CRITICISM

Anderson, Judith H. “Shakespeare's Henry VIII: The Changing Relation of Truth to Fiction.” In Biographical Truth: The Representation of Historical Persons in Tudor-Stuart Writing, pp. 124-54. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984.

Presents a comparative analysis of the treatment of actual historical figures in Henry VIII and the biographical sources Shakespeare used to compose his play.

Champion, Larry S. “Shakespeare's Henry VIII: A Celebration of History.” South Atlantic Bulletin 44, No. 1 (January 1979): 1-18.

Argues that despite an apparent lack of narrative coherence, Henry VIII actually envisions and portrays a unified Protestant England via a cyclical view of history.

Cook, Albert. “The Ordering Effect of Dramatized History: Shakespeare and Henry VIII.” Centennial Review 42, No. 1 (Winter 1998): 5-28.

Examines the juxtaposition and contrast of politics and Christianity in Henry VIII, concluding that although there are strong Christian elements in the play, the action is resolved via a paean of national affirmation that includes both Christianity and politics.

Halio, Jay L. Introduction to King Henry VIII, or All Is True, by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, edited by Jay L. Halio, pp. 1-61. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Provides an overview of the play, placing the action in the context of contemporary politics as well as providing an analysis of the main characters.

Hunt, Maurice. “The Hybrid Reformations of Shakespeare's Second Henriad.” Comparative Drama 32, No. 1 (Spring 1998): 176-206.

Traces the coexistence of Catholic and Protestant elements in all of Shakespeare's Henry plays via an analysis of such characters as Falstaff, Henry IV, Prince Hal/Henry V, Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey.

Kurland, Stuart M. “Henry VIII and James I: Shakespeare and Jacobean Politics.” Shakespeare Studies 19 (1987): 203-17.

Contends that Henry VIII presents many parallels to the reign of James I, and characterizes the play as a cautionary tale of misgovernment vs. the ideal order.

Richmond, H. M. “Shakespeare's Henry VIII: Romance Redeemed by History.” Shakespeare Studies 4 (1968): 334-49.

Argues that the questions surrounding the authorship of Henry VIII are ultimately irrelevant, and proposes instead that an understanding of this play is indispensable to our comprehension of Shakespeare's political ideas.

Vanita, Ruth. “Mariological Memory in The Winter's Tale and Henry VIII.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 40, No. 2 (Spring 2000): 311-337.

A comparative study of the female characters in The Winter's Tale and Henry VIII, tracing their origins to Marian mythology and to the historical events of Henry VIII's reign.

Waage, Jr., Frederick O. “Henry VIII and the Crisis of the English History Play.” Shakespeare Studies 8 (1975): 297-309.

Stresses that Shakespeare was unable to mythologize history in Henry VIII, and this failure precipitated the end of the English history play on the Stuart stage.

Wegemer, Gerard. “Henry VIII on Trial: Confronting Malice and Conscience in Shakespeare's All Is True.” Renascence 52, No. 2 (Winter 2000): 111-30.

Studies the importance of Shakespeare's distortions of historical fact involving the trials of Thomas More and Henry VIII, and suggests that these distortions provide important information for an understanding of Henry VIII and the character of the king himself.

Wickham, Glynne. “The Dramatic Structure of Shakespeare's King Henry the Eighth: An Essay in Rehabilitation.” Proceedings of the British Academy 70 (1984): 149-66.

Illustrates the topical nature of Henry VIII, proposing that the point of view presented in the play was prompted directly by James I and his court at the time Shakespeare wrote his play.