Red Roses and White Roses Symbol Analysis

In Henry VI Part 2, red and white roses represent the self-involved ambitions of England’s nobility, ambitions that leads to bitter infighting and eventually war. Roses are first mentioned at the end of Act 1, Scene 1, when the Duke of York, alone on stage, declares his plan to let his ambitious fellow noblemen destroy young King Henry VI’s most powerful and loyal supporter, the Duke of Gloucester. Once Gloucester is destroyed, York says, he’ll “raise aloft the milk-white rose […] And in my standard bear the arms of York, / To grapple with the House of Lancaster.” The white rose is the badge or symbol of the House of York, the Duke of York’s family line, which is descended from one of King Edward III’s many sons. By contrast, the red rose is the badge or symbol of the House of Lancaster, King Henry VI’s family line, descended from another of King Edward III’s many sons. Thus, the Duke of York is declaring his plan to seize King Henry VI’s throne by force.

Subsequently, characters in the play wear red or white roses as a symbolic declaration of support for either the Duke of York or King Henry VI. The color difference is a helpful visual shorthand allowing a theater audience to track which characters onstage support which potential king. Yet at the same time, the similarity of the two “badges” for the Houses of York and of Lancaster—they’re both roses—reminds the audience that York and Henry are relatives. Both ultimately derive their claim to the throne through their descent from King Edward III. The war between York’s supporters and Henry’s, many of whom are also related to both potential kings, is thus a self-involved family squabble for power and prestige that nevertheless leads to general devastation. In this way, the rose symbolism implicitly criticizes the nobles’ inability to see beyond their own concerns to the harm they are causing England.