Shakespeare's primary sources for Henry VI, Part 3, were Holinshed's Chronicles (second edition, 1587), Hall's The Union of the two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and York (third edition, 1550), and the anonymous play The True Tragedy of Richard Duke of York, which could have been first printed in 1595. A few other works might have influenced Shakespeare in constructing the play, including Spenser's Faerie Queen, which was a possible source for the references to the sun in Act II, Scene I, and A Mirror for Magistrates, a popular collection of biographies with an overt didactic message. It seems that Shakespeare also used a popular poem called Romeus and Juliet for part of Henry VI, Part 3, in addition to his later tragedy by that very name.
How to cite this article:
Mabillard, Amanda. Shakespeare's Sources for King Henry VI, Part 3. Shakespeare Online. < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sources/3henryvisources.html >.
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