|
For the 2000 season, the Utah Shakespearean Festival performed the abridged, fast-paced version of a compilation of the three Henry VI plays, The War of the Roses. In classical
Elizabethan style, director and adaptor, Howard Jensen presents the story of a moral, yet inept king and the internal battles for power among the various nobles, including Richard
Plantagenet of the House of York (represented by the white rose) and John Beaufort of the House of Lancaster (represented by the red rose). In short, the conspiring nobles oust the Duke
of Gloucester, the only living brother of Henry V and the last reminder of the great years of conquest, paving the way for the House of York to seize the throne for Richard Plantagenet
and his son Edward IV. The ousted Henry VI and loyalists to the House of Lancaster rise up and remove Edward IV from the throne; Henry VI reigns again. The victory is short-lived. Edward
IV again engages the Lancasters and regains the throne, and the War of the Roses is brought to an end. However, Richard the III stands ominously in the shadows, plotting for another day
and a different play. Reviewing the Utah Shakespearean Festival’s production of Howard Jensen's adaptation The War of the Roses and expounding on Shakespeare's version of the battle between the House of York and the House of Lancaster sheds light on the actual intent and context underlying the oft quoted line from 2 Henry V,:
The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.
Adaptor Howard Jensen had the daunting task of taking approximately 12,500 lines that comprise 1,2, and 3 Henry VI and reducing them to a number more suitable for a standard 2 1/2 hour performance. Jensen's adaptation retains the most significant scenes while deleting the lengthy speeches and collateral scenes with minor players. The product is a fast, yet thorough, jaunt through the English civil war between the Yorks and the Lancasters.
Like the opening of 1 Henry VI, Jensen opens The War of the Roses with the funeral of the ruthless, Machiavellian and victorious Henry V, which acts as the event that brings the dukes of the realm together to mourn the death of the great king and lament the loss of lands in France. The heir to the throne is the “effeminate” boy prince Henry VI, who was only 6 months old at the time of Henry V's death. The nobles see this opportunity to take advantage of the inexperienced king and to plot for power in order to promote their own self-interests. While mourning the passing of the great king, the dukes of Gloucester, Bedford and Exeter, along with the Bishop of Winchester attempt to explain or rationalize the untimely death of Henry V, as well as the cause of the defeats and the subsequent loss of lands to the dauphin in France. For the noble Englishmen, witchcraft and sorcery seem the most likely cause and the dissension with the English nobility is merely an aside. In actuality, the contention among the English coupled with the inspiration of Joan de Pucelle (Joan of Arc) are the major factors for the French victory.
Jensen retains the impassioned, yet at times silly, scenes with Joan of Arc to illustrate the basis (or lack thereof) of France's inspiration for defeating the English and to point out
Shakespeare's disdain for Joan of Arc. Shakespeare's portrayal of Joan de Pucelle (or “pus-cell” to the English) flies in the face of most of the romantic, historical versions of the
saint and warrior. Instead, Shakespeare's Joan is a walking contradiction, at times the valiant soldier at other times the vulgar wench, but always a somewhat comic and rather pathetic
figure. Upon being captured and sentenced to death for witchcraft, the “holy maid” begs for her life on the basis that she is pregnant with a child of nobility, naming a different father
when the last name asserted fails to save her life. Finally, while screaming obscenities and kicking, Joan of Arc is carried off and burned at the stake - hardly the acts of a valiant and
virgin martyr.
