The Third Part of King Henry VI (The New Cambridge Shakespeare) - Hardcover

Shakespeare, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 052137331X ISBN 13: 9780521373319

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1993

Synopsis

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries, textual notes on the plays and poems and an extensive Introduction. Shakespeare's plays about the reign of King Henry VI were written at the beginning of his career. A recent series of outstanding productions has demonstrated their theatrical vitality, and their sceptical questioning of Elizabethan orthodoxies has been understood through revisionist readings of the history of Shakespeare's own times. In The Third Part of King Henry VI, Shakespeare extends his essay on monarchical politics by contrasting two kings, the good but ineffective Henry VI with his rival, the sensual and victorious Edward IV. He also shows the perils of aristocratic factionalism in a series of scenes that display the grievous wounds caused by the Wars of the Roses.

About this title

Book Description

In The Third Part of King Henry VI, Shakespeare extends his essay on monarchical politics by contrasting two kings, the good but ineffective Henry VI with his rival, the sensual and victorious Edward IV. He also shows the perils of aristocratic factionalism in a series of scenes that display the grievous wounds caused by the Wars of the Roses.

Synopsis

Lively, instructive access to Shakespeare's rich and complex works. A series of outstanding productions by the Royal Shakespeare Company and others has recently demonstrated the theatrical vitality of Shakespeare's plays about the reign of Henry VI. In The Third Part of King Henry VI Shakespeare extends his essay on monarchical politics by contrasting two kings, the good but ineffective Henry VI with his rival, the sensual and victorious Edward IV. He also offers more evidence of the perils of aristocratic factionalism in a series of scenes that display the grievous wounds caused by the Wars of the Roses. Here we watch the savage death of the Duke of York at the hands of Queen Margaret, the moving lament of King Henry as he witnesses the slaughter of the battle of Towton where the Lancastrians were defeated, and, finally, Henry's death at the hands of Richard of Gloucester, later King Richard III.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 052137331X
• ISBN 13: 9780521373319
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 248
• Editor: Hattaway Michael