The final installment of Shakespeare's great historical trilogy, Henry VI, Part III portrays the devastating effects of civil war, as two families remain locked in a years-long struggle for the crown. Rich in dramatic battle scenes, the play explores how discord thrives under a weak ruler and the struggle for power divides a kingdom. The third of three plays based on the life of the England's fifteenth-century monarch, this historical drama depicts the conflicts between the York and Lancaster factions that led to the War of the Roses. Each part of the trilogy is self-contained and can be appreciated without knowledge of the others. Vivid characterization, dark comedy, and powerful language combine for a memorable portrait of a war-torn country.