HENRY VI PART 2 –The One With Jack Cade

The Henry VI story as told by Shakespeare has three parts. It may therefore seem odd to start with ”Part 2”, but as any fan of movie franchises will know, chronology is often played around with and sometimes focuses on the middle section of ”the big story” first. There is a sequel if the piece is successful, and then possibly a prequel. The Star Wars series, for instance, started with episodes 4,5 and 6 then went back episodes 1, 2 and 3, and has now jumped forward to episode 7. Such jumbling of narrative is not new –Shakespeare was doing it over 400 years ago. Indeed, his whole line of English historical plays seems to have evolved this way, with individual ”episodes” of quite different styles, but connected by a running storyline –that of the struggle for the crown– and with characters whose lives we follow through several plays. History always fascinates an audience, and it was no different in the 16th century; everyone knew something of the tales and exploits of the major players from past centuries, so people coming to the theatre already had some ideas about who the bad guys were, who to root for, and yet still be enthralled by the unfolding drama, event by event, episode by episode. And this is certainly true for the trilogy of Henry VI plays. However, by starting with episode two –sorry, part two, I have followed the assumed chronology of the writing of the plays, rather than the historical chronology, for it seems Shakespeare wrote parts two and three first and then went back and wrote part one. This makes more sense when one learns that Henry VI Part 2 was only given this title when it was included in the first Folio. Originally, it had the snappy title The First Part of the Contention of the Two Famous Houses of York and Lancaster with the Death of the Good Duke Humphrey –certainly a title that aptly describes its contents, but the printers probably had a fit when they tried to squeeze all that in the ”Contents” page of the collected works and brevity seems to have won the day. And these days, if you say to people that you’ve just read Shakespeare’s play The First Part of the Contention… they’ll probably look at you blankly and say that he never wrote such a play. Of course, they may well equally well look at you blankly if you say you’ve read Henry VI (parts one, two or three), because of all Shakespeare’s history plays these are probably the least known and among the least performed. And that’s a great shame because they contain many great individual scenes of tension, conflict, turmoil, argument and struggle, between great characters who really are intent on getting what they want. And these scenes work great on stage. Everyone is jostling for position, scheming and making plans because Henry VI himself is a very weak king who can’t keep those around him in check. Upon re-reading it I again and again see similarities to the great mafia films like The Godfather –the power struggle is essentially the same, and this is very much a family matter, only here its the royal family with all its branches. Most of the main characters are related in some way, and this is part of the dilemma –who has a rightful claim on the throne? The play marks the start of the whole ”War of the Roses” struggle, culminating later with Richard III, but here we get to taste and see some of the reasons behind the conflicts of that future play. But keeping track on who is who in relation to who demands a bit of work.

Though it is perfectly possible to read the play as it stands, I have found it most helpful to have a genealogical table of characters in front of me throughout. This makes it much easier to understand the relationships between the various characters and those they refer to. Shakespeare isn’t always necessarily historically accurate, of course, and he bases his play on the history books available to him at the time, but what shines through is his characterization and the way he sets up each conflict to be a miniature battle. Soap opera has taken much of its dramaturgy precisely from this form of playwriting. Some of the verbal battles of The Taming of the Shrew are further developed here, though in a much darker way than in that previous play. We have another extremely strong female character in Queen Margaret –a woman who is not to be trifled with, and whose contrast to the cautious, vacillating King Henry could not be greater. Personally, I think she is one of Shakespeare’s most riveting and unforgetable characters, certainly among the most driven. She is a sort of embryonic Lady Macbeth, just as determined but even more dangerous and vindictive.

Then we have Jack Cade, the leader of the rebels who puts in a ludicrous claim to the throne and creates havoc until quelled. The fourth act more or less belongs to him, and this ”episode” is a whole drama unto itself, with a new set of characters comprising his followers –commoners, and presented as a sort of mirror court to that of the nobility. The tone of these scenes is feisty and urgent, and though not presented as comedic in any way, some of the plays few light-hearted moments are to be found here. Jack Cade himself is a very colourful character, and one that gives actors playing him a lot of opportunity for bravado and high-charged ranting. His demise at the hands of the person whose garden he breaks into is one of my favourite scenes in the play.

The play finishes in a way that whets our appetite for more, telling us just enough about what is to come that we get hooked –very much like today’s franchise movies do. As I put the play down I found myself already reaching out for the next part, eager to know how this continuing drama would unfold. And I’m sure that was Shakespeare’s intention.

Favourite Lines:

York:
Now, York, or never, steel thy fearful thoughts
And change misdoubt to resolution;
Be that thou hop’st to be; or what thou art
Resign to death –it is not worth th’enjoying.
(Act III, Sc.9 – the whole of the long speech that starts with these lines is terrific.)

Character I would most like to play: Richard Plantagenet -Duke of York (but Jack Cade comes a very close second.)