The First Part of King Henry VI: Pt.1 (The New Cambridge Shakespeare) Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

The First Part of King Henry VI: Pt.1 (The New Cambridge Shakespeare) Book

The three plays that make up the Henry VI cycle are believed to be some of Shakespeare's very first plays. They certainly read as apprentice works, and are often neglected in favour of the more comical and dramatically assured plays Henry IV and Henry V. However, the Henry VI plays dramatise the inauspicious history of Henry V's son, Henry VI, who is only nine months old when his father dies. The play deals with the factions at court who quarrel for political control, led by the Duke of Gloucester and the Cardinal of Winchester. As political intrigue divides the English court, its army continues to fight in France in a desperate attempt to hold on to the gains made by Henry V, whose tradition is upheld by the ferocious figure of Lord Talbot, pitched against La Pucelle, better known as Joan of Arc. An uneasy peace is finally established following the execution of Joan and marriage of Henry VI to the French princess Margaret of Anjou. However, Margaret is revealed to be having an affair with the Earl of Suffolk, and it becomes clear that Henry's troubles are far from over. Criticised for their somewhat crude characterisation (especially in its portrayal of women), all three of the Henry VI plays remain fascinating as early examples of Shakespeare's dramatisation of English history. --Jerry BrottonRead More

from£N/A | RRP: £8.99
* Excludes Voucher Code Discount Also available Used from £N/A
  • Amazon

    Michael Hattaway (Editor) Shakespeare's three plays about the reign of Henry VI have been traditionally undervalued due to doubts about their authorship and because of the difficulties involved in determining their theatrical provenance. Recently, however, a series of outstanding productions by the Royal Shakespeare Company and others has demonstrated their theatrical vitality, and their conventions have been better understood in the light of new critical methods. This edition reveals The First Part of King Henry VI, which gives us Shakespeare's portrait of Joan of Arc,to be a successful play in its own exploratory style, and a necessary account of key events in the Hundred Years War without which the Wars of the Roses, featured in parts two and three, cannot be understood. Publisher: Cambridge University Press Paperback ISBN 9780521296342

  • Foyles

    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 and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations. 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. The First Part of King Henry VI, which gives us Shakespeare's portrait of Joan of Arc, is revealed as a successful venture in its own exploratory style, and as a necessary account of key events in the Hundred Years War without which the Wars of the Roses, anatomised in the following two plays, cannot be understood.

  • Blackwell

    Lively, instructive access to Shakespeare's rich and complex works. Shakespeare's plays about the reign of Henry VI, written at the beginning of his career, were for a long time undervalued. This was because of doubts about their authorship and...

  • 052129634X
  • 9780521296342
  • William Shakespeare
  • 23 April 1990
  • Cambridge University Press
  • Paperback (Book)
  • 228
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. If you click through any of the links below and make a purchase we may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). Click here to learn more.

Would you like your name to appear with the review?

We will post your book review within a day or so as long as it meets our guidelines and terms and conditions. All reviews submitted become the licensed property of www.find-book.co.uk as written in our terms and conditions. None of your personal details will be passed on to any other third party.

All form fields are required.