Customer Reviews

Henry VI, Part Two (Oxford Shakespeare) (Pt.2)

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Shakespeare's histories are best read back to back in sequence, which gives a broader context and more of a historical sense. It can be a bit confusing to just take in one at random, more or less like dropping in on the middle of a story.

That is particularly true here, in the second part (of three) about the reign of Henry VI. There is a lot going on in this play, and some of the acts seem to be there mainly to move us along in the historical narrative as efficiently as possible. There are some interesting characters who Shakespeare takes some extra time to develop a bit more, but most of them are just various plotters in various factions who get killed off by each other in short order.

The most interesting part of this play is Act IV, which is all about Jack Cade's rebellion. Shakespeare portrays him as nothing more than a rabble-rousing, populist demagogue, and brutally satirizes such movements as pandering to the lowest common denominator. Cade promises his followers, who are mostly petty criminals, a sort of communist utopia, with an unending supply of free booze. Then, as his first official act, he executes a clerk for being literate enough to be able to sign his own name, rather than simply making a mark like a plain, honest man---and likewise promises to "kill all the lawyers." And things go downhill from there.

This isn't one of Shakespeare's best histories, but it has its merits and is definitely not bad either. This fully dramatized audio edition is quite well done and easy to follow---a very good way to experience these plays.