I finished my third Shakespeare play of the new year, Henry VI Part 2. It’s regarded as the strongest of the Henry VI trilogy, and I can see why.
Henry VI is a fascinating figure, namely because he’s pious. You can’t find a more Christian king in Shakespeare’s corpus. Yet, his kingdom is in ruin. Treachery is everywhere. Henry can’t get his own wife’s support, much less that of his squabbling advisors. The most dynamic character in the play is a rebel, Jack Cade, who the Duke of York to see how far a rebellion against Henry VI will go. While Henry VI ends the play on the throne, we know his reign will not last long.
English society is disordered. The play’s key covenantal subject is “hierarchy. ” You are who you report to, the play implies.
Experiments in Criticism 