The Shakespeare Book

46

E

vidence suggests that

Henry VI Part 1 was written

after the second two parts

of the Henry VI trilogy, and staged,

to great acclaim, for the first time in

1592. So it is essentially a prequel,
      setting the events of the later two
      plays in context. It is grand in
      scale, encompassing England
      and France with sweeping battle
      scenes and thrilling hand-to-hand
      duels, while the other two parts
      are more narrowly focused.
      The death of the heroic Henry V
      leaves English rule in France in
      chaos, as the new king, Henry VI,
      still little more than a child, finds
      himself unable to quell the quarrels
      at home. At first, the strife is
      between his uncles Gloucester and
      Winchester over who should be his
      protector. But conflict soon erupts
      between the supporters of the
      Lancastrian faction led by Somerset
      and the Yorkists led by Richard
      Plantagenet (who secretly believes
      the throne is rightfully his). Each
      faction chooses a rose for its emblem:
      white for York; red for Lancaster.
      The play presents this choice in a
      scene in the Inner Temple garden
      in London, in which Richard
      Plantagenet asks the assembled
      lords to pluck a rose. The lawyer

picks a white rose, suggesting

that he thinks Richard’s case is

strong in law. Challenged to make

his case, Somerset replies that his

argument is his sword. The scene

is set for the Wars of the Roses.

Against this civil conflict, the

maid of Orléans, Joan la Pucelle,

known today as Joan of Arc,

emerges to lead the French with

her divine visions. She is pitted

against a worthy English hero in

Talbot, who at the end is failed

by his quarreling countrymen.

Dubious authorship

Because of the variable quality

of the verse, critics have long

questioned the play’s authorship.

The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge

was certain Shakespeare could not

have written it, or at least not all

of it. Many critics now think it was

a collaborative work with writers

such as Thomas Nashe, who

perhaps wrote Act 1. Computer

HENRY VI PART 1

Break thou in pieces,

and consume to ashes,

Thou foul accursèd

minister of hell.

Richard, Duke of York

Act 5, Scene 6

After defeating him in hand-to-hand

combat, Joan la Pucelle (Katy Stephens)

spares the life of Lord Talbot (Keith

Bartlett) in a 2006 production

at the Courtyard Theatre, London.

IN CONTEXT

THEMES

Battle, kingship, family

ties, civil war

SETTING

London, Paris, Orleans,

Auvergne, and Angiers

SOURCES

1516 Some scenes were

inspired by Robert Fabyan’s

New Chronicle of England

and France.

1545 Edward Halle’s Union

of the Two Noble and

Illustrious Families of

Lancaster and York.

1577 Raphael Holinshed’s

Chronicles of England,

Scotland, and Ireland.

LEGACY

1592 The play is a huge

success when it is first

staged at the Rose Theatre.

1738 The first recorded

performance following

Shakespeare’s death takes

place at Covent Garden,

London. Several dance

sequences are added.

1873 Henry VI Part 1 is

performed in Vienna.

1906 British director Frank

Benson stages all three

Henry VIs without changing

any of them, the first time this

has been done since the 1590s.

1990 Director Michael

Bogdanov releases a film of

all three Henry VI plays,

recorded on consecutive

nights at the Grand

Theatre, Swansea.