Full Description
Upon opening their expensive new book in 1623, buyers of the folio collection of William Shakespeare's plays were promised The Life of Henry the Fift. What they went on to read, however, was not a full "life" in the modern biographical sense. The battle of Agincourt is the play's main event; every scene leads up to or follows directly from the climax of one of England's most one-sided and famous victories. The play's ambiguous portrayal of war has spurred critical debate for centuries, and its performances have reflected shifting political and cultural views.
James D. Mardock's Introduction provides an extensive discussion of Henry V's critical and stage histories and explores the play's complex relationship with other history plays (and with history itself). The appendices provide materials on the play's historical background and sources, as well as documents on contemporary warfare. Additional materials, including an annotated text of the 1600 quarto (Q1) edition, are available on the Internet Shakespeare Editions website.
A collaboration between Broadview Press and the Internet Shakespeare Editions project at the University of Victoria, the editions developed for this series have been comprehensively annotated and draw on the authoritative texts newly edited for the ISE. This innovative series allows readers to access extensive and reliable online resources linked to the print edition.
Contents
FOREWORD
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE
SHAKESPEARE'S THEATRE
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE AND HENRY V:
A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY
A NOTE ON THE TEXT
THE LIFE OF HENRY THE FIFTH
APPENDIX A: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Historical Figures in Henry V
Genealogy of the English Monarchy
APPENDIX B: SOURCES AND LEGACIES
From Raphael Holinshed, Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1587)
From The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth (anonymous, c. 1585)
From John Lyly, Euphues and His England (1580)
Michael Drayton, "The Ballad of Agincourt" (1606/1619)
APPENDIX C: SIXTEENTH-CENTURY ATTITUDES TO WAR
From Stephen Gosson, The Trumpet of War: A Sermon Preached at Paul's Cross the Seventh of May 1598 (1598)
From Barnabe Rich, Alarm to England (1578)
From Balthazar Ayala, Three Books on the Law of War (1582)
From Richard Crompton, The Mansion of Magnanimity (1599)
From Robert Barret, The Theoric and Practic of Modern Wars, Discoursed in Dialogue Wise (1598)
Works Cited and Bibliography
