Jack Cade Character Analysis in Henry VI Part 2

Jack Cade is a commoner who once fought under the Duke of York in Ireland. As part of York’s plan to seize the throne from King Henry VI, York asks Cade to start a popular rebellion against Henry by claiming to be “John Mortimer,” a long-lost descendant of King Edward III’s son the Duke of Clarence. Through the popular response to Cade, York plans to gauge possible public support for his own claim to the throne. Cade temporarily succeeds in fomenting rebellion by whipping up commoners’ resentment of English nobles and dislike of Henry’s foreign policy toward France, but he is soon deserted by his followers and killed by country gentleman Alexander Iden, whose garden he invades while searching for food.

Jack Cade Quotes in Henry VI Part 2

The Henry VI Part 2 quotes below are all either spoken by Jack Cade or refer to Jack Cade. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Suffolk:

[Taking a petition.] What’s here? [(Reads.)] Against the Duke of Suffolk for enclosing the commons of Melford.

Related Characters: William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk (speaker), Queen Margaret, Jack Cade, King Henry VI, Sir Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester

Page Number and Citation: 1.3.22-24

Explanation and Analysis:

In this scene, the Duke of Suffolk and Queen Margaret encounter petitioners waiting to plead with the Duke of Gloucester, who is currently serving as Lord Protector of England. When Suffolk snatches a paper from one petitioner’s hand, he learns that the petitioner is waiting to complain about him for “enclosing the commons of Melford.” In England, a “commons” is a tract of land that the public has some legal right to use for particular purposes, like grazing their livestock, fishing, or gathering firewood, even if that land is owned by a private individual. Melford is an area in Suffolk, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos.

Cade:

To equal him I will make myself a knight presently. [He kneels.] Rise up Sir John Mortimer. [He rises.]

Related Characters: Jack Cade (speaker), King Henry VI

Page Number and Citation: 4.2.116-118

Explanation and Analysis:

While Jack Cade is leading a peasant rebellion toward London, one of his followers runs up and advises him to flee because a knight is approaching with King Henry VI’s soldiers. Rather than fleeing, Cade decides that he will “knight” himself to become the “equal” of the approaching knight. Cade’s actions are at once ridiculous and subversive. In medieval England, the term “knight” referred not simply to a type of warrior but to a social position. Knights were a particular class of nobility. Generally, they had been knighted by a power powerful nobleman. Cade’s actions are ridiculous because, if he Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt

Cade:

I feel remorse in myself with his words, but I’ll bridle it. He shall die, an it be but for pleading so well for his life. Away with him! He has a familiar under his tongue; he speaks not I’ God’s name.

Related Characters: Jack Cade (speaker), Cardinal Beaufort, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, Sir Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, King Henry VI

Page Number and Citation: 4.7.105-108

Explanation and Analysis:

Jack Cade is about to order his rebels to execute a nobleman who has argued eloquently and convincingly for his own innocence. He privately acknowledges his “remorse” at the execution, but he perversely refuses to let the man live. Instead, he claims that the nobleman’s eloquence must come from “a familiar under his tongue,” where in this context “familiar” refers to a king of minor demon. By suggesting that the nobleman’s eloquence is demonic, claiming that he does not speak in “God’s name,” Cade echoes other ambitious characters who cynically mobilize religion to attack their enemies. For example, earlier in Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debiti

Clifford:

Better ten thousand baseborn Cades miscarry

Than you should stoop unto a Frenchman’s mercy.

To France, to France, and get what you have lost!

Spare England, for it is your native coast.

Henry hath money; you are strong and manly.

Related Characters: Old Clifford (speaker), Jack Cade, King Henry VI

Related Symbols: Maine and Anjou

Page Number and Citation: 4.8.48-53

Explanation and Analysis:

Here, the nobleman Lord Clifford persuades Jack Cade’s rebels to abandon him by activating their anti-French sentiment, their patriotism, and their economic self-interest. Suggesting that Cade’s rebellion will make England vulnerable to French invasion, Clifford argues that the rebels have a choice between abandoning Cade (figuratively, allowing him to “miscarry) and being reduced to relying on “a Frenchman’s mercy.” Then he urges them, instead, to invade France and recapture “what you have lost.” Here, “what you have lost” refers to Maine and Anjou, territories in France that England conquered during the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453) but that King Henry surrendered Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labor

King Henry:

Was ever king that joyed an earthly throne

And could command no more content than I?

