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War of the Roses, a la Shmoop. Like many artists, Shakespeare was itching

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to speak his mind about the hot news items of his day.

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TMZ wasn’t around just yet, so somebody had to step up.

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Headlines included juicy tidbits like the Irish and Northern Rebellions, and the ongoing

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war with Spain.

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The English were also getting a little nervous about the country’s future, since Queen

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Elizabeth the first was hardly a spring chicken, and had no kids in the on deck circle.

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Plenty of good material here for a dramatic play, right? But the plot thickened when Her

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Majesty banned all political commentary. Darn censorship…

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So… how do you make witty observations about current affairs when your axe-happy ruler

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is breathing down your neck? The answer is to go back to a similarly dysfunctional

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period in history: the War of the Roses.

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Sure, it sounds like a catfight at a garden party, but it was more like a really bloody

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game of tug of war over the crown of England.

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Check out this Game of Thrones... the House of Lancaster and the House of York were having

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a major disagreement over who should be the rightful ruler of England.

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Instead of agreeing to disagree, there was a flurry of army-gathering, king-capturing,

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drawing up of evil plans, and tacking-on of Roman numerals.

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This cloud did have one warm and fuzzy lining; each faction had a rose as their symbol…

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white for York supporters, red for Lancaster… which definitely made it the prettiest-sounding

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war ever.

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30 years and lots of dead noblemen later, a future playwright had his cast of characters.

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That was easy! Going back in time was a good way for Shakespeare

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to weasel out of Queen Elizabeth’s gag order, but it was also a way to lay some knowledge

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on the masses.

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As you may have gathered, the 16th and 17th centuries had little in the way of media outlets.

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If you wanted to brush up on your history, you couldn't turn to the Biography Channel

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or ask Siri a question.

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Sure, there were books around, but those were for rich people who could, you know… read.

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Shakespeare’s plays had plenty of entertainment value, but some ticketholders may have been

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watching for educational purposes. 

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Shakespeare’s plots take some liberties here and there…

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...but many of the characters in his War of the Roses plays are legit. When folks packed

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into a theatre for Richard III or one of those never-ending Henry sequels…

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...they learned a little about kings and queens of long ago. And came away with some pretty

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cool new insults, to boot. So what’s the key to the Bard’s secret

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code?

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Do his historical plays connect England’s past to Shakespeare’s present?

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Was the War of the Roses the perfect way to outfox the queen?

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Are Shakespeare’s plays an attractive way of sneaking some history into your diet?

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Or did he just really like the name “Henry?” Shmoop amongst yourselves.

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