Henry IV Part One (1596-7)
Introduction Many of Shakespeare’s history plays shine a detailed light on the failings of the ruling class. Often, with weakness at the centre, the rest of the governing elite breaks down into little more than a struggle for personal advantage. “Richard II”, which is the prequel to this play, is a good example of this. […]
Henry IV Part Two (1597-8)
Introduction Many of Shakespeare’s plays feature antagonism between fathers and daughters. Most often this theme is explored in the Comedies (like “Much Ado About Nothing” or “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”) but it also emerges in more serious texts like “Romeo and Juliet” and “Othello”. “Henry IV Part Two” features a sobering relationship between a […]
Henry VIII (1613)
Introduction “Henry VIII” was co-written by Shakespeare and John Fletcher, a younger playwright who succeeded him as resident author for the King’s Men. The play describes the fall of Henry’s first wife Katharine and his chief advisor, Cardinal Wolsey, and goes on to explore the rise of Anne Bullen (or Boleyn) and of Thomas Cromwell […]
Julius Caesar (1599)
Introduction A striking feature of Shakespeare’s plays is the way they often focus on a transfer of power of one kind or another. At times this may be achieved peacefully – as happens, for example, when Duke Senior is exiled from power to the forest in “As You Like It”; at others it may be […]
Richard II (1595-6)
Introduction “Richard II” is a History with a history. Written in the last decade of the long reign of Queen Elizabeth I, when anxieties were being aired about where the next monarch was coming from (the Queen being unmarried and childless), the play tells the story of a weak monarch being forcibly dethroned and assassinated. […]