1441400 1623 Shakespeare. Henry VI Pt. 1. Title plus Seven Others.
10222.
Henry VI Part I. First Folio. 1623. First Printing.
Title Page plus Seven Others. (96-102, 113-114).
Title Page
One of the great historical figures in the annals of the British monarchy is Henry V who, using a rather liberal interpretation of the obtuse Salic laws, invaded France and at the battle of Agincourt won back for England all the French territories she had previously lost. In Henry VI we meet his son who was just the opposite: an aesthete given to quiet contemplation and peaceful resolution of problems. Nevertheless, Henry VI is the subject of three of Shakespeare’s history plays. It was during his reign that the wars of the roses began and occupied both England and France for the next 70 years.
Hung be the heavens with black,
yield day to night!
The Title page, a damaged leaf, the recto of which is the final page of Henry V, opens with a funeral procession of the deceased monarch. As Henry VI is not yet of age to assume the throne, the Dukes of Gloucester and Exeter have been given joint protectorship of the crown. As news comes in that France is once again taking up arms, the Dukes send Exeter to bolster the defending English forces.
(97-102)
In this fragment we meet Queen Margaret, a savvy political schemer who will figure in all three of the Henry VI plays. We also meet two figures of near-mythological proportion, both short in stature but practically invincible in battle. The leading military figure for the English in part one is Lord Talbot who had so distinguished himself in the field that the French were said to cower at the mere mention of his name. Talbot tries to pack his son, John, off to safety but John replies “Is my name Talbot and am I your son?” Later in the play, both are killed.
Opposing Talbot is an even more legendary figure, this a mere teenage maid who went by the name of Jeanne d’Arc, was known to the English as Joan la Pucelle (the maid) and to us as Joan of Arc. As Talbot advances on the French troops he is confronted by this unlikeliest of heroes. He duels Joan in protracted hand to hand combat while in the background there are “alarums and excursions”. They engage in battle through nearly 40 lines of text after which the surrounding action forces them to break off. Nevertheless, it is quite clear to even the casual audience member that, incredibly, Joan was getting the better of the great Lord Talbot.
Later in this fragment, we watch as Joan is convicted of heresy and hauled off to be burned at the stake which event Shakespeare mercifully spares his audience by having the action occur off stage. Later in the fragment we meet another of the history plays’ genuinely offbeat characters, Margaret of Anjou, who later becomes Queen Margaret. The Earl of Suffolk whom Henry has dispatched to France as an envoy first encounters Margaret and is smitten with her and woos her to bring her back to court. Henry dutifully makes her his bride. Margaret will continue through all three of the Henry history plays and is depicted first as a very enticing young lady who gradually over the course of time becomes a harridan.
Finally in the fragment we meet Richard, Duke of Gloucester, whose machinations we follow all the way to the finale of Henry VI part three at which point Richard’s brother is made King Edward IV and thus begins the wars of the roses. As most schoolboys know, Gloucester, through an incredible series of marriages, murders and mayhem rises to become Richard the Third, protagonist of his own play and possibly Shakespeare’s greatest schemer except perhaps for Iago.
Extremely Fine