Henry VIII

Play

Henry VIII

Summary

King Henry VIII is the dominant monarch around whom all action revolves — the sun whose favour warms and whose disfavour destroys. Shakespeare and Fletcher portray him with some complexity: capable of justice and magnificence, but also easily led by flattery, manipulated by factions at court, and willing to discard loyal servants and faithful wives. He moves from trust in Wolsey to his dismissal, from Katherine to Anne Boleyn, and ends the play in triumphant celebration of the christening of his daughter Elizabeth.

Notable Quotations

"Chamberlain, prithee let me see thee laugh; / I have not such a cause." *(1.4)*

"I have touch'd the highest point of all my greatness; / And from that full meridian of my glory, / I haste now to my setting." *(3.2 — Wolsey's lines, but spoken in Henry's orbit)*

"She is a good creature, and, sweet lady, / Does deserve our better wishes." *(2.4 — of Katherine)*

"Heaven will one day open / The king's eyes, that so long have slept upon / This bold bad man." *(2.2 — of Wolsey)*

Cross-references

• Henry VIII — the play
• Cardinal Wolsey — his great minister
• Queen Katherine — his wronged first wife
• Buckingham (Henry VIII) — the first man he destroys
• Cranmer — the reformer he protects
• Histories