The Historical Play

The Lion in Winter is a historical play in the sense that the characters are drawn from historically real figures in French and English history. The basic outlines of their place in history thus provide a context for the characters and relationships represented in the play. Goldman fills in much of this historical background through dialogue. At various points in the play, Eleanor and Henry explain the history of their lives and relationships to the younger characters. With this device, Goldman provides the reader with necessary historical information in a manner that blends naturally into the dialogue and action of the play.

In reading a historical drama, it is important to remember that the details of the characters' personalities and relationships, though based on real people, are fictional creations of the author, and should not be regarded as necessarily factually accurate. As Goldman indicates in a...