Henry VI: The First Set of Plays Composed by William Shakespeare

First reference to Henry VI comes from Philip Henslow's business records for the Rose Theatre in March of 1592. Robert Green was one of the so-called University wits, who had a Cambridge education and made his living as a writer around London. But he was also a troubled soul who spent the early 1590s drinking himself to death and living in poverty. During those final days, he composed a short work based on his life that contained several pointed observations about other writers around town. He intended to caution them about a man with only a grammar school education who dared to challenge the men who were regarded as the finest writers and poets in England.