King Henry VI, Part 2

King Henry VI, Part 2 by William Shakespeare
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The baleful influence of Tillyard on the commentary of the histories is slowly being exorcised, but interpretations are still made in relation to his teleological theory. The rest of Shakespeare’s work should make it obvious that the plays thrive because of their ambiguities rather than their doctrines. Here factions face up against factions to wrest control of the kingdom from a weak king, and contingency rather than providence is the prevalent theme. This may be one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays, and while the collaboration question remains open, his patterning of repeated motifs and counterpoints is already in evidence. The best bit is the ironic carnival of Cade’s uprising, and the justly famous line: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”.

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