Shakespeare, War of the Roses, and Game of Thrones

My “appointment television” for Sundays is HBO’s Game of Thrones.  I’ve been following the development of the series from the time it was only a twinkle in the eye of HBO – before the pilot was made – and now finally the series has started and it is living up to more than my expectations.   Though I’ve read three of the four books that are so far part of A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF)  by George R. R. Martin (GRRM), and am now on the fourth,  I’m very much a novice in this fantasy world.

When I first heard about the possible TV series, and contemplated reading the first book, “A Game of Thrones,” I had my doubts I would read them all.   When I reach for a good read, I don’t tend to reach for fantasy fiction.   But aside from the obvious reason I became interested in GRRM’s books (the casting of Sean Bean as Lord Eddard Stark, one of the Point of View (POV) characters in the novels), my interest was also sparked when I read that the author was inspired by a real historical event,  The War of the Roses.

http://www.warsoftheroses.com/

I’m not a historian by any means, but I have an interest in certain historical periods, and I love a good historical novel.  The thought of reading a series of fictional novels based on a historical period I knew a little about, with political intrigue, and swords and castles was irresistible to me.  But in the last few weeks as I’ve watched Game of Thrones on Sunday I realized that most of my knowledge of the War of the Roses comes not from historical facts, but from William Shakespeare.  

http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=2902

For as long as I can remember I have watched or read the plays from Richard II to Richard III, and the Henry’s in between (Henry IV Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3, Henry V, Henry VI).  I’ve seen the plays performed by legendary actors in film and on television, and have seen the plays on stage by amateur and professional actors.  I can’t say that I can recite every line of every performance, but I can’t separate the historical facts I learned in school, from Shakespeare’s characters.

Though set in a totally fictional world, with unique and fascinating totally fictional characters, I can see how the ASOIAF books and the Game of Thrones series were and are inspired by English history, and by Shakespearean drama.    

Below are a few videos of Shakespeare’s War of the Roses or related to the history plays that I've thought about in the last few weeks while watching Game of Thrones.  

 Would love your comments as always.


One of my favorite films and a favorite speech from Richard III (Laurence Olivier):

In 1964 The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) filmed the War of the Roses series of plays, and I was lucky enough to see them a couple of decades later thanks to U.S. Public Television. Below are two clips from the RSC plays:

Sir Ian McKellen made a series of videos to help audiences better understand Shakespeare's language. Reminds me of his one man play/show, "Acting Shakespeare":

Many actors and directors have been interviewed about what Shakespeare means to them or how they prepare to play Hamlet or Macbeth, but in 1996 Al Pacino made a unique and fun film with several of his friends, including Kevin Spacey, about directing and performing Richard III, and here's a video clip from the film "Looking for Richard" (with Spanish subtitles!)

I have to say, there's something about that title, 
Looking for Richard, that really inspires me :)

Two of my favorite scenes in another of my favorite Shakespearian films,  Henry V, directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Kenneth Branagh:

Click on the link below to revisit an earlier post that includes Kenneth Branagh talking about directing:

http://whiterosewritings.blogspot.com/search/label/Kenneth%20Branagh

I'll finish my tale with a scene from Game of Thrones with Mark Addy and Sean Bean: