Henry VI

While among the most popular histories in Shakespeare's canon, Henry VI, Part I (sometimes written as 1 Henry VI) is thought to have been co-authored by famed playwright and Shakespeare contemporary, Thomas Nashe. Some critics believe this play to be among the weakest in the famous First Folio of 1623, pointing to more evidence of a possible co-author. Set during the life of King Henry VI of England, the ca. 1591 history details the time before the War of the Roses. Scholars frequently study the play for its comments on chivalry and the plays on the saintly and good versus the demonic and evil.