Lancaster VS York - Shakespeare

Lancaster VS York

War of the Two Roses. The Lancaster had as coat of arms a red rose, whereas the York had a white rose. So thanks to these two coats of arms the war between Lancaster and York took the name of War of the Two Roses.

Shakespeare

Starting from the War of the Two Roses we have the opportunity to jump ahead to one century, when Shakespeare wrote a famous history play, Richard III, probably written in 1594, even if the first printing was in 1596. It speak about the story of the Two Roses and Richard III, duke of Gloucester.

When we talk about a history play we mean a story about the medieval English history.

Richard III was the last of the tagenets and he fought against Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond.

Digression about the critics:

Dating the Shakespeare's plays is not easy, because few of necessary records survive.

Therefore the works must be dated combining three kinds of evidence:

1 - EXTERNAL EVIDENCE à a clear mention or reference to a particular play.

2 - INTERNAL EVIDENCE à the play includes itself a reference to an identifiable event.

3 - STYLISTIC EVIDENCE à the changes in Shakespeare's style can suggest a precise

period.

Periods of Shakespeare:

1° period à

2° period à

3° period à

4° period à