Henry VIII
Arkangel Shakespeare
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Narrated by:
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Paul Jesson
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Jane Lapotaire
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Timothy West
About this listen
King Henry is married to Katherine of Aragon, but he has been smitten by the charms of the queen's maid of honor, Anne Bullen, and is tempted to divorce his dignified and noble wife.
Meanwhile, the lords of England resent the influence of Henry's trusted advisor, Cardinal Wolsey, who is gradually drawing power into his own hands. As Katherine and Wolsey suffer their tragic falls, new figures rise to fill their places, but they, too, will be brought low by the inexorable sweep of time and fortune.
This colorful history play, possibly written in collaboration with John Fletcher, comes from the very end of Shakespeare's dramatic career.
Paul Jesson plays Henry VIII, and Jane Lapotaire plays Queen Katherine. Timothy West is Cardinal Wolsey.
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Featured Article: 50+ Timeless Shakespeare Quotes
From knock-knock jokes to the wild goose chase, we owe many of our most-used and best-loved phrases to the talent of the Bard. His words are timeless in their direct wisdom, their witty humor, and their surprising applicability to modern life: its nature, its purpose, and its pitfalls. We’ve collected some of our favorite William Shakespeare quotes for when you want to think about life’s big questions, wax poetic on the nature of love, or just need a good laugh. Immerse yourself in these Shakespeare quotes to dive into the comedies and tragedies penned by the Bard of Avon.
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Brilliantly manipulative and entirely amoral, the hero-villain Richard is one of Shakespeare's greatest roles. The Yorkists have emerged victorious from the civil wars and Edward IV wears the English crown. But Edward's misshapen brother Richard harbors kingly ambitions and will stop at nothing to achieve the throne. In a fatal battle on Bosworth Field, Richard meets the ghosts of all whom he has murdered and the Earl of Richmond, the future King Henry VII.
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Spectacular acting
- By Claire on 02-27-18
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Henry VI, Part 2
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: David Tennant, Kelly Hunter, Norman Rodway, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
- Original Recording
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Young King Henry VI has married the beautiful Margaret of Anjou but the new queen is ruthless and ambitious. Supported by the powerful Duke of Suffolk, Margaret plots the overthrow of her enemies, chief among them the Duke of Gloucester. But the Duke of York also aspires to the crown, and the common people, led by Jack Cade, are in rebellion. To the despair of the mild young king, England descends into civil war.
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First thing we do, let's kill all the reviewers!
- By Darwin8u on 02-07-17
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Julius Caesar: The Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Michael Feast, John Bowe, Adrian Lester
- Length: 2 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
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At the heart of this tragic history is one of Shakespeare's most noble characters, the statesman Brutus, who is caught in a devastating conflict between private affection and public duty.
Julius Caesar has become the most powerful man in the Rome. Does his power now threaten the very existence of the Republic itself? A conspiracy is hatched, one that will have fatal consequences not only for Caesar and the conspirators but for the future history of the ancient world.
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Riveting!
- By 1624 on 06-15-15
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Cymbeline: The Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Sophie Thompson, Ben Porter, Jack Shepherd, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 19 mins
- Original Recording
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Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline, is persecuted by her wicked stepmother, the Queen, and by Cloten, the Queen's doltish son. Disguised as a boy, she sets out to find her husband, the banished Posthumus. On her journey, she unwittingly meets her two brothers, stolen from the court as infants. Posthumus, meanwhile, has been convinced by the villainous Iachimo that Imogen is unchaste and agrees to a test of her faithfulness.
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Has its moments but it has a lot less than I hoped
- By Darwin8u on 12-21-17
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Measure for Measure: The Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Simon Russell Beale, Roger Allam, Stella Gonet
- Length: 2 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Telling his followers he is leaving the city on affairs of state, the Duke of Vienna appoints the puritanical Angelo to govern in his absence. Will Angelo prove as virtuous as he seems once power is in his hands? Roaming the city disguised as a friar, the duke looks on as Angelo's lust for the virtuous Isabella sweeps him into the corruption he has so sternly condemned in others. The duke's manipulation at last produces a happy ending for this dark comedy, with its brilliant exploration of the themes of justice and mercy.
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Seeking death, find life
- By Darwin8u on 09-07-17
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Macbeth: The Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Hugh Ross, Harriet Walter
- Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
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The brave warrior Macbeth allows himself to be persuaded by Lady Macbeth, his wife, to slay good King Duncan and seize the throne of Scotland for himself. Macbeth achieves his ambition, but one murder proves not to be enough as he desperately attempts to eliminate all who might threaten his ill-gotten power. Descending into paranoia, Macbeth achieves his ambition but ravages his soul.
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Best theatrical recording for teaching!!!
