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Close Reading of Wolsey’s Monologue in Shakespeare’s Henry the VIII

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  1. Close Reading of Wolsey’s Monologue in Shakespeare’s Henry the VIII • "So farewell- to the little good you bear me. Farewell? a long farewell to all my greatness!" • What is the meaning of farewell in lines one and two? • What is the irony of using this word?

  2. Close Reading of Wolsey’s Monologue in Shakespeare’s Henry the VIII • So farewell- to the little good you bear me. Farewell? a long farewell to all my greatness!“ • What is the meaning of the word, “bear,” in line one? • When Wolsey states, “farewell to the little good that you bear me,” what does he mean?

  3. Close Reading of Wolsey’s Monologue in Shakespeare’s Henry the VIII • “So farewell- to the little good you bear me. Farewell? a long farewell to all my greatness!"  • Who is Wolsey speaking to? Explain. • Who and / or what is Wolsey saying farewell to in line 1, and in line 2? • How are the farewells different?

  4. Close Read Wolsey’s Monologue -Shakespeare’s Henry VIII • “So farewell- to the little good you bear me. Farewell? a long farewell to all my greatness!"  • Explain the subtle difference in tone between line 1 and 2. • What was Wolsey’s greatness?

  5. Close Reading of Wolsey’s Monologue in Shakespeare’s Henry the VIII • “This is the state of man: to-day he puts forth The tender leaves of hopes, to-morrow blossoms, And bears his blushing honors thick upon him;”  • What does the statement, “the state of man,” mean in line 3? Explain. • What are the tender leaves of hopes? • What blossoms tomorrow? • What is Wolsey comparing himself to in line 5? Explain.

  6. Close Reading - Wolsey - Shakespeare’s Henry VIII • “This is the state of man: to-day he puts forth The tender leaves of hopes, to-morrow blossoms, And bears his blushing honors thick upon him;” • What is implied by the use of “blushing” & “thick upon him” to describe honors? •  How does the meaning of "bears" change in line 5 from "bear" in line 1? • Why does Wolsey use “bear” & “bears” twice? For what effect? • What literary elements are being employed in lines 4 and 5? • Explain.

  7. Close Read Wolsey’s Monologue Shakespeare’s Henry VIII • “The third day comes a frost, a killing frost, And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root, And then he falls as I do.”  • What comes on the third day in line 6? What does this mean? • What is this an allusion to? Explain. • How is this allusion opposite the original?

  8. Close Read Wolsey’s Monologue - Shakespeare’s Henry VIII • “The third day comes a frost, a killing frost, And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root, And then he falls as I do.” • What does "good easy man" mean? • What does "greatness a-ripening" refer to? • How does this image refer back to • blushing in line 5?

  9. Close Reading of Wolsey’s Monologue in Shakespeare’s Henry the VIII • The tender leaves of hopes, to-morrow blossoms, And bears his blushing honors thick upon him;” The third day comes a frost, a killing frost, And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root, And then he falls as I do.”  • What does "nips his root" and "falls" actually refer to? • What literary element is employed in lines 4-9? • Why does Wolsey refer to “ the state of man" and "he" rather than himself only? • Describe the change in tone from lines 4 to 9?

  10. Close Reading Wolsey’s Monologue -Shakespeare’s Henry VIII • “And then he falls as I do. I have ventur’d, Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,”  What does Wolsey mean when he states that "I have ventured"? • What is the connotation of the word, ventured, in this context? • What are "wanton" boys in line 10? What does wanton mean? • Why does Wolsey use the term boys?

  11. Close Read Wolsey’s Monologue - Shakespeare’s Henry VIII • “Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders, This many summers in a sea of glory,” • What are the boys doing in lines 10 and 11? • What are bladders in the context of the poem? • What literary element is being employed here? What is its significance? • Why is "summer" chosen as the season described in line 11? • Explain the meaning of the image, "sea of glory."

  12. Close Read Wolsey’s Monologue - Shakespeare’s Henry VIII • “But far beyond my depth. My high-blown pride At length broke under me, and now has left me, Weary and old with service, to the mercy Of a rude stream that must forever hide me."  • What does the image, "high-blown," refer to? Explain. • What does Wolsey mean by "far beyond my depth," literally & metaphorically? • What broke under Wolsey, figuratively? In reality? • What is Wolsey's condition according to line 14?

  13. Close Reading of Wolsey’s Monologue in Shakespeare’s Henry the VIII • “But far beyond my depth. My high-blown pride At length broke under me, and now has left me, Weary and old with service, to the mercy Of a rude stream that must for ever hide me.” •  Explain “to the mercy of a rude stream." • What must it do? Why? • How does it compare to line 11? • What is the rhetorical effect of breaking • up the word, forever, into two words – • for and ever? How does this • affect the tone? • How does the tone alter from the middle of line 9 to the end of line 15? Where does it first change?

  14. \ Close Read Wolsey’s Monologue in Shakespeare’s Henry VIII • “Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye! I feel my heart new open’d. O how wretched Is that poor man that hangs on princes favors!”  • What is meant by "pomp," and how is it vain? •  Why does Wolsey hate the pomp and glory of this world? What is Wolsey saying about his heart in line 17? • What does he mean? •  Compare the image in line 17 to the image in lines 12-13? Explain. • \

  15. Close Reading of Wolsey’s Monologue in Shakespeare’s Henry the VIII • “Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye! I feel my heart new open’d. O how wretched Is that poor man that hangs on princes favors!”  • What is meant by wretched? •  What does it mean to hang "on prince's favors" in line 18? • How does this image relate back to lines 10-13? •  Explain why Wolsey presents the image of a "poor man." •  What is the tone in lines 16-18? • How is it climatic?

  16. Wolsey’s Monologue - Shakespeare’s Henry the VIII • “There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to, That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin, More pangs and fears than wars or women have; And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer, Never to hope again.”  • What does betwixt mean? • What does Wolsey mean when he mentions aspire? • What are "we" aspiring to? •  Why does Wolsey say "we" instead of I? What is the effect?

  17. Wolsey’s Monologue in Shakespeare’s Henry the VIII • “There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to, That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin, More pangs and fears than wars or women have; And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer, Never to hope again.” •  Compare the image of "sweet aspect of princes" and "their ruin." What is Wolsey trying to say? • What are the pangs and fears of women? Of war? • How does line 21 relate back to "betwixt" in line 19?

  18. Wolsey’s Monologue in Shakespeare’s Henry the VIII • “There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to, That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin, More pangs and fears than wars or women have; And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer, Never to hope again.” • Who is Lucifer? What is this an allusion to? Explain. How did Lucifer fall? • How does this compare to Wolsey? • When referring to a fall from power, why does Wolsey say "he" instead of I? • What is being inferred?

  19. Wolsey’s Monologue in Shakespeare’s Henry the VIII • “There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to, That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin, More pangs and fears than wars or women have; And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer, Never to hope again.” • What is the effect of the repetition of "falls" in line 22? • What other line mentions falls? What is the key difference in pronoun usage? Why? • Why does Shakespeare repeat falls? • Explain the effect of line 23 to the overall • context of the speech. What is the final tone developed by this line?

  20. Wolsey’s Monologue in Shakespeare’s Henry the VIII • “There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to, That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin, More pangs and fears than wars or women have; And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer, Never to hope again.” • Who is this speech a warning to? Explain. • What is Wolsey’s overarching message? • About himself? • The king? • The court? • Humanity?

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