SOURCE: Anderson, Donald K. Jr. “Kingship in Ford's Perkin Warbeck.” ELH, 27, No. 3 (September, 1960): 177-93.

In the following essay, Anderson argues that Perkin Warbeck presents a lesson in kingship, where the character of Henry VII represents the ideal ruler.

John Ford is not generally considered a political dramatist, but he would seem to be one in Perkin Warbeck (first printed in 1634). Illustrating the pragmatic viewpoint of such theorists as Machiavelli and Bacon, Ford portrays his ideal king in the person of the wise and eminently practical Henry VII, and so considerable is the playwright's attention to competent and incompetent governing that Perkin Warbeck¹ might well be called a lesson in kingship.

This aspect of the play has been overlooked by most students of Ford, denied by some, and thoroughly discussed by none.² Several of its probable causes have never been noted. Furthermore, some scholars who do recognize the political...