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I finished the second play in Shakespeare’s War of the Roses tetralogy today, Henry VI, Part 2.  Where Henry VI, Part 1 dealt with the dwindling fortunes of the English in the Hundred Years’ War, Part 2 deals with the disputes plaguing the English court under Henry VI.  Henry is a young and pious ruler, but is too weak to put a stop to the various machinations going on around him.  As the intrigues come to a head in the final two acts, England is torn apart by civil war.  The Duke of York raises an army and defeats the forces loyal to Henry at the Battle of St. Alban’s.  I enjoyed this play even more than Part 1.  Shakespeare is a master at building suspense and weaving together the various plots of the nobles into a unified storyline.  Add to that his mastery of the English language, and you have a winner.

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