Henry V (Penguin Shakespeare) [Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author), A R Humphreys (Editor), Ann Kaegi (Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0141013796 | ISBN-13: 978-0141013794 | Publication Date: July 2010

"Henry V" is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It is based on the life of King Henry V of England, and focuses on events immediately before and after the Battle of Agincourt (1415) during the Hundred Years' War. The play is the final part of a tetralogy, preceded by "Richard II", "Henry IV", part 1 and "Henry IV", part 2. The plot follows the young prince (a reckless and undisciplined character in "Henry IV") as he matures into a man and embarks on an attempted conquest of France.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright of the 16th and 17th centuries, now widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the word's pre-eminent dramatist. Series editor Stanley Wells. Stanley Wells is Emeritus Professor of the University of Birmingham and Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. He is General Editor of the Oxford Shakespeare, and his books include Shakespeare: the Poet and his Plays, Shakespeare: For All Time, Looking for Sex in Shakespeare, and (with Paul Edmondson) Shakespeare's Sonnets.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books (July 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141013796
• ISBN-13: 978-0141013794
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,319,284 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.