Henry VIII
(William Shakespeare)

A play surrounding the theme of power and greed, Cardinal Wolsey becomes close to the king. The Duke of Buckingham, unhappy with this relationship, believes Wolsey to be disloyal. The Duke, however, gets arrested by a guard because Wolsey accuses him of treason. In order to strengthen and unite his power with the king, Wolsey feels he must get rid of the Duke. Henry’s wife Katharine (who was married to Henry’s brother before he passed away), defends the Duke. Katharine accuses Wolsey of abusing the tax system for his own selfish purposes.

The Duke is then sentenced to be executed, and the Earl of Surrey, his son-in-law, is sent to Ireland so as not to pose a threat. Now that Wolsey no longer has to worry about the Duke, he sets out on his final mission: Get Queen Katharine out of the picture. Not only does he cause Henry to question his marriage to his wife Katharine by convincing him that his marriage is not legal, but he also has a plan for the King to marry the daughter of the King of France. Wolsey engaged in a truce with France, which is why he wanted to engineer this marriage.

What does Wolsey do from there? He requests the Pope to authorize a royal divorce between Henry and Katharine on the basis that Katharine did not bear any male heirs for Henry. Expelled from the court, Katharine then withdraws to Kimbolton.

Finally reaching the power he set out to get (he is even more wealthy than the king at this point), Wolsey is now burdened by greed (his biggest flaw). He desires even MORE control than he already has. Because of this desire and greed, Wolsey ends up digging himself his own hole. Wolsey fears that instead of seeking a royal alliance with France, the king and Anne Bullen will marry, a woman Wolsey introduced the king to at a party (and the king becomes quite infatuated with her). So Wolsey writes to the Pope requesting that the marriage be delayed.

To add to the already dramatic play, the letter was accidentally delivered to Henry rather than the Pope. Henry is obviously outraged by Wolsey’s actions, and Wolsey is left with no choice but to vacate the court. Before facing trial, Wolsey is arrested in New York and dies on the way to London.

Meanwhile, Henry marries Anne and makes Cranmer (the Archbishop of Canterbury) his new adviser. But, of course, the drama has not died with Wolsey. Gardiner (the Bishop of Winchester), sets out to ruin Cranmer by accusing him of heresy. Compassionate towards Cranmer’s circumstances, Henry gives him the royal signet ring. Cranmer is to present this ring in the event that his prosecutors do not accept his position in the argument, and find him guilty.

The trial then happens, and Henry is listening from behind a curtain. Found guilty, Cranmer presents the ring and finds that the nobles are apologetic for their actions. Henry then enters from behind the curtain, denounces them for their mistake, then proceeds to bless them.

Henry and Anne have a daughter named Elizabeth, and they name Cranmer as her godfather. Cranmer predicts that she will be strong and wise and that she will be one of England’s greatest rulers.