8-4Histories

What are Shakespeare's Histories? What are considered to be his most important Histories?

//Answer prepared by Sophie Vick//

According to Sean McEvoy’s book __Shakespeare: The Basics__, William Shakespeare began by writing Comedies, then Histories and, finally the Tragedies. His Histories are his political plays about the English Kings. There are 10 plays which are referred to as the Histories: King John, Edward III, Richard II, Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, Henry V, Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2, Henry VI, Part 3, Richard III, Henry VIII, and Sir Thomas More. Shakespeare assumed his audience knew English historical material. This makes his historical plays extremely challenging today. His interpretation of the Histories was based on his studies of The Holinshed’s __Chronicles__ written in 1587 and Hall’s __The Union of the Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and York__ written in 1542. These plays explored the fundamental principles of mankind in a political society. The playwright would have also been influenced by the English’s belief in Natural Law where royal supremacy comes from birth through God. Shakespeare would use the context of history as the framework of the play but changed it around to the way he wanted it to be. In his book __How to Enjoy Shakespeare__, Robert Fallon puts Shakespeare’s Histories into two categories: the First Henriad and the Second Henriad. These contain the eight plays which document the British events over an eighty-five year history. Shakespeare first wrote the Second Henriad, Richard II, Henry IV, Parts 1, 2, and Henry V. These were among his earliest plays. The First Henriad was a series written later in his career and are considered superior theatrical works of art. These plays are Henry VI, Parts 1, 2, and 3, and Richard III. Both Henriads document the rise and fall of the kings that followed the death of Edward III in 1377. Edward III was a warrior king who invaded and conquered France. He had seven sons. The Henriads are plays about the lives of the sons and their heirs. The plots of these Histories chronicle ruthless villains, assassinations, desire for power, divine rights of the royals, and the miseries of War of the Roses which divided England and lead to civil war. In __Shakespeare: The Histories__, L.C. Knights believed that William Shakespeare worked through his own political views by writing the Histories. If this talented playwright simply believed in the divine rights of the House of Tudor, then his theatrical masterpieces wouldn’t have been so rich in plots and themes.

Works Cited

Fallon, Robert Thomas. //How to Enjoy Shakespeare//. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2005. F. Mildner & Sons, London, E.C., 1965. McEvoy, Sean. //Shakespeare: The Basics//. New York: Rout Ledge, 2000. Schwartz, Dr. Debra B. “Shakespeare’s Plays: The Histories” 7 April 2009.  “Shakespeare’s Quartos” 9 April 2009. 