Not my favorite play by any stretch of the imagination. I got so bored with all the politics, and had difficulty remembering who was loyal to the king and who was plotting with whom. Still there are several good scenes, and some interesting characters that kept me entertained.

Henry is a good guy, but a lazy king. He abandons the court gatherings to indulge his own feelings of grief, leaving a bunch of people to conveniently conspire against him and murder his friends. Seriously, if he had just been a bit more aware of his surroundings, a bunch of people might have lived. He's too trusting and innocent. And I'm sorry, but York was right when he said Henry would make a better palmer/priest than a king.

I actually LIKE Henry a lot!! He's good-hearted, merciful, and kind. His devout faith keeps his focus on heavenly things, which would be good if he could balance it with being focused on his kingdom too. At one point he even quotes the words of Christ, saying to the rebelling masses, "They know not what they do." All of his dialogue is heavily religious and I like that, even though it also contributes to his fatal flaw.

I think towards the end Henry begins to realize that he's not doing a good job as king, and he regrets it, but seems to be unable to change his ways. He stands at the edge of a battlefield, and won't fight or flee. Make a decision, stupid-head!

Queen Margaret is so self-absorbed and full of self-pity. What a whiner! I got so sick of hearing her whine about everything little thing. Poor little Margaret didn't get everything her way. boo hoo. She's manipulative and deceitful, and I hate her. She's makes an interesting character though!

The Duchess was so mean and ornery and bossy and hateful! I felt so bad for her poor husband. He tried to be nice, but she just had to feed her traitorous ambition. Another good villain with plenty of sass!

The creepiness factor in the play is off the charts! Ghosts, and beheadings, and crows feeding off the corpses, and the nasty Cardinal calling on demons or something. The line about killing the babies made me cringe, even though no babies are actually killed. Cade's rebellion was just awful! Killing innocent people willy-nilly, and the grotesque Cade inciting the people to such violence, rape, and murder, and burning the town. Bleh.

I prefer a comedy, thanks.

Favorite quote: "Where thou art, there is the world."