The First Part of King Henry the Fourth

by William Shakespeare

Overview

This memorable historical drama concerns rebellion against King Henry led by Harry Percy ("Hotspur") and other nobles, complicated by the king's difficulties with his wayward son, Prince Hal. It features a superb blend of courtly intrigue, battlefield action, and low comedy featuring Sir John Falstaff, all expressed in fine blank verse and stirring prose.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781625589958
Publisher:	Start Publishing LLC
Publication date:	04/01/2013
Series:	Van A tot ggZ
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	78
File size:	289 KB

About the Author

No writer will ever equal William Shakespeare's influence on the English language. Born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, "The Bard" was an actor and playwright who had staged his own shows in London by 1592. Though little is known about his early life, he forsooth proved himself a virtuoso for the ages. Expanding the boundaries of the English language, Shakespeare penned dozens of plays -- from enduring tragedies like Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Othello, to bawdy comedies like A Midsummer Night's Dream -- plus more than 150 sonnets during his towering career. He shuffled off this mortal coil in 1616, but more than half a millennium later, his works are still read and produced around the world, including at a modern thatched-roof reconstruction of his troupe's Globe Theatre in London.

Read an Excerpt

APPENDIX A VARIANTS The text used in this edition is that of Craig's Oxford Shakespeare (Oxford University Press), which follows, almost invariably, the First Quarto, the best early text of Henry IF, Part I. The stage- directions are not those of the Oxford Shakespeare, but are for the most part from either the First Quarto or the First Folio; stage-directions which are bracketed are modern. Occasionally the Oxford Shakespeare departs from the reading of the First Quarto, and substitutes an inferior reading from the First Folio. In such cases I have restored the Quarto readings, as noted below. I have taken the title of the play from the First Folio. The First Quarto title, which omits the phrase 'The first part,' is as follows: THE | HISTORY OF | HENRIE THE FOURTH; | With the battell at Shrewsburie betweene the King and Lord Henry Percy, surnamed Henrie Hotspur of the North | With the humorous conceits of Sir lohn Falstaffe. In the Dramatis Personal, the Oxford Shakespeare omits the name of Francis, although in all stage- directions and before speeches it uses the name Francis instead of the word 'Drawer' which is used in Quartos and Folios. The list of my departures from the Oxford text follows: Yale Oxford I. i. 28 now is twelve months Ql is a twelvemonth Fl I. i. 42 A hundred Ql And a hundred Fl I. i. 49 with other, did, Ql with other like Fl I. iii. 71 Whate'er Lord Ql I. iii. 83 that Ql I. iii. 124 you will Ql II. i. 38 and 44 lantern Ql, Fl II. ii. 57 Bardolph, what news? Ql Fl II. iv. 163 by the Lord, I'll stab thee Ql II. iv. 379 O, Glendower Ql, Fl II. iv. 499 an old fat man Ql III. i. 10 wisheth Ql, Fl III. iii. 18 not above III. iii. 21 borrowed three III. iii.29 lantern Ql, Fl III. iii. 194 pacified still Ql...