King John
By: William Shakespeare
Format/Source: eBook

Under the rule of King John. England is forced into war when the French challenge the legitimacy of Johns claim to the throne and determine to install his nephew Arthur in his place. But political principles. hypocritically flaunted. are soon forgotten. as the French and English kings form an alliance based on cynical self-interest. And as the desire to cling to power dominates Englands paranoid and weak-willed king, his country is threatened with disaster.

One of the lesser-known plays by Shakespeare, King John jumped up my to-read list after I had seen a few production photos floating around for the play. I’m curious to see how it plays out, especially as it sounds like there’s been no move to really rehabilitate the play and give it more attention (though there is a production happening right now…I can’t remember if it’s at the Globe or not though).

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Henry VI (Part 1)
By: William Shakespeare
Format/Source: Audiobook by LibriVox

After the death of Henry V, the French revolt and threaten to reclaim their country from English rule. Guided by his Lord Protector, the young King Henry VI journeys to Paris to reaffirm his rule over France. But while Joan of Arc battles the British abroad, discontent is also breeding at home, between the two ancient Houses of York and Lancaster.

This play is the start of the second history tetralogy, and a continuation from events in Henry V (review). This second tetralogy in the Herniad ended up bumped up in my to-read list in anticipation for the second cycle of The Hollow Crown (my excitement cannot be contained, the cast sounds amazing, as was the first cycle :)). As I mentioned in my Twelfth Night review, I was sick some time ago and wasn’t able to read anything, so I ended up listening to some of Shakespeare’s plays instead.

On the plus side, I’m glad I listened to this play instead of reading it because I think it helped me understand the story a bit more because otherwise this play wasn’t terribly interesting, character drama-wise or otherwise. It definitely feels like a prologue to the general upheaval that we know as the War of the Roses, with Henry VI’s court beginning to split between the Lancasters and Yorkists. Do you need to know your medieval English history to read this? Yes and no, I guess. In my case, it sort of helped because the story left my mind to wander at times, and the cast is quite large.

So yeah, the story does fall dull after the Second Act, the Fifth Act becoming more an issue of the marriage contact. The play does show the English-French conflict from both sides, including the role that St. Joan of Arc played in events. I think the Second Act was the strongest in my opinion as the combat lines between the Lancasters and the Yorkists begin to form; pretty intense stuff.

By the end of the play, I can see why the three Henry VI plays were truncated to two episodes for the upcoming sequel. It was all right, and I’m glad I listened to it, but I am looking forward moreso to the next plays and how the court conflict plays out.

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