William Shakespeare's Henry IV Part I tells the story of Henry IV's young son, Prince Hal, who has abandoned his courtly duties in favor of time in taverns with drunks like his friend, Falstaff. When a group of rebels arise in an attempt to take the thrown from Henry IV, Hal must resume his place amount the nobles while not abandoning the charisma that made him such a loveable person to the casual folk in the taverns.
Henry IV, Part II is a historical play and part of a four-part epic dramatizing the reign of the English Kings from Richard II to Henry V. It focuses on Henry's relationship with the scurrilous Falstaff and with the clash between their friendship, Falstaff's expectations of cronyism, and Henry's feelings of duty to the people of England. It ends with Henry choosing England and purging London's streets of crime and licentiousness.
Henry VI, Part I is the story of its title character, Henry VI of England, and of his struggle to keep England together during a period of infighting and scheming. Henry's kingdom crumbles steadily, though, and his French territories are lost one by one as unrest foments among the English nobility. The play's culmination is involved in the beginning of the conflict known as the War of the Roses, a clash between Henry's Lancastrian family and supporters and the rival Yorkists.
King Henry VI Part 2 is a historical play by William Shakespeare about Henry VI of England. The play is the second in a series of three plays about Henry VI and concerns itself with the internal conflicts of English nobility before the War of Roses. King Henry VI marries Margaret of Anjou and, through her, various nobles attempt to wrest the thrown from Henry. The actors take sides between the House of York and Henry's House of Lancaster, culminating in a battle and defeat for Henry's allies.
King Henry VI, Part III is the third part of Shakespeare's history play Henry VI. It focuses primarily on the historical War of the Roses, a conflict between Henry VI of England and Richard, Duke of York. The play contains multiple detailed battle scenes and deals extensively with the horrors of war and with the unrest of England as a nation with its nobles at one another's throats. Henry is portrayed as remorseful of the blood he has shed. The play ends with Henry's death and defeat.
First published in the 1400s, Le Morte d'Arthur tells the story of King Arthur and his knights. Written in Middle English, it compiles a number of French stories and gives them an English identity. Stories include the quest for the Holy Grail, the tragic love story of Tristan and Isolde, and Arthur's death at the hands of Mordred, his son. The idea of courtly love is explored throughout the book, in the story of Tristan and Isolde, and in the affair between Sir Launcelot and Queen Guinevere.
Siddhartha is the story of the eponymous protagonist who leaves his life as a Brahmin in ancient India to seek enlightenment. Along with his friend Govinda, Siddhartha experiences many trials and travails before eventually meeting the Buddha and beginning on the road to true wisdom and enlightenment. The novel dwells on themes of love, asceticism, truth, and hero worship. In the end Siddartha becomes a guru and attains true enlightenment.