They were not a tribute to anyone. History plays were a genre well-established before Shakespeare even wrote Henry VI. They taught the English people something of their own history in an easy-to-digest and entertaining if not overly accurate form. Such entertainment remains popular, viz. The Tudors.
Of course there were censorship rules to be obeyed--the current monarch and his or her ancestors should be shown in a good light and patriotism should be encouraged. Hence the patriotic play Henry V, as well as parts of King John, Henry VI Part 1 and the famous "this earth, this realm, this England" speech by John of Gaunt in Richard II.
They were not a tribute to anyone. History plays were a genre well-established before Shakespeare even wrote Henry VI. They taught the English people something of their own history in an easy-to-digest and entertaining if not overly accurate form. Such entertainment remains popular, viz. The Tudors.
Of course there were censorship rules to be obeyed--the current monarch and his or her ancestors should be shown in a good light and patriotism should be encouraged. Hence the patriotic play Henry V, as well as parts of King John, Henry VI Part 1 and the famous "this earth, this realm, this England" speech by John of Gaunt in Richard II.
Ten of Shakespeare's plays are categorized as histories.
The plays Shakespeare wrote with are traditionally divided into Histories, Comedies and Tragedies. His favourite genre of poetry was the sonnet.
Shakespeare used a number of sources for various plots. He relied mostly on Holinshed's Chronicles for the Histories.
In the First Folio, all of Shakespeare's plays were divided into Comedies, Tragedies and Histories. Although it is not always easy to place some of the plays in these three categories (and Shakespeare was well aware that they could mix and overlap and be involved with the category of the Pastoral), the division seems to have stuck.
Greek tragedy
Ten of Shakespeare's plays are categorized as histories.
Shakespeare's Histories.
Shakespeare wrote comedies, tragedies, histories, and tragicomedies.
Shakespeare wrote almost twice as many comedies as he did tragedies or histories.
If we divide Shakespeare's plays into comedies, histories and tragedies, the comedies outnumber the others almost two to one. There are ten histories and ten tragedies and eighteen comedies.
All of the ten histories and the ten tragedies.
Comedies, tragedies and histories.
No, he wrote comedies and histories as well.
The plays Shakespeare wrote with are traditionally divided into Histories, Comedies and Tragedies. His favourite genre of poetry was the sonnet.
Shakespeare used a number of sources for various plots. He relied mostly on Holinshed's Chronicles for the Histories.
Greek tragedy
In the First Folio, all of Shakespeare's plays were divided into Comedies, Tragedies and Histories. Although it is not always easy to place some of the plays in these three categories (and Shakespeare was well aware that they could mix and overlap and be involved with the category of the Pastoral), the division seems to have stuck.