Henry VIII
by William Shakespeare
★★★☆
Henry VIII is the final play in the histories series. Although
it’s frequently challenged as being written solely by Shakespeare, I'm
accepting it as part of the canon. The
histories begin, chronologically, with Richard II and take us all the way
through the Wars of the Roses.
The plot covers the execution of Buckingham, the rise and
fall of Cardinal Wolsey, the divorce of Henry VIII and Queen Katherine, his
marriage to Anne Boleyn, the birth of Elizabeth, and more. The play itself is
rarely produces and not well known, but pieces of it will be familiar to anyone who
has read Wolf Hall or The Other Boleyn Girl.
There's a lot crammed into this one, but a few of the
characters truly shine. Your heart breaks for the neglected Katherine. She’s
tossed aside by her husband of 20 years when someone younger catches his eye.
She has some fantastic moments when she challenges Cardinal Wolsey.
“Y’ are meek and humble-mouth’d,
You sign your place and calling, in full seeming, with
meekness and humility;
but your heart is cramm’d with arrogance, spleen, and
pride.”
Buckingham is also a sympathetic character with some
great speeches. Overall the play doesn't flow as well as many of his others.
It's too scattered, too many moving pieces, but it's still got some beautiful
language.
“Yet I am richer than my base accusers,
That never knew what truth meant.”
“Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot
That it do singe yourself.”
“Love thyself last: cherish those hearts that hate thee;
Corruption wins not more than honesty.
Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace,
To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not:
Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's,
Thy God's, and truth's.”
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
by William Shakespeare
★★★☆
In only a few minutes we’re in the midst of incest and
attempted murder. There’s soap opera level drama from the start. There’s a
storm at sea, shipwreck, a lost infant, lost wife, prostitutes, pirates, and so
much more. Pericles escapes a dangerous situation, on the run for his
life. He ends up in a new kingdom and falls in love with a princess there. In a
plot straight out of The Tempest, Shakespeare has the princess’ father pretends
to be against the pairing to encourage the two to fall even faster in love.
There is a narrator who helps the reader navigate the many location and time
changes in each act. Pericles’ lost wife plot is reminiscent of Winter’s Tale.
This is one of Shakespeare’s “romance” plays. Though the
ending might be happy, the story is full of tragedy. Redemption doesn’t come
until the characters are heartbroken by loss. The play is interesting, but it
does feel like a pieced together effort that combines some of his better work.
It was the very last of his plays that I read and I feel a huge sense of
accomplishment that I've finally read ALL of his plays!
“Few love to hear the sins they love to act.”
“Tis time to fear when tyrants seem to kiss.”
