The First Part of King Henry IV

This second edition features a new section on recent stage, film and critical interpretations.

William Shakespeare (Author), Judith Weil (Edited by), Herbert Weil (Edited by), Katharine Craik (Contributions by)

9780521868013, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 18 October 2007

254 pages, 12 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.54 kg

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations. This second edition of The First Part of King Henry IV offers a theatrical perspective on the origins of Shakespeare's play and the history of its interpretation. In their introduction the editors, Herbert and Judith Weil, clarify the play's de-centred dramatic structure and call attention to the effects of civil war on a broad range of relationships. Falstaff's unpredictable vitality is also explored, together with such important contemporaneous values as honour, friendship, festivity and reformation. Lexical glosses make the rich wordplay accessible, while the notes provide a thorough commentary on Shakespeare's transformation of his sources. A supplementary section by Katharine Craik focuses on important modern interpretations.

Introduction: Reputation
Date
The design of the play
Transforming the sources
The appeal of Falstaff and the contexts of interpretation
Stage history
Recent stage, film and critical interpretations Katharine A. Craik
Note on the text
List of characters
The play
Textual analysis
Appendix: Shakespeare and Holinshed
Reading list.

Subject Areas: Shakespeare studies & criticism [DSGS], Literary studies: general [DSB], Shakespeare plays [DDS]