‘King Henry the Fourth – Parts I and II’ are two of most popular and celebrated of William Shakespeare’s history plays and feature some of the finest characters in the canon, including the troubled monarch Henry IV, the choleric rebel Hotspur, Henry’s profligate and wastrel son Hal and the larger-than-life braggart and drunkard Sir John Falstaff.
At the outset of the story, there is unrest in England. The previous king, Richard, is dead and the current ruler, Henry IV – seen by many as a usurper - is facing the twin problems of a rebel uprising from Wales and Scotland as well as a son who insists on carousing with disreputable and criminal characters. For his part, Prince Hal declares that he is simply living a dissolute and debauched life in order to seem that much more admirable when he ultimately reforms.
At once a chronicle of King Henry’s reign and a bawdy comedy – centered on the exploits of the corpulent and besotted Falstaff – ‘King Henry IV – Parts I and II’ represent Shakespeare at his best and they are presented here in their original and unabridged format.
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William Shakespeare is generally acknowledged as the greatest dramatist in the history of English literature. Also a poet and actor, Shakespeare was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, where he received an education at the local grammar school, but whether he attended any educational institution subsequent to his early tutelage is unknown. By eighteen, Shakespeare was married – to an already-pregnant Anne Hathaway – and the couple would go on to have three children, Susanna and the twins Hamnet and Judith. (Hamnet died at 11 years old.) Shakespeare moved to London soon after the birth of the twins and began publishing poems (‘Venus and Adonis’ (1593) and ‘The Rape of Lucrece’ (1594)) and joined the Lord Chamberlain’s Men as an actor and playwright. Shakespeare stayed with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men throughout his career, producing some of his finest work – ‘King Lear, ‘ ‘Macbeth’ and ‘The Tempest’ among them – after the company fell under the patronage of King James I and became The King’s Men. During his career, Shakespeare penned 38 plays, two narrative poems and over 150 sonnets and enjoyed considerable financial success, eventually buying New Place, one of the largest homes in Stratford. Following his death in 1616 at the age of 52, thirty-six of his plays were collected and published as the First Folio and his entire canon – including his extant plays, sonnets and poems – were published as The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s plays are the most produced dramatic works in existence and they have been translated and adapted into countless stage, screen and television productions over the years. Entire theatres are devoted to producing his works and his writings are studied and analyzed in literature classes around the world.
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