I knocked out another play today: Henry VI Part 1. It’s a historical drama that critics either think Shakespeare didn’t write (co-writing candidates include Thomas Nashe) or shouldn’t have written. Given its lackluster reputation, I was surprised at how much was inside the play.
The play’s action occurs between Henry V’s death and the beginning of the War of the Roses. England’s great king is dead. That king’s young son is on the throne. Consequently, the English court is beset by political infighting, resulting in military losses in France. The most surprising part of the play? Shakespeare’s representation of Joan of Arc (Joan de Pucelle in the play). While she leads the French to victory early in the play, she ends in despair when her heavenly visitors cease to advise her. She even claims she’s pregnant as a way of avoiding execution (note: the plea doesn’t work).
The theme: sustained political power is hard to uphold, especially when the church is corrupt.
Experiments in Criticism 