Status Updates From Henry VI, Part 2

would a 2.5 year old richard be able to slay on the battlefield a 50 year old duke of somerset… it is for you to decide

three lines of being gay real quick before the one forty year old slays the other… this is how you know it’s shakespeare

“if not in heaven, you’ll surely sup in hell.”

2.5 year old richard dropping the BARS, man…

and the insanest part of all is seeing an either yet unborn or potentially three year old baby richard be aged up to an adult and also already called “misshapen”… laying it on thick, i fearrrrrrr

i CANNOT believe that william spent so much time on subplot after subplot and then put the turbulence of FIVE years, parliament decisions, york’s strife with somerset, the naming of york as protector of the real, his naming as heir apparent, ALL of that… into ONE scene before we do st albans 1455. this is INSANE.

also find the cade scenes horrifically difficult to get through, though maybe that’s my recording

again, in reality, the cade rebellion arose out of years of corruption, abuse of power and maladministration through the crown and the kings advisors with the explicit intention of forcing a reform of administration, not making cade king. the involvement of york in the subplot makes it seem like the rebellions cause was unjust or based on deceit, it is strangely anti-populace

it’s interesting bc it shows that this is indeed very early work for shakespeare and he is not yet able (as he will be later) to do masterfully weave the personal and the political. the same can be said of

2) the cade subplot; in the work cade is portrayed to be selfish, though throughout “for the people” still with the air of a soon-be king

two things

1) find the choice to make henry vi be the one sending suffolk into exile interesting bc it is positioning henry as a grief-stricken nephew and the entire plot very personal while in reality it was parliament who imprisoned suffolk for maladministration and the king was the one who spoke in favour of him and asked for exile over death to be his punishment

1450 sure was a crazy year

III.2 is MESMERISING…

everyone plotting everyone’s downfall but the king cause he’s too sweet :(

pause, i thought the duchess of glouster was being tried for necromancy and witchcraft here bc it’s shakespeare and you know he loves a little witchcraft but no, eleanor, duchess of glouster was ACTUALLY tried for asking for services of necromancy and witchcraft from all sorts, the people involved executed and her divorced from glouster and then sent to exile… wtf 😭

spirit insurrection to get a read on the next five years: check!

wish we could do that kinda shit these days omg

in other news idcccc i like york…

barely got through I.1 and we have somehow set up five different plot lines of jealousy and betrayal already

what if we just pretend that the henry vis are one big nine hour play for the fun of it