Henry VIII
Sign in to saveAlso known as The Life of King Henry the Eighth, Life of King Henry the Eighth, Henry the Eighth
history play by Shakespeare
Wikidata facts
- Author
- William Shakespeare
- Genre
- historical play
- Image
- Abbot of leicester and wolsey westall.jpg
Show 6 more facts
- publication date
- 1623-00-00
- described by source
- New International Encyclopedia
- Commons category
- Henry VIII (play)
- language of work or name
- English language
- inception
- 1613-00-00
- form of creative work
- play
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~21 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The first page of The Famous Hiſtory of the Life of King Henry Eight, printed in the Second Folio of 1632
The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eighth, often shortened to Henry VIII, is a collaborative history play, written by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, based on the life of Henry VIII. An alternative title, All Is True, is recorded in contemporary documents, with the title Henry VIII not appearing until the play's publication in the First Folio of 1623. Stylistic evidence indicates that individual scenes were written by either Shakespeare or his collaborator and successor, John Fletcher. It is also somewhat characteristic of the late romances in its structure. It is noted for having more stage directions than any of Shakespeare's other plays.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Henry VIII” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.