Henry V (Oxford Shakespeare) [Hardcover]

William Shakespeare (Author), Gary Taylor (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 1982 | Series: Oxford Shakespeare

Henry V, the climax of Shakespeare's sequence of English history plays, is an inspiring, often comic celebration of a young warrior-king. But it is also a study of the costly exhilarations of war, and of the penalties as well as the glories of human greatness. Introducing this brilliantly innovative edition, Gary Taylor shows how Shakespeare shaped his historical material, examines controversial critical interpretations, discusses the play's fluctuating fortunes in performance, and analyses the range and variety of Shakespeare's characterization. The first Folio text is radically rethought, making original use of the First Quarto (1600).

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The three individual plays launch the third edition of the venerable "Arden Shakespeare" series, which will see the entire canon reproduced in superior scholarly editions by the year 2000. The First Folio is a facsimile edition of the original 1623 publication of the bard's works.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

History play in five acts by William Shakespeare, performed in 1598-99 and published in 1600 in a quarto edition. It continues the action of the two-part Henry IV. The action of the play culminates in Henry's campaign in France with a ragtag army to seize the French crown, but the depiction of the character of Henry V (formerly known as Prince Hal) dominates the play. In the first two acts he is shown at peace and war, politic, angry, confident, sarcastic. There is an account of Falstaff's death and of a nervous watch before the Battle of Agincourt when Henry walks disguised among his fearful soldiers and prays for victory. Though almost all the fighting occurs offstage, the recruits, professional soldiers, dukes, and princes are shown preparing for defeat or victory. The king's speech to his troops before battle on St. Crispin's Day is famous for its evocation of a brotherhood in arms, but Shakespeare has placed it in a context full of ironies and challenging contrasts. There is no doubt that Kate, the French princess, marries Henry out of political necessity, but Shakespeare develops the comedy and earnestness of their wooing so that the need for human trust is evident. Shakespeare also hedges the patriotic fantasy of English greatness with hesitations and qualifications about the validity of the myth of glorious nationhood offered by the Agincourt story. In the end the chorus reminds the audience that England was to be plunged into civil war during the reign of Henry V's son. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 340 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 30, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198129122
• ISBN-13: 978-0198129127
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,435,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Publication/Version (Arden Shakespeare), March 27, 2001

By 

Damon Timm (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: King Henry V (3rd Series) (Paperback)

I looked long and hard (and asked many a scholar) for the "perfect" Shakespeare publication that I might purchase to study "King Henry V" (for a experiential education requirement, I had undertaken the translation of Henry V into American Sign Language). The Arden Shakespeare came highly recommended by everyone, and has lived up entirely to all its rave reviews.

I will never buy Shakespeare from another publisher. While these books may be slightly more expensive than a "mass market" edition, I believe that if you are going to take the time to read and understand Shakespeare, it is well worth the extra dollar or two. The Introduction, the images, and plethora of footnotes are irreplaceable and nearly neccessary for a full understanding of the play (for those of us who are not scholars already). The photocopy of the original Quatro text in the appendix is also very interesting.

All in all, well worth it! I recommend that you buy ALL of Shakespeare's work from Arden's critical editions.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Henry V - An Intriguing, Contradictory Heroic King, September 16, 2000

By 

Michael Wischmeyer (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: King Henry V (Cambridge School Shakespeare) (Paperback)

Henry V remains today as the most heroic of English Kings. The battle of Agincourt in English legend engenders patriotic emotions the way that we Americans reflect upom Washington and his army at Valley Forge. Superb leadership overcomes great adversity.

While many scholars have not judged Henry V as one of Shakespeare's more successful plays, I found Shakespeare's portrayal of Henry V fascinating and intriguing, a complicated and contradictory character. With each rereading of Henry V, I value it more.

Was he indeed "the mirror of Christendom and the glory of his country" or a cruel, calculating king willing to risk the lives of his devoted followers? On one level Shakespeare portrays the former (particularly in the voice of the Chorus), but on another level he leaves me puzzled, unsure of Henry's motives.

In the first act we see two bishops manipulate Henry V for their purposes, but on closer reading we wonder whether Henry is actually manipulating the bishops to gain justification for war against France. Shakespeare's genius allows us to interpret events in a multitiude of ways, and we find ourselves rereading Henry V again and again to rethink our previous conclusions.

If you are new to Henry V, I highly recommend reading the Cambridge School Shakespeare edition. I particularly like its use of the "facing page" format with the Shakespeare on the right page and context information, explanations, and analysis on the left. It's a little more expensive, but you will find the slight increase in cost quite worthwhile.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best edition of "Henry V", July 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: King Henry V (The New Cambridge Shakespeare) (Paperback)

Andrew Gurr's brilliant editing of Shakespeare's "Henry V" makes this essential to anyone seriously interested in this play. Gurr's introduction could almost stand on its own as a first rate scholarly article on the origins of Shakespeare's "Henry V" and the historical background in which the play was written. Domestic turmoil concerning the earl of Essex, threat of foreign invasion with the Spanish Armada, and foreign war in the Spanish Netherlands (where Sir Phillip Sidney met his untimely death) among other factors provide the impetus behind Shakespeare's most rhetorically soaring play. Of course the actual play itself is what would draw most readers, and Gurr's editing is brilliant. Based (I think) on the original so-called "Folio" version of Shakespeare's play, and including an easy to use page by page gloss, you could not ask for a better version of this play. Having written an honors thesis on this particular subject and having read Gurr's edition several times I can attest that this is the most useful and accessible edition of Shakespeare's finest play.