The Countess section was really quite good, and there were quite a few excellent speeches throughout. A lot of battle, but all mostly solid stuff. I think the only thing it needs is a good production for me to get attached to it’s characters— It seems like the only reason this doesn’t get as much performance attention is because of all the attribution drama, but I think it deserves more than Henry VIII at least.

I will admit it did have some of that “greatest hits” vibe of some Shakespeares (or maybe more of a “proto-greatest hits” workshopping vibe, as they tend to be early plays). Woman has to choose between moral wrongs a la Isabella in Measure, improbably prophecy comes true a la Macbeth, etc. ( )

[Edward III] - William Shakespeare?
The Shakespeare Apocrypha is the name given to a number of plays that have been attributed to William Shakespeare and have not been printed in quarto or folio editions of his work. Edward III or The reign of King Edward III is one of those plays. It does have better credentials than most others which run to about forty plays, but there has never been a firm agreement amongst Shakespeare scholars about Edward III, although in the 21st century it is more likely than not to appear in a complete works edition of Shakespeare. It was published anonymously in 1596, but was first performed in 1592. Given the date of the first performance: if it was by Shakespeare it would have been one of his earliest plays. It would more likely have been a joint effort with other writers, particularly as the first part of the play has a different feel to the second part. There have been few theatre performances of the play this century and non in the mainstream attributed to Shakespeare, which might give a clue to the perceived quality of the play. I read a version in modern English spelling free on the internet at Project Gutenberg.

It is a history play that features some of the highlights of the Reign of the Plantagenet English king Edward III. It condenses the time scale of the action so as to include The English victories over the French in the early years of the 100 years war. It covers the battles at Cressy, Poitiers. and the siege of Calais, but starts with Edward relieving the siege of Roxborough castle in the Scottish border country. The first two acts of this five act play are centred around Edwards attempts to seduce the Countess of Salisbury who is custodian of Roxborough castle while her husband is fighting in France. The Countess stands firm against the king while trying not to make an enemy of him and is assisted by the arrival of Prince Edward who calls his father to duty in his wars with King John of France. The remainder of the play takes place in France and sketches the English victories and the eventual capture of the French king and moves from one battlefield scene to another, although all of the fighting takes place offstage.

Certainly after the long seduction scenes in the first two acts the play settles down to be a retelling of history, there is no comedy, no romance and no mystery, the playwright is intent on portraying the characters of the warrior king Edward and his brave son the Black Prince. The English are triumphant over vastly superior french forces and Prince Edward is the hero twice over. The story line of the play holds together well and it is the descriptive language which must hold the readers interest and by and large it does. There is some tension when a confident King John boasts of having trapped the Prince with vastly superior forces, but a darkness covering the sun gives rise to a loss of confidence in the french forces allowing the Prince to smash his way through their army. The interest in the second half of the play is the staging of scenes from history for example the Burghers of Calais and the descriptions of the fighting. The playwright does not pull his punches in describing the horrors of warfare particularly for the ordinary people caught up in it. Here is a french citizen advising his fellow countrymen to flee the fighting:

"I might perceive five Cities all on fire,
Corn fields and vineyards, burning like an oven;
And, as the reaking vapour in the wind
Turned but aside, I like wise might discern
The poor inhabitants, escaped the flame,
Fall numberless upon the soldiers' pikes.
Three ways these dreadful ministers of wrath
Do tread the measures of their tragic march:
Upon the right hand comes the conquering King,
Upon the left his hot unbridled son,
And in the midst our nation's glittering host,
All which, though distant yet, conspire in one,
To leave a desolation where they come.
Fly therefore, Citizens, if you be wise,
Seek out some habitation further off:
Here is you stay, your wives will be abused,
Your treasure shared before your weeping eyes;
Shelter you your selves, for now the storm doth rise.
Away, away; me thinks I hear their drums:—
Ah, wretched France, I greatly fear thy fall;
Thy glory shaketh like a tottering wall."

A theme of the play is the giving and taking of oaths. While the scenes of fighting do not show a glorious war steeped in chivalry, the honour of a man's word is stoutly defended. Villiers is a french prisoner who expects to be ransomed, but when Salisbury asks him to seek a safe passage for him to Calais in France instead of a ransom he agrees. He makes the necessary arrangements in Calais and despite being strongly persuaded to remain in the town he insists on travelling back to Salisbury to remain his prisoner. Nobles do not change sides, they keep their word. This is a different world to the treachery depicted in Shakespeares plays of the wars of the Roses.

The character of Prince Edward is depicted as young fearless and brave while his father is a ruthless king skilled in the arts of war, inclined to be severe, but can be swayed to clemency for example when his queen asks him to be merciful to the Burghers of Calais:

Although experience teach us this is true,
That peaceful quietness brings most delight,
When most of all abuses are controlled;
Yet, insomuch it shall be known that we
As well can master our affections
As conquer other by the dint of sword,
Phillip, prevail; we yield to thy request:
These men shall live to boast of clemency,
And, tyranny, strike terror to thy self.

He shows contrition when the Countess in the first part of the play says she will take her own life by stabbing herself in front of him if pursues her further:


Even by that power I swear, that gives me now
The power to be ashamed of my self,
I never mean to part my lips again
In any words that tends to such a suit.
Arise, true English Lady, whom our Isle
May better boast of than ever Roman might
Of her, whose ransacked treasury hath taskt
The vain endeavor of so many pens:
Arise, and be my fault thy honor's fame,
Which after ages shall enrich thee with.
I am awakened from this idle dream.—
Warwick, my Son, Darby, Artois, and Audley!
Brave warriors all, where are you all this while?

If these lines of iambic pentameter sound like something Shakespeare might have written then you will probably be persuaded that it belongs in his collected works. When I come upon an 'anonymous' play from the late Elizabethan age then I will read it through once completely before deciding whether it is worth re-reading, either to enjoy the language, the situations or things I might have missed. I re-read this play and so 3.5 stars. ( )

I printed this out of Project Gutenberg, because I had seen it mentioned in "Disputed Will," and it is an interesting play. I was told it was traceable to 1596, and thus could be seen as an early work, or a play to which WS had contributed, due to some resemblances to more widely accepted WS works. I'd say it was about 30% Big Bill. I wonder how it reads with a group of actors doing it. ( )

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1232142.html

It's actually a play of two very distinct halves. The first two acts concern Edward III's attempts to seduce the Countess of Salisbury, which she successfully repulses; Acts III-V cover the Black Prince's campaigns in France, including the Battle of Crécy and the Burghers of Calais. Chunks of Shakespeare's sonnets are soldered into the text, which is part of the reason people think he was involved at a more substantial stage of the creative process. Certainly both halves of the play have obvious parallels among his other works, and I found the prose style enjoyable. The theory goes that the play was censored from the historical record because it is rude about the Scots, which seems entirely possible. An interesting curiosity. ( )

I am less sure than some recent scholars that this is Shakespeare's work, but the countess's defiance of Edward III
is impressive. ( )