Cardinal Wolsey And The Soliloquies In Shakespeare's Henry VIII

In Shakespeare’s Henry VIII, Cardinal Wolsey undergoes a series of tone changes while considering his sudden downfall from power. On a deeper level, however, the tone changes represent stages of loss; therefore, the soliloquy is an accurate account of how the Cardinal is psychologically affected by his downfall. Through several poetic devices such as allusion, figurative language and tone, Shakespeare explores Cardinal Wolsey’s immediate psychological effects due to a sudden fall from grace. The first tone established by the excerpt emphasizes that the Cardinal’s first response to his dismissal is anger, making readers doubt his intentions as a Cardinal. The passage begins with “So farewell” (1), an amphibrach foot, which stands in opposition

The feeling of a “heart new open’d” (17) begins this section, suggesting that Wolsey has a broken heart and displays a tone of emotional frustration and turmoil. He then pities the man who “hangs on princes’ favors” (18) since he was dismissed from the court due to falling out of favor with the king. Finally, he realizes that “betwixt […] \ That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin \ More pangs and fears than wars or women have” (19-21). Through an allusion to the Trojan War and the Judgement of Paris, he deduces that the desire for power and the inevitable downfall which proceeds it are the most sudden and painful experiences. He then concludes that when a person falls, “he falls like Lucifer, \ never to hope again” (22-23). By alluding to Lucifer, Wolsey aggrandizes himself and also invokes the pity of the reader. The final line ending in iambic trimeter leaves the soliloquy seemingly unfinished, reflecting the feeling that Cardinal Wolsey had when he learned of his dismissal from the court. By having Cardinal Wolsey lose, Shakespeare concludes that the psychological implications of loss can only allow people to accept the