Rebellion and Challenges to the Throne in Shakespeare’s Henry VI: An Analysis of Gender Subversion, Popular Rebellion and Aristocratic Treason in Shakespeare’s First Three History Plays

de Saint Moulin, Aliénor
(2026)

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Details

Supervisors
De Bruyn, Ben
Faculty
Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres
Degree label
Master [60] en langues et lettres modernes, orientation générale
Abstract
This Master’s thesis aims to investigate the portrayal of rebellion and the different kind of challenges to the throne encountered by the king in Shakespeare’s Henry VI. It also analyse the ties between gender subversion, popular rebellion and aristocratic treason as well as the influence of the political context of early modern England over Shakespeare’s writing. While a number of studies have already been carried out on these themes separately, they have not yet been compared and connected to each other. Drawing on the work of scholars such as Phyllis Rackin and Stephen Greenblatt, this thesis argues that rebellion can be depicted in various ways, and that all these different types of rebellion are interacting with each other in the plays. Analysing them together allows for a richer and more complete picture of rebellion in Henry VI.