Henry IV

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

Henry IV

edited by David Bevington

（The Oxford Shakespeare）

Clarendon Press , Oxford University Press, 1987-

  • pt. 1
  • pt. 1 : pbk
  • pt. 2
  • pt. 2 : pbk

Other Title

Henry the fourth

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Note

Pt. 2: edited by René Weis

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

pt. 1 : pbk ISBN 9780192814494

Description

During Shakespeare's lifetime, Henry IV was his most popular play. Today, Sir John Falstaff still towers above Shakespeare's other comic inventions. This edition considers the play in the context of various critical approaches, offers a history of the play in performance from Shakespeare's time to ours, and provides useful information on its historical background. Readers will also find detailed commentary on individual words and phrases, and selections from Shakespeare's sources.

Table of Contents

  • Reception, reputation and date
  • sources - "The Chronicles"
  • Daniel's "Civil Wars"
  • "Famous Victories" and the Prince's "Wild Youth"
  • Falstaff and the vice
  • Falstaff as soldier
  • other Falstaff antecedents
  • providential views of history versus Renaissance scepticism
  • the question of structural unity
  • the pattern of oppositions - Hotspur and Falstaff on honour
  • from feudal chivalry to pragmatism - language and political change
  • fathers and sons - role-playing and identity
  • Falstaff's cowardice and lying - his play world
  • the "education" of Prince Hal
  • the rejection of Falstaff
  • the play in performance
  • the text
  • editorial procedures
  • "The History of King Henry the Fourth, Part I". Appendix: Shakespeare's chronicle sources.
Volume

pt. 2 : pbk ISBN 9780192831439

Description

Rene Weis reveals Shakepeare's use of multiple sources to be eclectic in the extreme in this radical reconsideration of the play's date and text. He also argues for the first time that Falstaff was called Oldcastle in Part 2 as well as in Part I. The play's striving towards a form of order, peace, and legitimacy is explored in relation to Part I and through rigorous attention to structure and language. A full account of the play's history in performance and on film yields a fascinating reflection of its relationship to national triumph and crisis, as well as the diverse idealogical interpretations it has inspired.

Table of Contents

  • LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
  • INTRODUCTION
  • EDITORIAL PROCEDURES
  • TEXT
  • INDEX
Volume

pt. 1 ISBN 9780198129158

Description

As Henry's throne is threatened by rebel forces, England is divided. The characters reflect these oppositions, with Hal and Hotspur vying for position, and Falstaff leading Hal away from his father and towards excess. During Shakespeare's lifetime Henry IV, Part I was his most reprinted play, and it remains enormously popular with theatregoers and readers. Falstaff still towers among Shakespeare's comic inventions as he did in the late 1590s. David Bevington's introduction discusses the play in both performance and criticism from Shakespeare's time to our own, illustrating the variety of interpretations of which the text is capable. He analyses the play's richly textured language in a detailed commentary on individual words and phrases and clearly explains its historical background.

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