King Henry VI Part 3 Third Series

by Shakespeare, William; Cox, John D.; Rasmussen, Eric

• ISBN13: 9781903436318
• ISBN10: 1903436311
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-11-01
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare

Summary

John D. Coxis the DuMez Professor of English at Hope College, Michigan. He is the author ofShakespeare and the Dramaturgy of PowerandThe Devil and the Sacred in English Drama, 1350-1642, and co-editor with David Scott Kastan ofA New History of Early English Drama. Eric Rasmussenis Associate Professor of English at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is joint editor with David Bevington ofDoctor Faustusin the Revels Plays series and the World's Classics edition of Christopher Marlowe's plays, author ofA Textual Companion to 'Doctor Faustus', and co-editor of the forthcomingNorton Anthology of English Renaissance Drama. He writes the annual review of "Editions and Textual Studies" forShakespeare Survey. In their lively and engaging edition of this sometimes neglected early play, Cox and Rasmussen make a strong claim for it as a remarkable work, revealing a confidence and sureness that very few earlier plays can rival. They show how the young Shakespeare, working closely from his chronicle sources, nevertheless freely shaped his complex material to make it both theatrically effective and poetically innovative. The resulting work creates, in Queen Margaret, one of Shakespeare's strongest female roles and is the source of the popular view of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick as "kingmaker." Focusing on the history of the play in terms of both performance and criticism, the editors open it to a wide and challenging variety of interpretative and editorial paradigms including moral and feminist criticism. A thorough discussion of the origins and production of the Octavo, the two Quartos, and the First Folio lead into the play itself. A facsimile of the Octavo text, casting charts, notes on the play's battles, and genealogical tables are included as appendices. The Arden Shakespearehas developed a reputation as the pre-eminent critical edition of Shakespeare for its exceptional scholarship, reflected in the thoroughness of each volume. An introduction comprehensively contextualizes the play, chronicling the history and culture that surrounded and influenced Shakespeare at the time of its writing and performance, and closely surveying critical approaches to the work. Detailed appendices address problems like dating and casting, and analyze the differing Quarto and Folio sources. A full commentary by one or more of the play's foremost contemporary scholars illuminates the text, glossing unfamiliar terms and drawing from an abundance of research and expertise to explain allusions and significant background information. Highly informative and accessible, Arden offers the fullest experience of Shakespeare available to a reader.

Author Biography

John D. Cox is the DuMez Professor of English at Hope College, Michigan. He is the author of Shakespeare and the Dramaturgy of Power and The Devil and the Sacred in English Drama, 1350-1642, and co-editor with David Scott Kastan of A New History of Early English Drama.

 

Eric Rasmussen is Associate Professor of English at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is joint editor with David Bevington of Doctor Faustus in the Revels Plays series and the World's Classics edition of Christopher Marlowe's plays, author of A Textual Companion to 'Doctor Faustus', and co-editor of the forthcoming Norton Anthology of English Renaissance Drama. He writes the annual review of "Editions and Textual Studies" for Shakespeare Survey.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	p. ix
General editors' preface	p. xi
Preface	p. xv
Introduction	p. 1
A play for the stage	p. 5
The politics of adaptation on the English stage	p. 11
3 Henry VI on the screen and around the globe	p. 33
The first critical question: single authorship or collaboration?	p. 44
Moral criticism	p. 49
Character criticism	p. 64
Henry	p. 68
Richard	p. 75
Historical criticism: determining sources	p. 81
Historical criticism: establishing context	p. 95
Psychoanalytic criticism	p. 113
New criticism	p. 117
Performance criticism	p. 135
Feminist criticism	p. 140
The texts of The True Tragedy and 3 Henry VI	p. 148
O (1595)	p. 149
Q2 (1600)	p. 151
Q3 (1619)	p. 152
F1 (1623)	p. 156
Origins of The True Tragedy	p. 159
Origins of 3 Henry VI	p. 166
Conclusions	p. 175
King Henry VI, Part Three	p. 177
Appendices
The Octavo (1595)	p. 369
Casting	p. 410
The battles in 3 Henry VI	p. 421
Genealogical tables	p. 424
Abbreviations and references	p. 428
Abbreviations used in notes	p. 428
Shakespeare's works and works partly by Shakespeare	p. 429
Editions of Shakespeare collated	p. 430
Other works	p. 431
Index	p. 453
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