Shakespeare's History Summaries

Histories
1	The Life and Death of King John
	Two different approaches to decision making.  King gives up kingdom to save skin, and other gives up inheritance. Ignore time and collapse John's reign from ten years into days.  Rarely produced play.
2	Richard II
	A century later than King John, Richard tries to unify the country.  Ends up yielding the crown to Henry IV yet still plots and is killed by a well meaning knight.
3	Henry IV Pt 1 and II
	Henry must defend his precarious position and quell a wayward son.  True story according to Shakespeare.
4	The Life of Henry the Fifth
	True story of England and the battle of Agincourt--the longest running war with the French.  Famous for it's siloquey, The St. Crispin's Day Speech, We few, We happy few, we band of brothers."
5	Henry VI, Parts I, II & III
	These plays are a series that cover the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York.  It gives an English perspective on Joan of Arc
6	The Tragedy of Richard the Third
	The real Richard III was nothing like this depiction, but Shakespeare merely reflected the attitude of the time.  King Henry IVV defeated Richard, and the victors write the history books.
7	Henry VIII
	How many wives are enough?  Six?  Beheading or divorcing most of them.  The play ends with birth of Anne's daughter, Elizabeth to be queen.
8	Cardenio
	The content of the comedy is based on an episode in Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote involving the character Cardenio, a young man who has been driven mad and lives in the Sierra Morena. -