July 2023: One Fell Swoop: Reading All of Shakespeare’s Plays - Henry VI, Part I

Monday, July 24, 2023, 12:00-1:30 pm EDT

Pre-registration is required, and we ask you to register only if you can be present for the FULL session. All readings are available online. Participants who successfully complete ALL sessions will be eligible to receive an Amazon e-gift certificate.

The early death of the celebrated king Henry V has left the throne of England in the hands of his son, an infant of only 9 months. Shakespeare calls him:

Henry the Sixth in infant bands crowned King

Whose state so many had the managing

That they lost France and made his England bleed.

 

and writes three full plays about his eventful and tragic reign.

Particularly caught up with questions of national identity, Henry VI, part one gives us the French army, led by the charismatic and (perhaps divinely elected) Joan of Arc, battling against a disjointed, internally combative group of English nobles. Join this reading group to explore one, or all three of Shakespeare's much neglected plays about Henry VI, and help evaluate their interest and relevance for our own political times.

Readings: Henry VI, Part I