Book
Henry VI, Part 2
First published 1594
Henry VI’s marriage to Margaret of Anjou does little to steady a court divided by ambition. Rival nobles compete for control of government, the Duke of Gloucester falls, popular unrest erupts under Jack Cade and Richard, Duke of York, advances a rival dynastic claim.
The play moves from factional intrigue toward open armed conflict, ending as the struggle between Lancaster and York becomes a civil war. Shakespeare presents weak kingship as both cause and consequence of political violence, with private feuds, public disorder and competing claims of legitimacy reinforcing one another.
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