Henry VI, Part 1

Henry VI, Part 1
by Simon W.

 “I prithee give me leave to curse a while.” Joan la Pucelle - Henry VI, Part 1 Act 5 Sc 4

Henry VI, part 1 is a play in which the titular character hardly has any lines and one could say it's not even really about him at all. Granted, this is probably because the opening scene of the play is one where folks are at his father's funeral and LOUDLY lamenting Henry VI's weakness as a king...

... while Henry VI is all of nine months old!

I'm not entirely certain who the hero of Henry VI's story is (and I have two more plays to get through in order to find out) but I am quite sure the villains are all of his supposed noble protectors and defenders. In fact, most of the play is about how their infighting and jockeying for power led to some fantastically awful defeats in France.

But of course, neither they nor Shakespeare blamed themselves. Instead they just assumed that the only way the French could beat the English was via witchcraft, in the form of Joan la Pucelle (known now as Joan of Arc).

Here is where I should remind you not to expect great literary criticism or even terrible insightful historical commentary from me. I'm literally just talking about what made an impact on me in the stories as I read them. In short, I'm either going to be shit-talking or fan-girling my way through Shakespeare as it's applicable.

So yes, the English army suffers defeats against the French, even with the legendary Talbot as their leader and rather than blame the fact that various lords are literally withholding troops and supplies, the English assume that it's all the fault of a religious French teenager who knows how to use a sword and inspire people. As you may have guessed, all of my sympathies are with Joan in this play.

But let's talk about Henry VI for just a minute since the play is about him, or at least about his reign. In the play he is portrayed as weak and pious. Really, he's probably just young and pious. Not much of a martial man, our boy Henry. But he is interested in reading and studying so I automatically love him. In fact, he wonders at one point if he's even old enough to consider getting married since he's still got so many books to read. Be still, my heart!

This is the first time I have read this particular play since the histories are where I'm lacking. I've read part of Henry IV and Richard III and I've seen stage productions of Henry V and Richard II so I'm all over the place with the "Henriad" plays. Expect more ridiculous commentary as I move through them because I have zero reverence. Shakespeare did a wonderful thing, particularly for his time period, in that he wrote his noble and even royal characters as people. People who had flaws even! It was radical at the time and it's part of what makes his stories endure, because 500 years later we can still find enough humanity in these giants of history to identify with them.