Henry VIII (Vol. 72) - Larry S. Champion (essay date January 1979)
Larry S. Champion (essay date January 1979)
SOURCE: Champion, Larry S. “Shakespeare's Henry VIII: A Celebration of History.” South Atlantic Bulletin 44, no. 1 (January 1979): 1-18.
[In the following essay, Champion analyzes the structure, characters, and themes of Henry VIII, suggesting that the play's lack of unity is outweighed by its artistic merits.]
To some degree each of Shakespeare's history plays was of political and social relevance to its original audiences. The interest in large part stemmed from the Elizabethans' fascination with their past; and, while on occasion particular contemporary political issues and problems were mirrored in an earlier historical context, in more general terms the dramatization of the preceding years of political turbulence became a means of expressing a new communal sense of identity stemming from present unity and national power. Nowhere, however, do these plays so directly...
[The entire page is 8450 words long]
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