Today’s Totally Random
Line(s)
And with the same full state paced back again
To York-place, where the feast is held.
-Third Gentleman
King Henry the Eighth Act IV, Scene i, Line 110
Gents One and Two (a couple of
anonymous describers of the action) are watching the procession of Anne Boleyn
from her coronation. Gent number Three shows up, having been at the coronation
and describes it. Today’s line is the last line of his description.
These Gentles Three are all very praising of the
new queen and, given the historical context, it is no wonder. Anne Boleyn, even though
she was beheaded for supposed adultery, was nonetheless the mother of Queen
Elizabeth. And whilst this play was written a few years after the latter’s
death, and into the reign of James I, Elizabeth was still well known and well
loved by the day’s play-goers. So Will would have been careful with his
treatment of Anne, the mother. And in fact, this play ends with a
celebration of the birth of Elizabeth, the downfall of Anne Boleyn being left
for someone else to deal with. As we know, the story of Anne Boleyn and Henry’s
many attempts with many women to father a son have been well documented and
discussed in the centuries since; but not by Will.
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