plantagenet in his quarrel with Somerset; he later helps Plantagenet to regain his ancestral titles. |
| Watch | Watchmen populate several scenes in Henry VI, Part 1; they speak only once, when they are duped into admitting Joan la Pucelle into Roan (Rouen). |
| Woodville | Woodville is the lieutenant of the Tower of London; he appears in only a single scene, where he denies Gloucester entry to the Tower. |
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