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This magnet pictures British actor, producer and theater manager, Henry Irving (1835-1905), in his role as Cardinal Wolsey in Shakespeare's The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eighth (known as Henry VIII after 1623).
Shakespeare's first presentation of the play took place in 1612 at the Globe Theatre. Some scholars believe Shakespeare's successor John Fletcher collaborated or revised the play, and that it may have been written prior to 1603. In the play, Shakespeare played fast and loose with the truth as he deemed suitable for artistic merit and the political climate. The beheading of Anne Boleyn, for example, and the existence of Henry's last 4 wives goes unmentioned.
Two decades into his acting career, Irving began an engagement in the role of Mathias in The Bells at the Lyceum Theatre in Westminster that ran for 150 sold out nights and cemented Irving's relationship with the Batemans and the Lyceum. At Hezekiah Bateman's death, Irving took over management of the Lyceum. With his leading lady Ellen Terry and business manager Bram Stoker, Irving defined Shakespearean theater for 30 years.
Henry Irving is said to have counted his 1892 performance as Cardinal Wolsey as among his best. The cast during an 1893 U.S. tour:
| Cardinal Wolsey |
Henry Irving |
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Lord Chamberlain
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Alfred Bishop |
| King Henry VIII |
William Terriss |
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Gardiner
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Archer |
| Capucius |
Tabb |
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Lord Sands
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S. Johnson |
| Cranmer |
Vincent |
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Sir Thomas Lovell
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Belmore |
| Duke of Norfolk |
Haviland |
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Sir Anthony Denny
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Davis |
| Duke of Suffolk |
Tyars |
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Sir Nicholas Vaux
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Cushion |
| Earl of Surrey |
Clarence Hague |
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Cromwell
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Martin Harvey |
| Griffith |
Henry Howe |
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Magnet size: 4" x 3-1/2" (10.16cm x 8.89cm)
This is just one of a large selection of Tudor dynasty refrigerator magnets. See the entire collection.
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Cromwell, I did not think to shed a tear
In all my miseries; but thou hast forc’d me,
Out of thy honest truth, to play the woman.
Let’s dry our eyes: and thus far hear me, Cromwell;
And when I am forgotten, as I shall be;
And sleep in dull cold marble, where no mention
Of me must more be heard, then say I taught thee;
Say, Wolsey, that once trod the ways of glory,
Found thee a way, out of his wrack, to rise in;
A sure and safe one, though thy master miss’d it.
Mark but my fall, and that which ruin’d me.
Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition;
By that sin fell the angels how can man then,
The image of his Maker, hope to win by’t?
Love thyself last : cherish e’en hearts that hate thee;
Corruption wins not more than honesty
Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace,
To silence envious tongues: be just and fear not:
Let all the ends thou aim’st at be thy country’s,
Thy God’s, and truth’s; then if thou fall'st, 0 Cromwell,
Thou fall’st a blessed martyr. . 0 Cromwell, Cromwell,
Had I but serv’d my God with half the zeal
I serv’d my king, he would not in mine age
Have left me naked to mine enemies.
Come Cromwell, Let us go in. My spirit is broken Ahhhh.
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Unit
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SKU
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M0840
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