num_pages: 336
description: The author offers a new approach to the text of the Second Part of King Henry IV, which he sees as an unplanned sequel to the First Part, itself a remake of an old, non-Shakespearean play. The Second Part deliberately exploits the popular success of Sir John Falstaff, introduced in Part One; the resulting rich humor gives a comic dimension to the play that makes it a unique blend of history, morality play and comedy. Among modern editions of the play this is the one most firmly based on the Quarto. Professor Melchiori presents an eminently actable text, by showing how Shakespeare's own choices are superior for practical purposes to suggested emendations, and by keeping interferences in the original stage directions to a minimum, in order to respect, as Shakespeare did, the players' freedom.Contents: Commentaries. From The plays of William Shakespeare / Samuel Johnson -- From H.C. Robinson's Memoranda / Samuel Taylor Coleridge -- From The fortunes of Falstaff / John Dover Wilson -- From A kingdom for a stage / Robert Ornstein -- From Shakespeare and the energies of drama / Michael Goldman -- From Man's estate : masculine identity in Shakespeare / Coppélia Kahn -- Interpreting 1 Henry IV : four productions / T.F. Wharton -- Henry IV, part one, on stage and screen / Sylvan Barnet.
language: English
title: Henry IV, Part 1
titlecomplete: Henry IV, Part 1 (Signet Classics)
characters: Sheriff, Henry Percy "Hotspur", Catrin ferch Owain Glyndŵr, Sir Walter Blount, Edward "Ned" Poins, Elizabeth Mortimer, Baroness Camoys, 1st Traveller, John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, Bardolph, Gilliams, messenger to Hotspur, Peto, Richard le Scrope, Bishop of Lichfield and Archbishop of York, Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester, Robin Ostler, Mistress Nell Quickly, Henry V of England, Sir John Falstaff, Sir Michael, Francis the drawer, Owain Glyndŵr, Sir Richard Vernon, 8th Baron of Shipbrook, Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, Servant to Hotspur, Mugs (carrier), Vintner, Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, Henry IV of England, 2nd Traveller, Ostler, Sir Edmund Mortimer IV, Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, Tom (carrier), Chamberlain
genres: Classics, Drama, Theatre, Historical, Plays, School, Historical Fiction, Poetry, Literature, Fiction
ratings_count: 29561
series: Henry IV, Wars of the Roses
publisher: Signet