William Shakespeare
Henry VI, Part 2
The full script in Final Draft, Word & PDF
Faction, ambition and the Cade rebellion unravel the court of Henry VI as York moves toward the crown.
PDFs Only
$4.99
- ✓ Stageplay PDF (117 pp.)
- ✓ Screenplay PDF (104 pp.)
- ✓ Instant download
Full Package
$12.99
- ✓ Final Draft (.fdx)
- ✓ Microsoft Word + RTF
- ✓ Screenplay + Stageplay PDFs
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- Genre
- History
- Written
- c. 1590–1592
- Setting
- England
- Scenes
- 24
- Speaking roles
- 62
- Uncut running time
- ~3h 00m
What happens in Henry VI, Part 2
Henry VI marries Margaret of Anjou. She and Suffolk plot against the king's uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, who is arrested and found dead. Suffolk is blamed and banished, and is killed by pirates. Meanwhile Richard, Duke of York, secretly plans to claim the throne and sends the Kentish rebel Jack Cade to stir up trouble in England.
Cade leads a rebellion of commoners, enters London and turns violent before he is defeated and killed. York returns from Ireland with an army, now openly claiming the crown. At the battle of St Albans, York and his sons Edward and Richard defeat the royal forces. The king and queen flee. The play ends with the Wars of the Roses fully under way.
See the formatting
The first page of Act I, exactly as it appears in the files you download.
The biggest roles
Share of the play's spoken words, counted from the script. 62 characters speak; 44 of them have under 1% of the text — natural candidates for doubling.
| Role | Share of the text | Speeches |
|---|---|---|
| York | | 63 |
| Queen Margaret | | 66 |
| King Henry VI | | 84 |
| Gloucester | | 72 |
| Suffolk | | 69 |
| Cade | | 67 |
| Warwick | | 33 |
| Duchess | | 22 |
For directors
This is the largest cast of any play in this group, with 62 speaking roles, 44 of them under 1 percent, and no dominant lead: York has about 12 percent of the words, Queen Margaret 10, King Henry 10 and Gloucester 9, with six roles over 5 percent. It rewards a large company and heavy doubling. The uncut estimate of 180 minutes is long. The Cade scenes provide strong comic and violent material for a group of featured actors.
Cutting notes
- Trim the conjuring scene and the long exchanges about Gloucester's wife Eleanor.
- Shorten the Cade scenes, keeping the best-known passages about lawyers and literacy.
- Compress the sequences of quarrels at court, such as the dispute over the armourer and his apprentice.
For teachers
Students study the breakdown of order, the role of the common people, ambition, and the weakness of a pious king. Frequently taught material includes the fall of Gloucester, Suffolk's banishment and death, the Cade rebellion with its attack on lawyers and learning, and York's claim to the throne. It is often examined for its presentation of populist politics and for the shape of the first tetralogy.
Questions
Is this the complete, uncut text of Henry VI, Part 2?
Yes. Every file contains the full play — 24 scenes and about 24,500 spoken words. Cut it yourself in Word or Final Draft to fit your running time.
What is the difference between the stageplay and screenplay layouts?
The stageplay layout indents stage directions and sets dialogue full-width, like a theatre script. The screenplay layout follows film conventions: scene headings and action flush left, character names centred, dialogue in a narrower column. Both tiers include both layouts as PDFs; the Full Package adds editable Final Draft and Word files of each.
Can I use this Henry VI, Part 2 script for a production or a class?
Yes. Shakespeare's plays are in the public domain, so there are no royalties to pay for staging them. Edit, stage, film or teach with these files.
How do I receive the files?
Right after checkout you land on a private download page, and the link is also emailed to you. It keeps working, so you can re-download any time.
