The same is true for the Roman plays "Julius Caesar," "Antony and Cleopatra," and "Coriolanus" , which all recall historical sources but are not technically history plays. So, if many plays seem historical but only a few truly are, what makes a Shakespeare history? Shakespeare pulled inspiration for his plays from a number of sources, but most of the English history plays are based on Raphael Holinshed's "Chronicles. Holinshed's works, published in and , were key references for Shakespeare and his contemporaries, including Christopher Marlowe.
Not exactly. Even though they were a great inspiration for Shakespeare, Holinshed's works were not particularly historically accurate; instead, they are considered mostly fictional works of entertainment. However, this is only part of the reason why you shouldn't use " Henry VIII " to study for your history test. In writing the history plays, Shakespeare was not attempting to render an accurate picture of the past. Rather, he was writing for the entertainment of his theater audience and therefore molded historical events to suit their interests.
If produced in the modern-day, Shakespeare's and Holinshed's writings would probably be described as "based on historical events" with a disclaimer that they were edited for dramatic purposes.
The Shakespeare histories share a number of things in common. First, most are set in times of medieval English history. Second, in all his histories, Shakespeare provides social commentary through his characters and plots.
For example, Shakespeare cast King Henry V as an everyman hero to exploit the growing sense of patriotism in England. Yet, his depiction of this character is not necessarily historically accurate.
There's not much evidence that Henry V had the rebellious youth that Shakespeare depicts, but the Bard wrote him that way to make his desired commentary. Despite seeming to focus on the nobility, Shakespeare's history plays often offer a view of society that cuts right across the class system.
They present us with all kinds of characters, from lowly beggars to members of the monarchy, and it is not uncommon for characters from both ends of the social strata to play scenes together. Scholars debate whether this play should be included in the Shakespearean canon and most agree that at least half the play was written by Shakespeare. The story of Pericles is one of a man who trapped by a no win situation, flees and journeys around the Mediterranean where he lives, loves, loses, and eventually regains what he has lost.
In a way you could say it is a side story to the entire Henriad that Shakespeare spent years writing. When Shakespeare's plays were finally published after his death, they were split into three groups - comedies, tragedies, and histories. The history plays deal specifically with English history and in particular the period known as the "War of the Roses". All of these plays are tied together by the figure of Prince Hal who eventually becomes Henry V.
Although the events he writes about occurred some two centuries before his own time, Shakespeare expected his audience to be familiar with the characters and events he was describing. Shakespearean history is similarly often inaccurate in its details, although it reflects popular conceptions of history.
Shakespeare drew on a number of sources in writing his history plays, as he did in nearly all his work. Shakespeare may well have used any number of other sources; for Richard II, for example, scholars have suggested at least seven possible primary sources. If such is the case, then the overthrow, deposition, or, worst of all, murder of a king is akin to blasphemy. In the play that bears his name, -Richard II is haunted by a politically motivated murder—not that of an actual king but that of his uncle, Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester.
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