Henry VI (Parts I, II and III)

by Shakespeare, William; Barnet, Sylvan

• ISBN13: 9780451529848
• ISBN10: 0451529847
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-07-01
• Publisher: SIGNET

Summary

1 Henry VI was the Rose Theatre's great draw in the spring of 1592, a dramatic tale of the lives of soldiers, diplomats, kings, and insurrectionists. It centres on the fractious instability of the court and nobility of fifteenth-century England, and their squabbles with their French counterparts. Despite its debut performance in 1592, however, 1 Henry VI does not take a printed form until its appearance some thirty years later in the 1623 Folio. There are many questions, therefore, surrounding exactly how many people wrote the play, when they did so, how it was performed, who played what part, and the nature of the manuscript behind the first performance. In his wide-ranging introduction, Michael Taylor offers answers to these questions, and discusses other key issues such as language, structure, performance history, and the role of women in the play.

Table of Contents

Shakespeare: Henry VI Part One/Henry VI Part Two/Henry VI Part Three Shakespeare: An Overview
Biographical Sketch / A Note on the Anti-Stratfordians, Especially Baconians and Oxfordians / The Shakespeare Canon / Shakespeare's English / Shakespeare's Theater / A Note on the Use of Boy Actors in Female Roles / Shakespeare's Dramatic Language: Costumes, Gestures and Silences; Prose and Poetry / The Play Text as a Collaboration / Editing Texts / Shakespeare on the Stage

Introduction to Henry VI, Part One
Henry VI, Part One
Textual Note

The Sources of Henry VI, Part One
Raphael Holinshed From Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland
Edward Hall From The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancaster and York

Commentaries
Hermann Ulrici From Shakespeare's Dramatic Art
E.M.W. Tillyard From Shakespeare's History Plays
J.P. Brockbank From The Frame of Disorder—Henry VI
Phyllis Rackin Anti-Historians: Women's Roles in Shakespeare's Histories
Ralph Fiennes Playing Henry VI
Lawrence V. Ryan Henry VI on Stage and Screen
Sylvan Barnet The Stage History Since 1989

Introduction to Henry VI, Part Two
Henry VI, Part Two
Textual Note

The Date and the Sources of Henry VI, Part Two
Edward Hall From The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancaster and York
John Foxe From Acts and Monuments of Martyrs
Anthony Munday, William Shakespeare(?), et al From Sir Thomas More

Commentaries
Samuel Johnson From The Plays of William Shakespeare
J.P. Brockbank From The Frame of Disorder—Henry VI

Introduction to Henry VI, Part Three
Henry VI, Part Three
Textual Note

The Sources of Henry VI, Part Three
Edward Hall From The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancaster and York

Commentaries
Samuel Johnson From The Plays of William Shakespeare
J.P. Brockbank From The Frame of Disorder—Henry VI
E.M.W. Tillyard From Shakespeare's History Plays

Suggested References