- By Amazon Customer on 11-19-18
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Love's Labor's Lost: The Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Emma Fielding, Samantha Bond, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
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The young king of Navarre and three of his courtiers have vowed to lock themselves away for three years of study and fasting, and to forswear the company of women for this period. No sooner is their vow made than it is tested, however, as the princess of France and three of her ladies arrive in Navarre on a diplomatic mission. The young men fall instantly and hopelessly in love, and the tension between their vow and their passion forms the subject of this charming and sparkling early comedy.
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Honorificabilitudinitatibus!
- By Darwin8u on 03-29-17
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Amanda Root, David Harewood, Roy Hudd
- Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
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When Oberon, King of the Fairies, uses his magic upon four runaway lovers in a midsummer wood outside Athens, chaos ensues. Who really loves whom? Meanwhile, a band of well-meaning but bungling local actors have their rehearsal sabotaged by the mischievous Puck, who bewitches their leader, Bottom, and Titania, the Fairy Queen. The result is a lively and anarchic comedy that can only be resolved by an elaborate disentangling of spells.
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Shakespeare is rolling in his grave.
- By Zombie Gil 007 on 02-14-15
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Henry V
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Jamie Glover, Brian Cox, Elizabeth Spriggs
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Original Recording
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Henry V is a study of kingship, patriotism, and heroic determination tempered by tender comedy as Henry courts Katherine, princess of France. Henry, the noble and courageous young king of England, decides to invade France, believing he has a rightful claim to the throne. At Agincourt he leads his army into battle against the powerful French forces and, against all the odds, wins a famous victory.
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The Best Version of the Best Thing Ever Written
- By Millerhaus on 02-04-17
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Twelfth Night
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Niamh Cusack, Jonathan Firth, Amanda Root, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 11 mins
- Original Recording
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Shakespeare's most sophisticated comedy is a riotous tale of hopelessly unrequited passions and mistaken identity. Duke Orsino is in love with the noblewoman Olivia. She, however, has fallen for his servant Cesario, who is actually Viola, a woman disguised as a man, who loves Orsino: Confusion is rife. Meanwhile, Olivia's arrogant steward Malvolio is cruelly tricked by her uncle Sir Toby Belch, his friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and the maidservant Maria into believing his mistress loves him.
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If you be not mad, be gone
- By Darwin8u on 08-24-17
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Titus Andronicus
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: David Troughton, Harriet Walter, Paterson Joseph, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 42 mins
- Original Recording
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The noble Titus returns victorious to Rome bringing Tamora, Queen of the Goths as his captive. When one of Tamora's sons is condemned to die, she vows revenge, and, aided by the villainous Aaron, she exacts a terrible retribution, inaugurating a grim cycle of rape, murder, and cannibalism. This macabre, often brilliant tragedy comes from the earliest stage of Shakespeare's dramatic career.
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My tears are now prevailing orators!
- By Darwin8u on 02-10-17
What listeners say about Henry VIII
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 02-03-20
One of Shakespeare's best histories
A top-notch production of a one of the best Shakespeare histories of an endlessly fascinating era of English. history. One can't help wonder about Shakespeare's Catholic sympathies in an Elizabethan moment.
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- John Davies
- 04-07-21
An exquisite production of a lesser known play
The production and cast rose to the poetry and made this a splendid listening experience.
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- Darwin8u
- 01-04-18
Virtues written in Water
"Men's evil manners live in brass; their virtues we write in water."
- Shakespeare & Fletcher, Henry VIII
What do you get when you co-write a play and the other guy phones-it-in? What do you do when the other guy is William Shakespeare and his phoned-in stuff is still better than most writing you've seen or your own writing? I guess you just do what you do, write your scenes, work hard, and shut up. Here are my three main knocks against this play:
1. Phoned-in by the Bard (see also Cymbeline).
2. Co-written by John Fletcher (see also The Two Noble Kinsmen)
3. Quasi-propaganda crap for the Tudors see also ("Too soon?, Too soon?").
For those interested, according to Erdman and Fogel in 'Evidence for Authorship: Essays on Problems of Attribution,' the breakdown of authorship for this play is the following:
Shakespeare: Act I, scenes i and ii; II,iii and iv; III,ii, lines 1–203 (to exit of King); V,i.
Fletcher: Prologue; I,iii; II,i and ii; III,i, and ii, 203–458 (after exit of King); IV,i and ii; V ii–v; Epilogue.
Anyway, the play is so bad it basically destroyed the Globe Theatre.* I kid, I kid.
Favorite Lines:
"Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot
That it do singe yourself.” (Act 1, Scene 1)
"I have touched the highest point of all my greatness;
And from that full meridian of my glory
I haste now to my setting: I shall fall
Like a bright exhalation in the evening,
And no man see me more.” (Act 3, Scene 2)
"Press not a falling man too far!” (Act 3, Scene 2)
“We all are men, in our own natures frail, and capable of our flesh; few are angels.” (Act 5, Scene 2).
*Technically, it was a canon shot during the play that caught the thatched roof on fire, but give me a bit of poetic license here.
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9 people found this helpful