Henry VI, Part 2

You’ve heard how some writers are paid by the word? I’m beginning to think that Shakespeare was paid by the Henry. Out of 37 plays, no less than seven of them are about kings named Henry. Shakespeare also appears to have rather inconsiderately written them out of order, starting with this one (Henry VI, Part 2,) then doing Part 3, possibly dashing off Part 1 as a quickie prequel after the first two met with great success. Faced with this veritable escarpment of Henrys, I forsook the idea of trying to find telling moments and intimate details within each play (at least for this first trilogy). Instead I opted to go for broad strokes. Near the beginning of the play, Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester, summons a spirit to ask about future events. The spirit appears but is incredibly vague. While its value to the plot is dubious, the spirit would have allowed for some cool Elizabethan special effects (i.e. a trapdoor and smoke). Representing the spirit on this card is a tiny face by the late sculptor and painter Ken Coyne. I was asked to help clear out Ken’s apartment after he died and found a small container of these faces. A bit of Photoshopping later and voila – insta-ghost! Thanks, Ken.