Character Relationship Map: Anna Boleyn

Characters

• Sir Henry Norris (played by Paul Hartmann) — supporting

  A knight serving Henry VIII and Anna Boleyn's childhood sweetheart. He believes Anna loves the King, though she still has feelings for him, and later meets her in the forest. The Duke of Norfolk helps...

• Duke of Norfolk (played by Ludwig Hartau) — supporting

  Anna Boleyn's uncle and host after her return from France. He escorts her from Queen Catherine's chamber when the King arrives unexpectedly and later acts against Sir Henry Norris by helping instigate...

• Mark Smeaton (played by Ferdinand von Alten) — supporting

  A court poet who sees Sir Henry Norris leaving Anna Boleyn in the forest and later portrays Anna as an adulteress with Norris as her secret lover. After Anna rejects his advances, he testifies against...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Mark Smeaton → Sir Henry Norris (Conflict False Accuser)

  Mark Smeaton portrays the returning noblewoman as an adulteress and Norris as her secret lover, contributing to Norris's arrest.

• Duke of Norfolk → Sir Henry Norris (Conflict Political Adversary)

  The Duke of Norfolk instigates Norris's arrest after the poem accuses the returning noblewoman and Norris of adultery.

Story Analysis

A court romance becomes a political and religious struggle that ends in accusation, coercion, and execution.

Plot Progression

1. Return To A Dangerous Court
2. Desire And Royal Ambition
3. Marriage Against The Old Order
4. Suspicion At The Forest Edge
5. Poem, Trial, And Execution