Cardinal Wolsey Speech Analysis

During Cardinal Wolsey’s reflective soliloquy, he gives a thorough reaction to his recent loss of position as advisor to the King. Shakespeare utilizes figurative language that compares his plight to nature, biblical allusions, and varying tones to portray Wolsey’s view of career conundrum. Wolsey’ speech is written with thought to each stage of feeling: denial, acceptance, and finally dismay. By the end of the speech, it is evident that Wolsey is at an all time low, with an overly pessimistic view of his future endeavors. To preface his divulsion of feelings, Wolsey uses a set of elaborate metaphors that compare a leave’s life cycle to his recent canning. When all is well for Wolsey, he “puts forth the tender leaves of hope”, thus suggesting his elation for the future. Before he is let off, Wolsey’s life is following an upward trend, with nothing to hinder his happiness. Wolsey continues his metaphor by adding an excerpt that suggests the strenuous workload that he has endured as the King’s advisor. As the King’s secondhand man, “tomorrow blossoms, and bears his honors thick upon him”. Though he looks forward to his job, Wolsey admits that it is a rather difficult profession, with tasks piling up similar to piles of leaves.
After his sudden downfall, Wolsey “falls like Lucifer, never to hope again”. This allusion’s depth is in the details. In Paradise Lost, Lucifer was an angel who fell to the depths of the underworld and became Satan. Satan is the ruler of the underworld, whose fiery demeanor matches Wolsey’s anger towards his loss in status. Additionally, heaven and hell are an inconceivably large distance away from each other, alluding to how devastating the loss was for Wolsey. Additionally, the snippet: “never to hope again” wraps the poem up by explaining how serious of a blow this is to Wolsey, perhaps the final jab at his