Customer Reviews

Henry VIII (Folger Shakespeare Library)

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The Folger Library Edition, as usual, is a fine edition. The play, "Henry VIII", however, is far from one of the most interesting of Shakespeare's plays; it is not terribly intresting, but it IS terribly un-historical. Clearly, it accomplished what it set out to accomplish, which was to curry favor with Queen Elizabeth I, whose birth is described at the end of the play as if it were almost Messianical, and whose father (the title character) is portrayed throughout the play in the kindest light I have ever seen him portrayed. There is no hint of the drunken glutton, only just the slightest hint of his capriciousness and womanizing, and no mention of the fact that after disowning and divorcing his first wife for Elizabeth's mother, he then went on to divorce and execute her mother, and divorce one other wife and execute another. He is portrayed throughout the play as an honorable man and a good king, even if there is just a hint that his divorce of Katherine for Anne may not have been for quite as high-minded a reason as he claimed. I find this whitewashing of Henry VIII to be rather unappetizing, even if I understand perfectly the reason for it.

This is my second book of Folger Shakespeare Library and I'm very happy with it as with my first purchase. I'm not a Shakespeare scholar. I read Shakespeare's plays because I love his beautiful language and always enjoy high drama. So for me Folger's edition of Henry VIII is just perfect. It has nice introduction featuring some information about Shakespeare's life, theatre, publication of his plays and understanding his language. It's quite informative but not overwhelming.
Explanatory notes are following the original text of the play and conviniently placed at the left pages. That makes reading of even the most difficult pieces more injoyable and easier.
After the play there is an essay by B. Mowat wich had some interest for me too.
As for the play itself, I highly enjoyed it. Feeling an atmosphere of Henry VIII's coart, and following dramas of Chatherine's, Cardinal Wolsey's and Duke of Buckingham's lives gave me an actual thrill of enjoying a perfection.