Henry Viii (New Penguin Shakespeare S.) - Softcover

Humphreys, A.; Shakespeare, William

3.5

9,085 ratings by Goodreads

9780140707229: Henry Viii (New Penguin Shakespeare S.)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140707220 ISBN 13: 9780140707229

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 1981

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Extensive critical and historical commentaries accompany Shakespeare's tragedy of the life of the English king.

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Review:

Believed to be Shakespeare's very last play, Henry VIII is probably best remembered as the play that, when performed in June 1613, led to the Globe Theatre burning down due to the fireworks and cannon fire listed in the stage directions. However, the play has puzzled critics, who can see little more in it than a nostalgic account of Henry's reign, and the prophetic birth and christening of Elizabeth, Shakespeare's future Queen, that takes place at the end of the play.

Henry VIII deals with the intrigue that surrounds Henry's court, and in particular the controversial figure of Cardinal Wolsey, and Henry's separation from his wife Katherine and infatuation with Anne Bullen. However, there is little sense of the psychological complexity created by Shakespeare in earlier history plays such as Henry V. Henry VIII himself is a grand but distant figure, and the virulent anti-Catholicism lacks complexity. Within an increasingly troubled political period, the final hopeful invocation of "peace, plenty, love, truth" seems rather flat, as does the play as a whole. This has led many critics to argue that Shakespeare was just one of many collaborators in the writing of the play. --Jerry Brotton

Review:

Halio gives a useful historical summary of the split from Rome (Years Work in English Studies)

Textual apparatus is of a high standard . . . the commentary provides succinct notes on chronological and historical detail, pointed reference to sources used and works that supplement the playwrights' sources, and a comprehensive gloss to problematic words and phrases usefully keyed to a separate index. This is an excellent edition for undergraduate study: the introduction works to consolidate previous critical approaches without itself ever offering restrictive pronouncements on how to read the play, while the text and commentary are set out in a clear, uncrowded manner. Attention to the working needs of the student is evident throughout (Matthew Woodcock, University College, Oxford, Sixteenth Century Journal XXXII/1 (2001))

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