Henry Viiis Solliloquy In Henry Viii By William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare, even in death, remains a wordsmith of sorts. With the aid of innovative diction, knack for repetition, and allusions and metaphors alike, he has intrigued audiences with his eerily human concepts for centuries. To highlight a piece in particular, I turn to Shakespeare’s play of Henry VIII and his portrayal of a man known as Cardinal Wolsey, in which we are informed of his seemingly sudden dismissal from the King’s court. In this selected soliloquy, Shakespeare’s unique sense of voice is exercised in a form that evokes multiple dimensions of emotion. Not only is there the overlying element of displeasure, but an additional tone of vengefulness and uncertainty within his certainty. This is aided by implementing phrases†¦show more content†¦For example, by indirectly putting himself in a comparable boat to the devil himself, one might think that the Cardinal attempted to overstep the boundaries separating himself and the King as Lucifer did on to God. A sense of irony can also be drawn from this particular allusion seeing as Cardinal Wolsey most likely did not mean to paint himself as the villain in reference to his dismissal from the King’s side, he more or less was going for comparison in the magnitude of his fall from â€Å"power† to that of Lucifer’s. In this case, one is left indefinite when it comes to the validity of the Cardinal’s side of this said tale. Perhaps Cardinal Wolsey repeated the efforts of Lucifer, having attempted to replace or, even so, rise above the King. A concluding element to be touched on, but certainly not to the limitation of Shakespeare’s work, is the insistent use of repetition in this piece. Through Cardinal Wolsey’s baffled manner it is safe to assume that this change was all too sudden for the likes of him, maybe even to a level of dumbfoundedness. Choice phrases such as the likes of: farewell, good, frost, glory, princes, and he falls al lude to a state of disbelief and, frankly, utter confusion not apart from that of an inflated ego. Shakespeare’s crafted conversational pieces provide two varied glances into Wolsey’s persona, one that supports the way he positively reflects upon himself, and the other that paints him