The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare's History Plays

An accessible, wide-ranging and informed 2002 introduction to Shakespeare's history and Roman plays.

Michael Hattaway (Edited by)

9780521775397, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 5 December 2002

304 pages, 12 b/w illus. 3 tables
23 x 15.1 x 2 cm, 0.48 kg

'Its compendiousness and the high quality of essays dealing with virtually every aspect of Shakespeare and history make it relevant to anyone anywhere interested in Shakespeare's history plays.' Around the Globe

Shakespeare's history plays have been performed more in recent years than ever before, in Britain, North America, and in Europe. This 2002 volume provides an accessible, wide-ranging and informed introduction to Shakespeare's history and Roman plays. It is attentive throughout to the plays as they have been performed over the centuries since they were written. The first part offers accounts of the genre of the history play, of Renaissance historiography, of pageants and masques, and of women's roles, as well as comparisons with history plays in Spain and the Netherlands. Chapters in the second part look at individual plays as well as other Shakespearean texts which are closely related to the histories. The Companion offers a full bibliography, genealogical tables, and a list of principal and recurrent characters. It is a comprehensive guide for students, researchers and theatre-goers alike.

Part I. Contexts: 1. The Shakespearean history play Michael Hattaway
2. Shakespeare and the early modern history play A. J. Hoenselaars
3. Pageants, masques, and history David M. Bergeron
4. Elizabethan historiography and Shakespeare's sources Dominique Goy-Blanquet
5. Women's roles in the Elizabethan history plays Phyllis Rackin
Part II. The Plays: 6. Plantagenets, Yorkists, Lancastrians, and Tudors: Edward III, 1–3 Henry VI, Richard III Janis Lull
7. Historical legacy and fiction: the poetical reinvention of King Richard III Marie-Hélène Besnault and Michel Bitot
8. King John: changing perspectives A. J. Piesse
9. Richard II: Shakespeare and the languages of the stage Robyn Bolam
10. Henry IV Parts one and two James C. Bulman
11. King Henry V: 'The quick forge and working house of thought' Pamela Mason
12. Shakespeare's ancient Rome: difference and identity Robert S. Miola
13. Shakespeare's other historical plays R. A. Foakes
14. Theatrical afterlives Stuart Hampton-Reeves
Part III. Reference Material: Recurrent characters
Family Trees: 1. The Early Plantagenets
2. The House of Lancaster
3. The House of York
Bibliography and further reading.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: plays & playwrights [DSG], Literary studies: c 1500 to c 1800 [DSBD]