Synopses & Reviews
This edition offers a strongly theatrical perspective on the origins of The First Part of King Henry IV and the history of its interpretation. In their introduction the editors clarify the play's surprising, decentralized dramatic structure, questioning the recent assumption that the drama focuses on the education of Prince Hal. They call attention to the effects of civil war on a broad range of relationships. Falstaff's unpredictable vitality is explored, together with important contemporary values of honor, friendship, festivity and reformation.
Review
"The Weils's New Cambridge ^1 Henry IV takes a skillful route...making judicious choices at every level, from its nicely gauged textual commentary to its full account of the play's scholarly, critical, and theatrical histories. Clearly written with nonspecialists in mind, it should prove especially exciting for that audience, but there is much for the specialist reader as well." Shakespeare Quarterly
Synopsis
A strongly theatrical perspective on the origins of Shakespeare's First Part of King Henry IV.
Table of Contents
List of illustrations; Preface; 1. Introduction: reputation, date, the design of the play, transforming the sources, the appeal of Falstaff and the contexts of interpretation, stage history; 2. The play: text, commentary, collation; 3. Textual analysis; 4. Appendix: Shakespeare and Holinshed; 4. Reading list.