The portrait of a monarchy in crisis, this historical drama concerns the famous king's efforts to secure a divorce from his dignified and popular queen in order to marry an enchanting courtesan and produce a male heir. The play ranks among Shakespeare's most sumptuous and spectacular works, offering a splendid pageant of masques and royal ceremony. Occasional lapses in historical accuracy are compensated for by keen psychological and political insights, vivid characterizations, and evocative language.
Possibly the last of Shakespeare's dramas, Henry VIII was almost certainly co-written with John Fletcher. It is a play of farewells ― to the world, to life, to power ― in which major historical characters make memorable exits, including Cardinal Wolsey's rueful observation: "Had I but served my God with half the zeal/I served my king, he would not in mine age/Have left me naked to mine enemies." Nevertheless, the play ends in triumph and hopeful expectations with the prophecy of the coming Elizabethan age.