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Shakespearean history
In the First Folio (1623), the plays of William Shakespeare were in three categories: (i) comedies, (ii) histories, and (iii) tragedies. Alongside the history plays of his Renaissance playwright contemporaries, the histories of Shakespeare define the theatrical genre of history plays. The historical plays also are biographies of the English kings of the previous four centuries, and include the plays King John, Edward III, and Henry VIII, and a continual sequence of eight plays known as the Henriad, for the protagonist Prince Hal, the future King Henry V of England.
The chronology of Shakespeare's plays indicates that the first tetralogy was written in the early 1590s, and discusses the politics of the Wars of the Roses; the four plays are Henry VI, parts I, II, and III, and The Tragedy of Richard the Third. The second tetralogy was completed in 1599, and comprises the history plays Richard II, Henry IV, parts I and II, and Henry V.
Moreover, the First Folio includes the classifications of the late romances and of the problem plays that feature historical characters among the dramatis personæ; thus, in English literature, the term "Shakespearean history play" includes the Roman plays Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, and Coriolanus; and the tragedies King Lear and Macbeth.
The book of British history, Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande (1577, 1587), by Raphael Holinshed, is the principal documentary source for the historical backgrounds and political drama in Shakespeare's English history plays and in the tragedies of Macbeth and of King Lear. The history source for the Roman history plays is the Thomas North English translation (1579) of Parallel Lives (Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans Compared Together), by Plutarch.
The playwright William Shakespeare lived during the régime of Queen Elizabeth I of England (r. 1588–1603), who was the last dynastic monarch of the House of Tudor (r. 1485–1603); thus, the history plays of Shakespeare can be considered political propaganda that warns against the wrack-and-ruin of civil war and celebrates the founders of the House of Tudor. In particular, The Tragedy of Richard the Third (1594) derogates the last man of the rival House of York, King Richard III (r. 1483–1485), as "that bottled spider, that foul bunchback'd toad", while praising Richard's successor, Henry VII (r. 1485–1509) as the better man to be King of England.
The playwright's political bias for the House of Tudor also is evident in The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eighth, which concludes in celebration of the birth of his daughter Elizabeth. Thematically important to Shakespeare's representation of societal decline in the Late Middle Ages (1300–1500) is the politicking that propels the action in Richard III, which indicates that the Medieval collapse originated from the opportunistic practises of Machiavellianism in all politics. By way of nostalgia for the less treacherous way of life of the Late Middle Ages, in the history plays, Shakespeare shows the evolution of politics and social class that armed the House of Tudor to claim and take the throne of England.[citation needed]
To accurately portray the people and personages who were the House of Lancaster, the House of York, and the House of Tudor, Shakespeare used the family myths of right and law (bloodline and political legitimacy) reported in Holinshed's Chronicles. In dynastic claims to the Throne of England, the Lancaster Myth claimed that the deposition of Richard II and the reign of Henry IV were actions divinely sanctioned, and that the military victories and the geopolitical achievements of Henry V were divine favours. The York Myth claimed that Edward IV's deposition of Henry VI was the divine restoration of the usurped Throne of England to the rightful and lawful heirs of Richard II. Moreover, the claims of the Tudor Myth condemned the York brothers for murdering King Henry VI and Prince Edward; stressed divine sanction in the fall of the House of York and the consequent ascent of Henry Tudor—whose union of the houses of Lancaster and York was prophesied by Henry VI.
The family and political myths of the House of Tudor claim that Henry Tudor's praying before the start of the Battle of Bosworth Field (1485) indicated he was divinely favoured for martial victory, and that Henry's battlefield defeat of Richard III "was justified on the principles of contemporary political theory, for Henry was not merely rebelling against a tyrant, but putting down a tyrannous usurper, which The Mirror for Magistrates allowed".
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Shakespearean history
In the First Folio (1623), the plays of William Shakespeare were in three categories: (i) comedies, (ii) histories, and (iii) tragedies. Alongside the history plays of his Renaissance playwright contemporaries, the histories of Shakespeare define the theatrical genre of history plays. The historical plays also are biographies of the English kings of the previous four centuries, and include the plays King John, Edward III, and Henry VIII, and a continual sequence of eight plays known as the Henriad, for the protagonist Prince Hal, the future King Henry V of England.
The chronology of Shakespeare's plays indicates that the first tetralogy was written in the early 1590s, and discusses the politics of the Wars of the Roses; the four plays are Henry VI, parts I, II, and III, and The Tragedy of Richard the Third. The second tetralogy was completed in 1599, and comprises the history plays Richard II, Henry IV, parts I and II, and Henry V.
Moreover, the First Folio includes the classifications of the late romances and of the problem plays that feature historical characters among the dramatis personæ; thus, in English literature, the term "Shakespearean history play" includes the Roman plays Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, and Coriolanus; and the tragedies King Lear and Macbeth.
The book of British history, Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande (1577, 1587), by Raphael Holinshed, is the principal documentary source for the historical backgrounds and political drama in Shakespeare's English history plays and in the tragedies of Macbeth and of King Lear. The history source for the Roman history plays is the Thomas North English translation (1579) of Parallel Lives (Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans Compared Together), by Plutarch.
The playwright William Shakespeare lived during the régime of Queen Elizabeth I of England (r. 1588–1603), who was the last dynastic monarch of the House of Tudor (r. 1485–1603); thus, the history plays of Shakespeare can be considered political propaganda that warns against the wrack-and-ruin of civil war and celebrates the founders of the House of Tudor. In particular, The Tragedy of Richard the Third (1594) derogates the last man of the rival House of York, King Richard III (r. 1483–1485), as "that bottled spider, that foul bunchback'd toad", while praising Richard's successor, Henry VII (r. 1485–1509) as the better man to be King of England.
The playwright's political bias for the House of Tudor also is evident in The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eighth, which concludes in celebration of the birth of his daughter Elizabeth. Thematically important to Shakespeare's representation of societal decline in the Late Middle Ages (1300–1500) is the politicking that propels the action in Richard III, which indicates that the Medieval collapse originated from the opportunistic practises of Machiavellianism in all politics. By way of nostalgia for the less treacherous way of life of the Late Middle Ages, in the history plays, Shakespeare shows the evolution of politics and social class that armed the House of Tudor to claim and take the throne of England.[citation needed]
To accurately portray the people and personages who were the House of Lancaster, the House of York, and the House of Tudor, Shakespeare used the family myths of right and law (bloodline and political legitimacy) reported in Holinshed's Chronicles. In dynastic claims to the Throne of England, the Lancaster Myth claimed that the deposition of Richard II and the reign of Henry IV were actions divinely sanctioned, and that the military victories and the geopolitical achievements of Henry V were divine favours. The York Myth claimed that Edward IV's deposition of Henry VI was the divine restoration of the usurped Throne of England to the rightful and lawful heirs of Richard II. Moreover, the claims of the Tudor Myth condemned the York brothers for murdering King Henry VI and Prince Edward; stressed divine sanction in the fall of the House of York and the consequent ascent of Henry Tudor—whose union of the houses of Lancaster and York was prophesied by Henry VI.
The family and political myths of the House of Tudor claim that Henry Tudor's praying before the start of the Battle of Bosworth Field (1485) indicated he was divinely favoured for martial victory, and that Henry's battlefield defeat of Richard III "was justified on the principles of contemporary political theory, for Henry was not merely rebelling against a tyrant, but putting down a tyrannous usurper, which The Mirror for Magistrates allowed".