No sooner was I crept out of my cradle

But I was made a king at nine months old.

Was never subject longed to be a king

As I do long and wish to be a subject!

Related Characters: King Henry VI (speaker), Jack Cade

Page Number and Citation: 4.9.1-6

Explanation and Analysis:

As Henry waits for news of Cade’s rebellion against his rule, he laments that although he possesses an “earthly throne,” he does not feel “content.” In fact, having been king since he was “nine months old,” he wishes not to be king even more than his ambitious subjects wish to be king. This insight into Henry’s inner life is important both to the play’s themes and to the audience’s understanding of his character. The insight is thematically important because it casts ambition, which the play already represents as destructive, in an even more negative light. Political ambition is not only Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendi

Jack Cade Character Timeline in Henry VI Part 2

The timeline below shows where the character Jack Cade appears in Henry VI Part 2. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...in Ireland. The rebellion will be led by a Kentish soldier and spy named Jack Cade, who will claim to be John Mortimer. York will use “Mortimer’s” claim to the throne... (full context)

...who look down on working people, and fantasize about becoming rulers. As drums play, Jack Cade enters with Dick the butcher, Smith the weaver, and others. Everyone carries a stave. Cade... (full context)

Guards enter, escorting a clerk. Smith accuses the clerk of literacy and making educational materials. Cade questions the clerk, asking whether he can write his name. When the clerk asserts that... (full context)

A man arrives and warns Cade to flee, as Sir Humphrey Stafford and his brother are leading a force against him.... (full context)

Stafford’s brother accuses Cade of repeating a story that York gave to him. Cade denies this (and jokingly mutters... (full context)

Sir Humphrey Stafford and his brother die in battle with the rebels. Cade praises Dick the butcher for making the battlefield his “slaughterhouse” and promises to reward him... (full context)

...sent. Henry, hoping to save the lives of “many simple souls,” plans to negotiate with Cade and send a bishop to talk to the rebelling commoners. Then Henry tells Lord Saye,... (full context)

...that if Henry had died, she’d simply have died too. A messenger enters, announces that Cade’s rebels have reached Southwark, and warns Henry to flee. Cade has declared himself the true... (full context)

Cade, surrounded by his rebels, hits London Stone with his staff, and declares that everyone must... (full context)

Cade orders his rebels to raze the Savoy and the Inns of Court. Dick petitions Cade... (full context)

Lord Saye is marched in. Cade berates him for promoting education, popularizing printing, employing men who talk about grammar, executing men... (full context)

...argues that education is holy and that he’s negotiated with foreign rulers for Englishmen’s benefit, Cade interrupts, asking whether Saye has ever fought in battle. Saye tries to justify himself, but... (full context)

After Lord Saye is marched off, Cade announces that all noblemen must bow to him or be killed and all affianced virgins... (full context)

As Cade urges his rebels on to violence, a trumpet plays that signals “parley.” Buckingham and Old... (full context)

Old Clifford asks the rebels whether Cade is Henry V’s son—whether Cade can lead them into France or make them aristocrats. He... (full context)

...want to be king. Then Buckingham and Old Clifford enter. Old Clifford tells Henry that Cade has run away and his rebels have surrendered to the king’s judgment. Henry thanks God... (full context)

...“traitor” Somerset. Henry bemoans that York has started to threaten his government as soon as Cade’s threat is gone. He orders Buckingham to go question York and tells Somerset to stay... (full context)

Cade climbs into a private garden looking for food, cursing his ambitions. The owner, Alexander Iden,... (full context)

...York’s soldiers. York claims he brought them to get rid of Somerset and put down Cade’s rebellion, though he recently learned of Cade’s defeat. Iden walks up carrying Cade’s head, begs... (full context)

Jack Cade Character Analysis

Jack Cade Quotes in Henry VI Part 2

Act 1, Scene 3 Quotes

Act 4, Scene 2 Quotes

Act 4, Scene 7 Quotes

Act 4, Scene 8 Quotes

Act 4, Scene 9 Quotes

Jack Cade Character Timeline in Henry VI Part 2