Henry VIII Themes

They say the truth will set you free, but we're not sure that holds up in Henry VIII. For starters, we're not even sure what the truth is when it comes to certain characters. In true Shakespearean...

Let's face it: women didn't have a lot of options back in Shakespeare's day. Popular opinion taught that women were weaker and less important than men: they were allowed to get married, have kids,...

When the nobles fight for Henry's affection, or when Henry decides to get a quickie divorce, are these characters acting of their own free will? Or are they merely pawns getting played by fate? Lit...

There's no fight for the everyman like there in some of Shakespeare's other plays, but we're certainly aware of the importance of social class in Henry VIII: pretty much all of the action that goes...

Did you notice how people are always talking about the spiritual in Henry VIII? Prayer, angels, heaven: religion is all over the place here. Characters are constantly taking it upon themselves to r...

Remember when your mom told you that you had to share your toys and play nice with your little brother? If only the characters in Henry VIII had been taught the same thing. Throughout the play, a p...

Did you notice how everyone was really into forgiving others in Henry VIII? Or not? We get to see both sides of the coin with here. Some characters, like Buckingham and Katherine, are super forgivi...

"Come into my web, said the spider to the fly." We've all heard the one where the spider pretends to flatter the fly—just long enough to lure him in to his parlor and kill him. If we didn't know...