Shakespeare first gained notice with his early histories chronicling the Wars of the Roses. When he started work on the prequels that lay the historical basis for the Wars of the Roses ending in the short triumphant reign of Henry V, Shakespeare\u2019s interests and talents had grown too big for any one genre. Though nominally histories, Shakespeare questions everything from the monarchy itself and delves deep into the qualities that seem to define a successful leader. These plays gain additional resonance when we consider that they were written in the last decade of Elizabeth\u2019s reign when questions of succession, transfer and wielding of power and stability were all at the forefront of their thinking.<\/p>\n
We start our series with King John<\/em>, where Shakespeare considers the very nature of inheriting kingship through primogeniture. Fittingly, the invented character Bastard Faulconbridge dominates the play more than King John himself. With Richard II<\/em>, Shakespeare seems to challenge the very notion of monarchy and royal prerogative. The historical Richard II was a boy king deposed for tyranny by Henry Bolingbroke, later Henry IV. In Shakespeare\u2019s hands, the play is an astonishing character study of a poet-king singularly unsuited for monarchy. The next three plays chart the growth of the dissolute Hal into English hero Henry V. In Henry IV-Part 1<\/em>, Shakespeare creates one of his greatest characters in Falstaff, a charismatic so powerful he takes over the sequel and forced Shakespeare to create a farce around him. Often regarded as Shakespeare\u2019s finest history, HIV-1 transcends genre and forces us to confront our ideas of honor, society and the self. Fathers and sons dominate the play as Shakespeare examines the ways in which sons align themselves with and rebel against their fathers in complex ways. The sequel Henry IV \u2013 Part 2<\/em> seems to repeat the same beats as the first, as all sequels are expected to, but has weightier concerns about law and order. The anarchic force that is Falstaff is balanced against the Chief Justice, another father figure for Prince Hal even as his real father is dying slowly. The celebratory ending of Part 1 is countered with one of Shakespeare\u2019s most tragic scenes at the end of Part 2 when Prince Hal ascends to King Henry V. The final play in the so-called Henriad, Henry V<\/em>, takes on history itself even as it seems to celebrate England\u2019s greatest king. Exceptionally balanced between warlike Harry and the contradictions between his public and private personas, the play pays off the long saga as well as connect to the Wars of the Roses plays.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Plays are available free online through:<\/p>\n