Where Shakespeare Collaborated with Some Dude

Henry VIII by William Shakespeare
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Since this probably is a collaboration between Shakespeare and another writer (John Fletcher, who I don't know) I feel justified in only giving 3 stars. I didn't find this a very entertaining read, unlike most of his other history plays, and it doesn't sound like it'd be much fun to see on stage. I could be wrong, but in the mind's eye it seems kinda meh.

For the most part, this play is just a series of unconnected scenes from the life of Henry VIII, without leading much toward anything except maybe the praising of Queen Elizabeth at the end, spoken as if in prophecy when she was a baby. The work overall feels more like a pageant, a parade, a spectacle, than a true play. There are many scenes of processions, like the entrance of Anne Boleyn, or trials and confrontations, like with Buckingham and Queen Catherine and then Wolsey, and there are lots of horns and rich costumes. Maybe that'd be fun to see, but it doesn't feel much like a story.

One thing you can see in this play is how terribly bad they were at getting at the truth or offering anything like justice in that era. Justice, whether it's destroying Buckingham or divorcing Catherine or trying to ruin Cranmer, is capricious and unreliable. The whims of power and the convincing lies of conspiracy decide the fate of characters (and real people, presumably) in this story.

The disjointed nature of the plot, without any sign of a unifying conflict, makes it especially hard to read with real comprehension. (Henry wanted an heir, and that's pretty important here, but it doesn't feel like it's the central conflict. One of many.) Just one damn thing after another. I'm not surprised to read that it's seldom staged.

I found the rewards of reading this particular play pretty modest. Others may find more to like. For me, it's on to the tragedies that I haven't read before. Fingers crossed.

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