Henry VIII

In Henry VIII, Shakespeare presents a monarchy in crisis. Noblemen battle with Lord Chancellor Cardinal Wolsey, who taxes the people to the point of rebellion. Witnesses whom Wolsey brings against the Duke of Buckingham claim he is conspiring to take the throne, yet Buckingham seems innocent as he goes to his death.

Henry is also without a male heir. After meeting the beautiful Anne Bullen, he says that he suspects his current marriage to Katherine, with whom he has one surviving daughter, is invalid. Katherine, meanwhile, glows with such splendid integrity that actresses have long desired the role. She advocates for the people, suspects the witnesses against Buckingham, and eloquently defends her conduct as Henry's wife.

Henry VIII was first performed in 1613. During a performance on June 29, a cannon fired from the stage started a fire, burning down the Globe; no lives were reported lost, and a new Globe was constructed. The play was printed in the 1623 First Folio. The primary source is Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles.

Productions at the Folger

• Henry VIII (Folger Theatre, 2010)

Early editions

First Folio

LUNA: First Folio: t3r - x4v

Hamnet: STC 22273 Fo. 1 no. 68

Second Folio

LUNA: Second Folio: w5r - y6v

Hamnet: STC 22274 Fo. 2 no. 07

Modern editions

Henry VIII can be read online with Folger Digital Texts and purchased from Simon and Schuster.

Hamnet link to Folger Edition: PR2753 .M6 2003 copy 2 v.15

Notes

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