Henry VIII (play)
Overview
 
The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight is a history play
Shakespearean history
In the First Folio, the plays of William Shakespeare were grouped into three categories: comedies, histories, and tragedies. This categorisation has become established, although some critics have argued for other categories such as romances and problem plays. The histories were those plays based on...

 by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

 and (allegedly) John Fletcher
John Fletcher (playwright)
John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...

, based on the life of Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

. An alternative title, All is True, is recorded in contemporary documents, the title Henry VIII not appearing until the play's publication in the First Folio
First Folio
Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. is the 1623 published collection of William Shakespeare's plays. Modern scholars commonly refer to it as the First Folio....

 of 1623. Stylistic evidence indicates that the play was written by Shakespeare in collaboration with, or revised by, his successor, John Fletcher
John Fletcher (playwright)
John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...

.
Quotations

Order gave each thing view.

Norfolk, scene i

No man’s pie is freedFrom his ambitious finger.

Buckingham, scene i

Anger is likeA full-hot horse, who being allow’d his way,Self-mettle tires him.

Norfolk, scene i

Be to yourselfAs you would to your friend.

Norfolk, scene i

Heat not a furnace for your foe so hotThat it do singe yourself.

Norfolk, scene i

’T is but the fate of place, and the rough brakeThat virtue must go through.

Wolsey, scene ii

The mirror of all courtesy.

2 Gentleman, scene i

This bold bad man.

Lord Chamberlain, scene ii

’T is better to be lowly born,And range with humble livers in content,Than to be perk'd up in a glistering grief,And wear a golden sorrow.

Anne, scene iii

Orpheus, with his lute, made trees,And the mountain-tops that freeze,Bow themselves when he did sing.

Singer, scene i

 
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