Despite the title, the king is a minor character in this – as indeed he was in all three Shakespeare plays which bear his name. Another thing all three shared in common was Shakespeare's inability to figure out who the main character was - Joan of Arc? super hero Talbot? - although it does have a central topic, namely the revolt of the French.
There is a really, really high death toll and some bits which are laughable, such as Talbot’s big speech about Salisbury dying while Salisbury is dying (you can imagine Salisbury saying ‘I’m not dead yet’ during this). There is plenty happening to keep you interested, although there is no sense of closure -this is very much a "part one" work.
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