Henry VIII was one of William Shakespeare's last plays. The play is referred to as All is True in contemporary documents, and the title Henry VIII does not appear until its publication in the First Folio of 1623. Stylistic evidence indicates that the play was written by Shakespeare in collaboration with his successor, John Fletcher. During one particular performance of Henry VIII, in 1613, a cannon shot used for special effects ignited the thatched roof of the Globe Theatre in London, burning down the original building.

The play depicts the relationship between Henry VIII of England, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, and Cardinal Wolsey. One of its most famous lines is Anne Boleyn's reflection that "'Tis better to be lowly born [...] / Than to be perk'd up in a glistering grief, / And wear a golden sorrow" (II.iii).

External links

• King Henry the Eight - plain vanilla text from Project Gutenberg
• The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight - HTML version of this title.