In other parts of England, Richard Plantagenet (later the Duke of York), son of the Earl of Cambridge who had been executed as a traitor, quarrels with John Beaufort (later the Duke of
Somerset) over the line of succession. Richard Plantagenet claims that through his mother Anne Mortimer, the younger sister of the Earl of March, he has the superior claim to title, even
over the current king, Henry VI. Thus, if the Earl of March died without issue, then Richard Plantagenet, as son of the daughter of the son of the daughter of Lionel, the third son of
Edward III, is the rightful and proper heir. (See Chart.) On the other hand, if only male ancestry is considered, the House of Lancaster has a superior claim to the throne since under
male ancestry, Plantagenet's position is determined from the line of descent from Edmund of Langley, the fifth son of Edward III. However, John Beaufort asserts that if Henry VI dies
without issue, as half brother to the king, he takes. (See Chart.) Under Yorkist arguments, Richard Plantagenet ought reign instead of Henry VI; under Lancastrian analysis, John Beaufort
takes after Henry VI, if Henry fails to bring forth an heir. (What do you expect from the people that brought us future interests in property?) In a symbolic gesture, Richard Plantagenet
challenges the opposing house and other nobles to declare their loyalty:
Let him that is a true-born gentleman
And stands upon the honour of his birth,
If he suppose that I have pleaded the truth,
From off this briar pluck a white rose with me.
Siding with Plantagenet is tantamount to treason; siding with Beaufort amounts to treason if Plantagenet prevails. John Beaufort of Somerset follows Plantagenet's lead and plucks a red
rose. Thus, the English civil war, the War of the Roses, begins.
Once the war is under way and Joan of Arc has been burned at the stake, Shakespeare and adaptor Jensen shift the story line to the marriage of Henry VI. The Duke of Gloucester supports a
marriage of the king to the well-dowered daughter of the Earl of Armagnac. However, Lord Suffolk loves the French Margaret of Anjou and persuades the king instead to marry her.
Apparently, Suffolk loves power over Margaret. Suffolk convinces the young king of Margaret's regal beauty and scorns the idea of marrying the daughter of the Earl of Armagnac merely for
money. Swayed by the suave Lord Suffolk and driven by desire, Henry marries Margaret. The marriage provides Suffolk the opportunity to control the new queen, as well as the king and
England entire. And with the familial union of England and France, a truce is announced and England retains control of occupied lands in France and provides time for the possibility of a
permanent peace between the two nations.
Upon returning to England, Suffolk and the queen are met with discontent and petitions for installation of the rightful heir to the throne Ð Richard Plantagenet. The queen furiously tears
the petitions and drives off the petitioners, all the while berating Henry as a weak and ineffective king. Either out of opportunity or necessity, Margaret engages head-first into the
political realm of bipartisan politics and undermines her chief rival Gloucester by banishing his wife and forcing Lord Protector Gloucester's resignation. Obviously banishment and
resignation was inadequate, and Suffolk arranges for the cruel murder of the Lord Protector. Upon discovery of Gloucester's murder, Suffolk is banished and later also murdered, much to
the sadness of the queen..
The story then shifts back to the quarrel between the rival houses of York and Lancaster and the battles that rage. In the hope that exiling York will calm the waters, Henry VI demands
York to Ireland. York complies. Nevertheless, York uses the opportunity to raise an army of peasants and discontents, returns to England, and defeats the House of Lancaster at the Battle
of St. Albans.
Actually, things did not move this fast. Jensen's adaptation deletes the scenes where Shakespeare depicts the Cade Rebellion, apparently Jensen felt that the chaos, scheming and treachery
of the English civil war was represented well enough with the major scenes and rightfully so. In the deleted scene of the Cade Rebellion, the Duke of York recruits John Cade to rise up
and ”rabble rouse” York's enemies:
I have seduced a headstrong Kentishman,
John Cade of Ashford,
To make commotion, as full well he can,
Under the title of John Mortimer.
Cade, posing as John Mortimer (deceased arlier), asserts his bogus claim to the throne. Rousing the passions among the peasantry, Cade and 30,000 men march on London to hang ”lawyers” and
anyone else who is literate or sober. As Cade moves toward London, he promises his followers a better day under his reign:
Be brave, then, for your captain is brave and vows
reformation. There shall be in England seven halfpenny loaves sold for a penny, the three hooped pot shall have ten hoops, and
I shall make it a felony to drink small beer. All the realm shall be in common, and in Cheapside shall my palfrey go to grass. And when I am king, as king I will be -
Cade's political platform appeals to the “lowest” class of the peasantry, beggars and drunks - a class that for the most part viewed the nobility and the literate with utter contempt.
