For, as I hear,
You,
that are king, though he do wear the crown,
Have
caused him, by new act of parliament,
To
blot out me, and put his own son in.
-Edward
King Henry The Sixth Part III Act II,
Scene ii, Line 92
Henry The Sixth Part III brings us to the end of the War of
the Roses. So far in this play (it’s early yet) Henry is still the king, but he
previously made a deal with Edward that the kingship would pass to Edward when
Henry dies. This was agreed to despite the fact that Henry has a son (also
named Edward, just to make it a little more confusing). Now recall that Henry’s
wife, Queen Margaret, is a take-charge lady, and she’s not to happy about her
son being disinherited from the throne. And it is Margaret that Edward is
addressing right here. He’s saying that she is the real power, even though it’s
Henry that wears the crown, and that she has seen to it that the agreement
whereby Henry will be giving up the throne has been dissolved. And Edward’s not
too happy about that. So, what’s going to happen here?
To blot me out. That’s putting it quite plainly, and also quite
clearly. No one wants to be blotted out. Blot him out. Indeed!
Ooof! No one wants to be blotted out!
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