A review by shroudofthesea
Henry IV, Part Two, by William Shakespeare
3.0
“Wilt thou upon the high and giddy mast / Seal up the ship-boy’s eyes, and rock his brains / In cradle of the rude imperious surge / And in the visitation of the winds”
this would be the worst of the main set of history plays if [b:Henry VI, Part 1|286792|Henry VI, Part 1|William Shakespeare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614299384l/286792._SY75_.jpg|9933321] didn’t exist. i place the blame almost exclusively on falstaff’s shoulders, which is a slight heresy on my part, but so be it. every scene with the titular Henry IV in it is among shakespeare’s best writing, so if goodreads allowed for nuance, this would be a 3.5 bc i liked whenever falstaff was very much not present. in personal news, this finally marks my completion of the eight-play sequence (only took about 2 years), so yay for me!
this would be the worst of the main set of history plays if [b:Henry VI, Part 1|286792|Henry VI, Part 1|William Shakespeare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614299384l/286792._SY75_.jpg|9933321] didn’t exist. i place the blame almost exclusively on falstaff’s shoulders, which is a slight heresy on my part, but so be it. every scene with the titular Henry IV in it is among shakespeare’s best writing, so if goodreads allowed for nuance, this would be a 3.5 bc i liked whenever falstaff was very much not present. in personal news, this finally marks my completion of the eight-play sequence (only took about 2 years), so yay for me!