Henry VI Part III is the third of William Shakespeare's plays set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England, and prepares the ground for one of his best-known and most controversial plays: the tragedy of King Richard III (Richard III of England). It follows on from Henry VI, part 1 and Henry VI, part 2.
The play is considered the best of the three "Henry VI" plays and evidence of Shakespeare's ability to produce scenes of moving drama. Of particular note are Act I, Scene 4, a dramatic torture followed by an indictment of the vicious Queen, Act II, Scene 5, a gloomy commentary by the title character on the ravages of war and the trials of kingship, and Act V, Scenes 5 and 6, in which two significant characters are killed in an unrealistic albeit dramatically effective manner. Act III, Scene 2, a comic courtship, also hints at the romantic comedies to come.
Like the preceding plays, "King Henry VI, Part III" is biased. Shakespeare writes from an anti-Yorkist standpoint most of the time, with the exception of Act I, Scene 4, which slanders Margaret of Anjou. Richard, Duke of Gloucester in particular is treated unfairly, and aged considerably in order to enable his increased participation
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Shakespeare - King Henry VI
