Henry VI Part 1

Henry VI Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare (and possibly co-authored by Thomas Nashe) believed written in 1591 and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England. Whereas Henry VI Part 2 deals with the King’s inability to quell the bickering of his nobles and the inevitability of armed conflict and Henry VI Part 3 deals with the horrors of this conflict, Henry VI Part 1 deals with the loss of England’s French territories and the political machinations leading to the Wars of the Roses, as the English political system is torn apart by personal squabbles and petty jealousy.

     Although the Henry VI trilogy may not have been written in chronological order, the three plays are often grouped together with The Life and Death of King Richard III to form a tetralogy covering the entire Wars of the Roses saga from the death of Henry V in 1422 to the rise to power of Henry VII in 1485. It was the success of this sequence of plays firmly establishing Shakespeare’s reputation as a playwright.

     Some regard Henry VI Part 1 as the weakest of Shakespeare’s plays and, along with Titus Andronicus, it is generally considered one of the strongest candidates for evidence Shakespeare collaborated with other dramatists early in his career.