Henry VI Part One

I've recently finished reading Shakespeare's Henry VI Part One. I bought it as I thought I hadn't read it, but when I started I quickly released: "Ah, it's the Joan of Arc one". I read it quite a long while ago, and I remember thinking it was a bit whacky then too.

I've mentioned before I like the whackier plays - or lesser plays as they're often called. This one was really enjoyable. Supposedly it was very popular with audiences in Shakespeare's day too.

The basic story is one of good ol' stoic English gents getting beat by the French because of aristocratic infighting - in this case between the red rose of Lancaster and the white rose of York. The play has Italia '90 vibes. The heroic defeat narrative that so appeals to us in this country. I can see why our Elizabethan ancestors loved it. For all the noble heroics though the show is somewhat stolen by Joan of Arc, or Joan la Pucelle as she's called in the play. She's pretty much a comedic sorceress in the tale; slightly different to the boyish warrior-ette image we're more familiar with. The play is littered with jokes that imply 'the maid' is sleeping with the various French males she's fighting alongside. It's funny, though the ending, where she's burnt at the stake, is a tad over-the-top in its harshness.

In fact, the ending to the play was what stood out to me. It's a bit rubbish, ..in my humble opinion. The play is great right up until the end of Act V Scene 1, then after that it gets a bit mad. I'm just a layman, so to anyone reading do remember to take my opinions and theories with a pinch of salt. However, I wouldn't be that surprised if the ending was tacked on later. The play could've finished quite nicely with Act V Scene 1, where King Henry announces peace with France.

I can't really imagine people at the time watching the later, quite silly scene between Margaret and Suffolk. It would be a bit of an anti-climax after all that battlefield drama. Then again though I guess the bit where Joan of Arc is comically humiliated at the stake would be more of a crowd pleaser. So maybe it was as is.