This scene depicts Cardinal Wolsey’s dramatic fall from power. The Duke of Norfolk, the Duke of Suffolk, the Earl of Surrey, and the Lord Chamberlain confront Wolsey with evidence of his treachery. They present him with letters that reveal his secret correspondence with the Pope, attempting to prevent King Henry’s divorce from Queen Katherine. The nobles accuse Wolsey of using his position for personal gain, amassing enormous wealth, and manipulating the King while pretending loyalty. They strip him of his office as Lord Chancellor and inform him that the King has seized his properties and possessions.

Left alone after the confrontation, Wolsey delivers a lengthy soliloquy reflecting on his sudden reversal of fortune. He compares himself to Lucifer, acknowledging his pride and ambition have led to his downfall. He expresses the despair of losing everything he has built, recognizing that he now stands without the power and influence he once wielded. Cromwell enters to find his former master in this broken state, and Wolsey advises him to abandon ambition and serve the King with integrity, warning him against the dangerous pursuit of glory that has destroyed Wolsey himself. The Cardinal prepares to accept his fate with a newfound humility, having learned too late the emptiness of worldly ambition.

Henry VIII: Plot Summary

The play opens in the court of King Henry VIII of England, where the powerful Cardinal Wolsey has orchestrated the downfall of the Duke of Buckingham, who is arrested for treason based on the testimony of his own surveyor. Despite pleas for mercy, Buckingham is condemned and executed. Meanwhile, King Henry meets Anne Bullen (Anne Boleyn) at a masque hosted by Cardinal Wolsey and becomes captivated by her. Henry also begins to express doubts about the validity of his marriage to Queen Katherine of Aragon, claiming his conscience troubles him over the legality of the union, as Katherine was previously married to his brother Prince Arthur.

Cardinal Wolsey works to manage the political situation, but his influence begins to unravel when Henry discovers that Wolsey has been secretly corresponding with the Pope to delay the annulment of Henry’s marriage to Katherine, and that Wolsey has been accumulating enormous personal wealth. Henry strips Wolsey of his offices and powers. Wolsey, broken by his fall from grace, dies before he can be brought to formal ruin. Queen Katherine, meanwhile, is put on trial regarding the annulment of her marriage. She passionately defends herself before the court but is ultimately cast aside. She later receives a vision of blessed spirits before dying, having been given the reduced title of Princess Dowager.

With Katherine removed, Henry marries Anne Bullen, and she is crowned Queen in a grand coronation celebrated by the common people. Archbishop Cranmer, a Protestant reformer and ally of the King, comes under threat from a council of nobles who attempt to bring charges against him. Henry, however, intervenes to protect Cranmer. The play concludes with the christening of Henry and Anne’s newborn daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth I, where Cranmer delivers a joyful prophecy foretelling the greatness of Elizabeth’s reign and the prosperity that will follow under her successor, King James I.