Henry VIII
(William Shakespeare)

Considered one of the best and most influential poets and playwrights in the English language, William Shakespeare continues to be celebrated for his work, even after over 300 years. His plays are performed in theaters all throughout the country, and his sonnets are studied in classrooms in every high school and college throughout the nation (and most of the world!). The Shakespeare library consists of about 154 sonnets, and 38 plays. These are just the works of which we know exist. There could be many more not yet discovered. Shakespeare’s work touches on themes of love, beauty, tragedy, time, death, and morality. Some of the most romantic pieces of literature come from Shakespeare, and some of the most tragic of pieces come from him, as well.

Henry VIII is a history-themed play, based on the life of King Henry VIII of England. This play has a different tone than that of his other works. Because of this, some people argue that Shakespeare did not actually write this play. That is an ongoing debate with all of his works, as a matter of fact. It leads some people to believe that Shakespeare never even existed!

Henry VIII was Shakespeare’s last play and is said to be written in 1613 (more than half a century after Henry’s reign), two years after The Tempest. Henry VIII, in a way, tells three different stories. The first story is Wolsey’s story. The second story is the fall of Katherine and rise of Anne. And lastly, the third story is the rise of Cranmer. The first three acts are when we actually learn Wolsey’s story, and see his rise and subsequent fall from power and wealth.