, Research Paper
From the start, this play seemed scourged.
It closed after its debut because a fire burned down the theater where
it was being performed. Critics have lambasted Henry VIII for its lack
of action and rather anticlimactic ending. But the play was designed more
as a display piece for its rich and elaborate staging and costumes than
for its action or intrigue.
Another criticism leveled at the drama
was its avoidance of the issues of the Protestant Reformation in England.
Shakespeare was careful not to imply that the events of the play Henry’s
divorce of Katherine and his subsequent marriage to Anne – had led in any
way to England’s still smoldering break with the Church in Rome. By limiting
himself to a more subdued plot, Shakespeare tactfully avoided insulting
the ruling House of Tudor. On the other hand, the drama does explore the
type of political intrigue that may have actually taken place in the court
of this flamboyant and controversial monarch.