Unlike other revolutions and rebellions, this is not a rebellion of the downtrodden working class; it is a rebellion of thugs and buffoons. Cade's plan was governance by anarchy
(oxymoron-stress on moron) as illustrated in Cade's motto: “But then are in order when we are most out of order.” At this point, Cade and Dick the Butcher crescendo their rallying with
Butcher crying out the now infamous line:
The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.
Shakespeare did not intend to convey a universal sentiment toward the legal profession, as it is often used today. Instead, Shakespeare uses the lawyers as a symbol of law, order and
literacy. Nevertheless, this does not imply that Shakespeare thought ”warm and fuzzies”toward lawyers; he did not. In a time that was even more litigious than today, Shakespeare had his
fair share of confrontation with lawyers and not always amicable. But, as for the infamous line, the intent is to show that with a Cade-like rebellion, mobs and disorder will rule. Under
a man like John Cade, the nobility, the affluent, and the literate will certainly pay a great price - a price that Shakespeare did not relish.
With insurrection imminent, Henry VI yields to Richard of York. In arguably the most pathetic and desperate scene, Henry VI volunteers to disinherit his son so long as he can remain on the
throne. Henry's motives may be noble. Nonetheless, the appearance of betraying one's own, even if only in name, is an act not easily explained or justified. This compromise seems to solve
many of the pressing problems; however, it leaves the Prince of Wales disinherited and Queen Margaret powerless. And like a good mother, Margaret vows to fight until her son, who most
people assumed to be illegitimate, is named king. The queen confronts the king with contempt for both him and his compromise and leaves the king to raise an army against Henry VI and
York. Margaret moves northward and recruits the Scots. In an attempt to drive away and/or defeat the "queen's army," York's small force is trampled. The Duke of York fatally
underestimates the queen's ability to lead an army. The Duke of York succumbs to utter defeat at the hands of a merciless queen, and she revels in taunting and torturing her nemesis prior
to his summary execution, producing the red-stained rag covered with the blood of York's son. York breaks under the terrible strain, and Margaret and Lord Clifford in turn stab the duke.
The plan backfires. Again, the two armies plunge into war. With the sympathies of the people behind the House of York. Edward IV is proclaimed king and all appears well. Henry VI is
imprisoned, and Warwick (aid to York) leaves for France to retrieve a wife for the new king, and thus thwarting Margaret's attempts to gain the alliance of France. However, Edward IV
falls in love with Lady Elizabeth Grey, and they marry. Warwick becomes furious, feeling that the House of York has betrayed him, and shifts allegiance to the ousted Queen Margaret.
Warwick the "king maker" and the queen march on England, defeating and imprisoning Edward. The ruthless Richard III frees his brother. The Yorks again wage war on the
Lancasters. After a brutal battle, in which Warwick is killed, the Lancasters are finished. Edward IV resumes the role of monarch; Henry is sent to the Tower of London; and Margaret is
exiled to France. Shortly thereafter, the king's brother - the new Duke of Gloucester, murders both Henry VI and his son. At last, peace comes to England. However, the drama is not over.
Richard III stands at the side of his brother, holding the next heir apparent and planning the infant's demise.
The Utah Shakespearean Festival's adaptation The War of the Roses brilliantly depicts the great English civil war that altered the course of history. After understanding the
background of Shakespeare's Henry VI plays and The War of the Roses, as well as Shakespeare's talent for injecting comic relief into the most sobering topics, the infamous line,
". . . kill all the lawyers," takes on a far different meaning than the definition readily tossed about at cocktail parties and political rallies. Ironically, the line is a
compliment. The line could have easily read, "The first thing we do let's kill the affluent, literate lawmakers, so that anarchy may rule England."
(I would like to thank and acknowledge Dr. Ace Pilkington, professor of humanities at Dixie State College and resident scholar at the Utah Shakespearean Festival, for his very helpful
suggestions.)
|
