Product Description

The Arden Shakespeare is the established edition of Shakespeare"s work. Justly celebrated for its authoritative scholarship and invaluable commentary, Arden guides you a richer understanding and appreciation of Shakespeare"s plays.This edition of King Henry IV Part II provides, a clear and authoritative text, detailed notes and commentary on the same page as the text, a full introduction discussing the critical and historical background to the play and appendices presenting sources and relevant extracts.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #108720 in Books
• Published on: 1967-10-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Written in 1598, hard on the heels of the massive popular success of Henry IV Part One, Henry IV Part Two takes up where the first part finished, and completes Shakespeare's portrayal of the troubled reign of Henry IV. Rebellion has apparently been quelled, but dissension still permeates the country, and Henry is disillusioned, sick and dying. After the pace and comedy of Part One., Part Two is a much more subdued and gloomy affair. The tone is set by the early appearance of Falstaff, who relishes the possibilities of easy picking in the face of more civil unrest with his sinister quip that "I will turn diseases to commodity".

The drama focuses on Henry IV's difficult relationship with his son Prince Hal, and the latter's gradual emergence as a charismatic sovereign. In the process he sheds his image as a prodigal wastrel dramatised in the first half of Part One, assuming the title of King Henry V in the closing scenes of Part Two. Perhaps the most poignant moment of the whole play remains Henry's cold-blooded rejection of Falstaff, his surrogate father for much of Part One. "I know thee not, old man" he tells the crushed Falstaff as he assumes the royal crown, preparing the audience for the type of monarch they will see in Shakeseare's subsequent dramatisation of English history, Henry V. --Jerry Brotton

About the Author
René Weis is Reader in English Literature at University College, London.