King Henry VIII Summary
William Shakespeare

King Henry VIII once confessed to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey that "writing is to me somewhat tedious and painful," and his scanty literary remains testify to this aversion: a handful of seemingly crude po... Read more

The English playwright, poet, and actor William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is generally acknowledged to be the greatest of English writers and one of the most extraordinary creators in human history.The ... Read more

"He was not of an age, but for all time." So wrote Ben Jonson in his dedicatory verses to the memory of William Shakespeare in 1623, and so we continue to affirm today. No other writer, in English or ... Read more

In the following essay, Uphaus examines how the historical facts of Henry VIII are absorbed by Shakespeare's use of romantic convention, and claims that the play “presents an historical ... Read more

In the following essay, Kamps claims that Henry VIII emphasizes the “relative unimportance of individuals in the historical process” and resists the idealizing tendencies of literary his... Read more

In the essay that follows, Kreps studies Henry VIII, claiming that the play is preoccupied with issues of time, particularly with the retrospective glance of history and the anticipatory impact of law... Read more

In the following essay, Glimp discusses the interaction between political authority and anxieties regarding theatrical representation in the Elizabethan period, particularly in relation to Shakespeare... Read more

In the following essay, Hunt argues that Henry VIII shares with Shakespeare's late romances an attention to the redemptive function of speech. For several decades, critics have recognized th... Read more

In the following essay, Dean contends that while Henry VIII shares many of the dramatic elements of the late romances, it also adheres closely to its chronicle sources. In her recent book Biographi... Read more

In the following essay, Noling suggests that through the characters of Queen Katherine and Anne Boleyn, Shakespeare was endorsing kingly authority and the notion that the proper function of queens was... Read more

In the following essay, Young examines the theme of conscience as exemplified by the character of King Henry, remarking that the historical events that inspired this play dramatized a fundamental diff... Read more

In the following essay, Richmond evaluates the merits of Henry VIII, including its unity, structure, characters, historical theme, and affinity with other Shakespearean dramas, and considers the issue... Read more

In the following essay, Berry argues that Henry VIII, though not without its flaws, offers a successful blend of history, tragedy, masque, and romance. In addition, Berry examines the drama's s... Read more

In the following excerpt, McMullan concentrates on the characterization of Queens Katherine and Anne in Henry VIII, noting the lack of more than superficial distinctions between the two figures in reg... Read more

In the following review of Mary Zimmerman's staging of Henry VIII in New York's Central Park, Evans lauds the period design and costumes, and assesses the main figures in the dramaȁ... Read more

In the following essay, Cox contends that Henry VIII can be understood “as an experiment in adapting the principles of the court masque to the dramatic tradition of the public theaters.”... Read more

In the following essay, Leggatt examines the idealized image of England and its history intimated in the body of Henry VIII and fully expressed in Cranmer's prophecy at the end of the drama. ... Read more

In the following essay, Healy highlights the theme of historiography in Henry VIII, exploring the drama's concern with the evaluation, interpretation, and malleability of historical “tru... Read more

In the following excerpt, Halio offers a brief overview of the critical history of Henry VIII, accompanied by an analysis of the main action of the play. The Play Whether because of the authorship ... Read more

In the following excerpted review, Canby evaluates the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Henry VIII at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, characterizing Gregory Doran's directorial e... Read more

In the following essay, Waage argues that Shakespeare was unable to “mythologize history” in Henry VIII, maintaining that this inability “signalled the virtual end of the reign of... Read more

In the following essay, Hodgson argues that women play a crucial role in Henry VIII, noting that “only in Henry VIII do they become such spectacular sites, so to speak, for contesting and confi... Read more

In the following essay, Richmond focuses on parallels between Henry VIII and Richard III, theorizing that Shakespeare drew upon Richard III to create the plot elements and structural patterns of Henry... Read more