The dispute begins when Hotspur, the son of Northumberland, breaks with the king over the fate of his brother-in-law, Mortimer, a Welsh prisoner. Henry IV, Part 1, culminates in the battle of Shrewsbury between the king's army and rebels seeking his crown. Thy Harry's company: banish plump Jack, and banish all the world." Valiant Jack Falstaff, and therefore more valiant,īeing, as he is, old Jack Falstaff, banish not him
HENRY IV Parts 1 & 2 (Scroll Down For Resources)īanish Bardolph, banish Poins: but for sweet Jackįalstaff, kind Jack Falstaff, true Jack Falstaff, Reading Shakespeare Historically will fascinate and provoke students of shakespeare and his historical age, and general readers with an urge to understand how the culture and history of our past illuminates the key scoial and political issues of today.
At the same time, these essays also provide a fascinating account of the rise of feminist scholarship since the 1980s and the diversifying of new historicist' approaches over the same period. In doing so she reveals a wealth of new insights, sometimes surprising but always original and engrossing. Lisa Jardine re-reads Renaissance drama in its historical and cultural context, from laws of defamation in Othello to the competing loyalties of companionate marriage and male friendship in The Changeling. It also raises intriguing questions about how the culture and history of the past illuminates the key social and political issues of today. Charting ten years of critical development, these challenging, witty essays shed new light on Renaissance studies. Reading Shakespeare Historically by Lisa Jardine Reading Shakespeare Historically is a passionate, provocative book by one of the most renowned and popular Renaissance scholars writing today. Including a new preface, a revised furtherreading list, genealogical charts, an appendix of names and titles, and an index, the second edition of Shakespeare's English Kings offers excellent background reading for all of the ten history plays.
Saccio's engaging narrative weaves together three threads: medieval English history according to the Tudor chroniclers who provided Shakespeare with his material, that history as understood by modern scholars, and the action of the plays themselves. Not only theater-goers and students, but today's film-goers who want to enrich their understanding of film adaptations of plays such as Richard III and Henry V will find this revised edition ofShakespeare's English Kings to be an essential companion. Anyone who appreciates the dramatic action of Shakespeares history plays but is confused by much of the historical detail will welcome this guide to theRichards, Edwards, Henrys, Warwicks and Norfolks who ruled and fought across Shakespeare's page and stage.
Shakespeare's English Kings by Peter Saccio Far more than any professional historian, Shakespeare is responsible for whatever notions most of us possess about English medieval history.