William Shakespeare - Henry VI, Part 2

Henry VI, Part 2 or The Second Part of Henry the Sixth (often written as 2 Henry VI) is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England. Whereas 1 Henry VI deals primarily with the loss of England's French territories and the political machinations leading up to the Wars of the Roses, and 3 Henry VI deals with the horrors of that conflict, 2 Henry VI focuses on the King's inability to quell the bickering of his nobles, the death of his trusted adviser Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, the rise of the Duke of York and the inevitability of armed conflict. As such, the play culminates with the opening battle of the War, the First Battle of St Albans. Henry VI may be viewed as a study in insurrection, which moves from the private and personal jostlings in the court in Part 1 to outright civil war in Part 3. In Part 2 the discord between prominent state officials, notably Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, spreads to the common people, fomenting an abortive rebellion, lead by the rascally Kentishman, Jack Cade. With the death of Humphrey, the period of regency for the naive Henry effectively comes to an end, and the unworldly monarch is helplessly exposed to the interminable strife between the factions of the houses of York and of Lancaster. The structure of the play differs from the other two parts in that there is a central rustic idyll (Act 4), populated by clownish characters, which recalls the idyllic centrepieces of comedies like A Midsummer Night's Dream and As You Like It. The plays with the effective deposition of Henry, who is later re-installed as king in Part 3 by the influential Earl of Warwick. Henry VI, Part 2 has the largest cast of all Shakespeare's plays, and is seen by many critics as the best of the Henry VI trilogy. (Summary by Wikipedia and Algy Pug)<br /><br />Cast:<br />Alexander Iden/Lord Say: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5652" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">amicrazy2u</a><br />Beadle/Earl of Warwick/First Neighbor/George Bevis/Lord Scales/Post/Second Gentleman/Soldier/Spirit: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/4705" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Algy Pug</a><br />Bolingbroke/Jack Cade: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/3595" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Martin Geeson</a><br />Captain/Herald/Simpcox: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5077" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sandra G</a><br />Clerk of Chatham/First Citizen/Messenger/Queen Margaret: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/1259" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Elizabeth Klett</a><br />Dick the Butcher/Mayor of St. Albans: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/4015" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JimOCR</a><br />Duke of Buckingham/Richard Plantagenet the Younger: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/2234" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lars Rolander</a><br />Duke of Gloucester: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5485" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sean Randall</a><br />Duke of Somerset: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5625" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Readalot</a><br />Earl of Salisbury: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5662" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michael Irskens</a><br />Earl of Suffolk: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5506" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frank Booker</a><br />Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5269" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Musicalheart1</a><br />Father John Hume: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/614" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Christine Blachford</a><br />First Gentleman/Second Murderer/Second Petitioner/Townsman: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/2911" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David Lawrence</a><br />First Murderer: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5624" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rigbyjm</a><br />First Petitioner/Third Neighbor/William Stafford: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5719" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Fricker</a><br />Henry VI: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/3536" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arielle Lipshaw</a><br />John Holland/Peter: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/26" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Denny Sayers</a><br />King Edward IV/Thomas Horner/Walter Whitmore: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5659" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dale Burgess</a><br />Lord Clifford/Second Neighbor: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5664" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aidan Brack</a><br />Margaret Jourdain: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/3698" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nadine Eckert-Boulet</a><br />Master/Sheriff: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5617" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">kenrg</a><br />Michael: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/3699" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bruce Pirie</a><br />Richard Plantagenet/Smith the Weaver: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5141" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David Goldfarb</a><br />Servant/Vaux: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5398" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eden</a><br />Simpcox's Wife: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/3615" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lucy Perry</a><br />Sir Humphrey Stafford: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/4267" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ric F</a><br />Sir John Stanley: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/4969" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Veggrower</a><br />Winchester: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/3470" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jason Mills</a><br />Young Clifford: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/4744" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Amy Gramour</a><br />Narrator: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5622" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Roseanne Schmidt</a><br /><br />Audio edited by: Elizabeth Klett

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