Henry VI, Part Two (Oxford Shakespeare) (Pt.2) [Hardcover]

William Shakespeare (Author), Roger Warren (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198130007 | ISBN-13: 978-0198130000 | Publication Date: February 27, 2003

For this new edition of Henry VI, Part Two, Roger Warren draws on his experience of the play both in rehearsal and performance to focus its theatricality and contemporary relevance, as well as providing a detailed commentary and a fresh consideration of the relation between the two original texts.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Warren's impressively scholarly edition of Henry IV, Part 2 is genuinely new and adroitly negotiates the relation between the Folio and Quarto texts of the play. Warren provides a thorough and exemplary scholarly introduction."--Studies in English Literature 1500-1900

About the Author

Roger Warren is a Senior Lecturer, University of Leicester, as well as Editor of Cymbeline and co-editor, with Stanley Wells, of Twelfth Night for the Oxford Shakespeare.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 27, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198130007
• ISBN-13: 978-0198130000
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,544,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23. The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are sparse. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a merchant of some standing in his community. William probably went to the King's New School in Stratford, but he had no university education. In November 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior, who was pregnant with their first child, Susanna. She was born on May 26, 1583. Twins, a boy, Hamnet ( who would die at age eleven), and a girl, Judith, were born in 1585. By 1592 Shakespeare had gone to London working as an actor and already known as a playwright. A rival dramatist, Robert Greene, referred to him as "an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers." Shakespeare became a principal shareholder and playwright of the successful acting troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later under James I, called the King's Men). In 1599 the Lord Chamberlain's Men built and occupied the Globe Theater in Southwark near the Thames River. Here many of Shakespeare's plays were performed by the most famous actors of his time, including Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, and Robert Armin. In addition to his 37 plays, Shakespeare had a hand in others, including Sir Thomas More and The Two Noble Kinsmen, and he wrote poems, including Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. His 154 sonnets were published, probably without his authorization, in 1609. In 1611 or 1612 he gave up his lodgings in London and devoted more and more time to retirement in Stratford, though he continued writing such plays as The Tempest and Henry VII until about 1613. He died on April 23 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. No collected edition of his plays was published during his life-time, but in 1623 two members of his acting company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put together the great collection now called the First Folio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A particularly chaotic history, December 24, 2011

By 

Ash Ryan (Salt Lake City, Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Henry VI, Part Two (Arkangel Shakespeare) (Audio CD)

Shakespeare's histories are best read back to back in sequence, which gives a broader context and more of a historical sense. It can be a bit confusing to just take in one at random, more or less like dropping in on the middle of a story.

That is particularly true here, in the second part (of three) about the reign of Henry VI. There is a lot going on in this play, and some of the acts seem to be there mainly to move us along in the historical narrative as efficiently as possible. There are some interesting characters who Shakespeare takes some extra time to develop a bit more, but most of them are just various plotters in various factions who get killed off by each other in short order.

The most interesting part of this play is Act IV, which is all about Jack Cade's rebellion. Shakespeare portrays him as nothing more than a rabble-rousing, populist demagogue, and brutally satirizes such movements as pandering to the lowest common denominator. Cade promises his followers, who are mostly petty criminals, a sort of communist utopia, with an unending supply of free booze. Then, as his first official act, he executes a clerk for being literate enough to be able to sign his own name, rather than simply making a mark like a plain, honest man---and likewise promises to "kill all the lawyers." And things go downhill from there.

This isn't one of Shakespeare's best histories, but it has its merits and is definitely not bad either. This fully dramatized audio edition is quite well done and easy to follow---a very good way to experience these plays.