An introduction to Shakespeare's Henry VI trilogy, which chronicles part of Britian's The War of The Roses

3. • The Henry VI trilogy, written early in
Shakespeare’s career as a playwright,
chronicle the upheaval England
experienced in the wars between the royal
houses of Lancaster and York.
• Although the Henry VI trilogy may not
have been written in chronological order,
the three plays are often grouped
together with Richard III to form a
tetralogy covering the entire Wars of the
Roses saga, from the death of Henry V in
1422 to the rise to power of Henry VII in
1485.
• It was the success of this sequence of
plays that firmly established Shakespeare's
reputation as a playwright.

4. • The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic
wars for the throne of England. They were fought
between supporters of two rival branches of the
royal House of Plantagenet, the Houses of Lancaster
and York. They were fought in several sporadic
episodes between 1455 and 1487.
• The conflict resulted from social and financial
troubles that followed the Hundred Years' War,
combined with the mental infirmity and weak rule
of Henry VI, which revived interest in the
alternative claim to the throne of Richard, Duke of
York.
• The final victory went to Henry Tudor, who defeated
the last Yorkist king, Richard III, at the Battle of
Bosworth Field.
• After assuming the throne as Henry VII, he married
Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter and heiress of
Edward IV, thereby uniting the two claims. The
House of Tudor ruled England and Wales until 1603.

5. • The name Wars of the Roses refers to
the heraldic badges associated with
the two royal houses, the White Rose
of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster.
• Wars of the Roses came into common
use in the nineteenth century, after Sir
Walter Scott based the name on a
scene in William Shakespeare's play
Henry VI Part 1, set in the gardens of
the Temple Church, where a number
of noblemen and a lawyer pick red or
white roses to show their loyalty to the
Lancastrian or Yorkist faction
respectively.

6. • Henry VI, Part 1 (often written as 1
Henry VI), is a history play by
William Shakespeare, and possibly
Thomas Nashe, believed to have
been written in 1591, and set
during the lifetime of King Henry VI
of England.
• 1 Henry VI deals with the loss of
England's French territories and the
political machinations leading up to
the Wars of the Roses, as the
English political system is torn apart
by personal squabbles and petty
jealousy.

7. • Whereas 1 Henry VI deals primarily with
the loss of England's French territories and
the political machinations leading up to
the Wars of the Roses, 2 Henry VI focuses
on the King's inability to quell the
bickering of his nobles, the death of his
trusted adviser Humphrey, Duke of
Gloucester, the rise of the Duke of York
and the inevitability of armed conflict. As
such, the play culminates with the
opening battle of the War, the First Battle
of St Albans.
• Henry VI, Part 2 has the largest cast of all
Shakespeare's plays, and is seen by many
critics as the best of the Henry VI trilogy.

8. • 3 Henry VI deals primarily with the
horrors of the conflict, with the
once ordered nation thrown into
chaos and barbarism as families
break down and moral codes are
subverted in the pursuit of revenge
and power.
• Henry VI, Part 3 features the
longest soliloquy in all of
Shakespeare (3.2.124–195), and has
more battle scenes (four on stage,
one reported) than any other of
Shakespeare's plays.

9. My thoughts are whirled like a potter's wheel;
I know not where I am nor what I do.
Henry VI, Part 1, Talbot, Act I, scene vii
I have heard it said "Unbidden guests
Are often welcomest when they are gone."
Henry VI, Part 1, Bedford, Act II, scene ii
Defer no time, delays have dangerous ends.
Henry VI, Part 1, Alençon, Act III, scene ii
I owe him little duty and less love.
Henry VI, Part 1, Somerset, Act IV, scene iv
She’s beautiful, and therefore to be woo'd;
She is a woman, therefore to be won.
Henry VI, Part 1, Suffolk, Act V, scene iii
Could I come near your beauty with my nails,
I’d set my ten commandments in your face.
Henry VI, Part 2, Duchess, Act I, scene iii
The commons, like an angry hive of bees,
That want their leader, scatter up and down,
And care not who they sting in his revenge.
Henry VI, Part 2, Warwick, Act III, scene ii
Small things make base men proud.
Henry VI, Part 2, Suffolk, Act IV, scene I
The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.
Henry VI, Part 2, Dick the butcher, Act IV, scene ii
Can we outrun the heavens?
Henry VI, Part 2, King Henry, Act V, scene ii

10. O, tiger's heart, wrapped in a woman's hide!
Henry VI, Part 3, York, Act I, scene iv
To weep, is to make less the depth of grief:
Tears, then, for babes; blows, and revenge for me!
Henry VI, Part 3, Richard, Act II, scene I
The smallest worm will turn, being trodden on.
Henry VI, Part 3, Clifford, Act II, scene ii
This battle fares like to the morning's war,
When dying clouds contend with growing light;
What time the shepherd, blowing of his nails,
Can neither call it perfect day, nor night.
Henry VI, Part 3, King Henry, Act II, scene v
The common people swarm like summer flies.
Henry VI, Part 3, Clifford, Act II, scene vi
Let me embrace thee, sour adversity;
For wise men say it is the wisest course.
Henry VI, Part 3, King Henry, Act III, scene I
What fates impose, that men must needs abide;
It boots not to resist both wind and tide.
Henry VI, Part 3, King Edward, Act IV, scene iii
Fearless minds climb soonest unto crowns.
Henry VI, Part 3, Richard of Gloucester, Act IV, scene vii
A little fire is quickly trodden out,
Which being suffer'd, rivers cannot quench.
Henry VI, Part 3, Clarence, Act IV, scene viii
Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind;
The thief doth fear each bush an officer.
Henry VI, Part 3, Richard of Gloucester, Act V, scene vi

11. • Political infighting is largely what
the trilogy is about; it clearly shows
how factions, pride, and schemes
throw an entire nation into peril.
• But they are also about heroism,
showing valiant fighters on both
sides, who at times, question the
motives of war, and their leaders.
• Throughout the play Shakespeare
also demonstrates the great
qualities of women, particularly in
the treatment of Joan of Arc, who
is shown as fervent, courageous,
and unwavering.

12. • In England, The BBC has produced the
complete Henry VI trilogy several
times for television:
• The first television adaptation of the
play was in 1960 when the BBC
produced a serial entitled An Age of
Kings.
• In 1965, BBC 1 broadcast all three
plays from John Barton and Peter Hall's
theatrical adaption: The Wars of the
Roses trilogy.
• Another television version of the
complete trilogy was produced by the
BBC in 1981 for their BBC Television
Shakespeare series.