William Shakespeare

George Steevens

Henry IV, Part II

David Scott Kastan

Shakespeare's rich exploration of kingship, politics and war and of fathers, sons and coming of age.

Third Series

King Henry IV Part 1

Kendall McClain

I really love Falsaff what a curious lil man! Though when he’s not in a scene I do not love the scene.

Henry V

Class read. Had some cool moments but made me realize I might like Shakespeares more fictional focused stuff more.

Derek Graf

King Henry IV Part 2

Daniel Kilby

Oddly, given its less prominent use in conflations, I found this more accessible than the first part. But I’ll definitely be watching Phyllida Lloyd’s Donmar Warehouse production tonight on Broadway HD

Maxie Froelicher

Read for the POPSUGAR challenge prompt #4: a book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics

Brittney Wilson

This may be my favourite Shakespeare play so far!

Family relationships are at the center of Henry IV, Part 1. King Henry IV and Prince Hal form one major father-son pair, with Henry in despair because Hal lives a dissolute life. The father-son pair of Hotspur (Lord Henry Percy) and his father, the Earl of Northumberland, is in seeming contrast; the king envies Northumberland “his Harry,” wishing he could claim the gallant Hotspur as his own. Meanwhile, Hal has entered into a quasi-father-son relationship with a disreputable but amusing knight, Sir John Falstaff. Another strand of action centers on still more family relationships. Hotspur’s stand against Henry focuses on Hotspur’s brother-in-law, Mortimer. Mortimer, who fought against the Welsh magician Owen Glendower, was defeated and captured and has married Glendower’s daughter. King Henry pronounces Mortimer a traitor whom he will not ransom. Hotspur, in declaring war on Henry, sees himself as fighting for Mortimer, his wife’s brother. The authoritative edition of Henry IV, Part 1 from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes: -Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play -Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play -Scene-by-scene plot summaries -A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases -An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language -An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play -Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books -An annotated guide to further reading Essay by Alexander Leggatt The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.

Henry IV

Sophia De La Garza

I honestly could not care less about Shakespeare's histories. 
Not a fan
1 star

As Henry's throne is threatened by rebel forces, England is divided. The characters reflect these oppositions, with Hal and Hotspur vying for position, and Falstaff leading Hal away from his father and towards excess. During Shakespeare's lifetime Henry IV, Part I was his most reprinted play, and it remains enormously popular with theatregoers and readers. Falstaff still towers among Shakespeare's comic inventions as he did in the late 1590's. David Bevington's introduction discusses the play in both performance and criticism from Shakespeare's time to our own, illustrating the variety of interpretations of which the text is capable. He analyses the play's richly textured language in a detailed commentary on individual words and phrases and clearly explains its historical background.

The Oxford Shakespeare: Henry IV

Kate

I don't think I completely finished this because I read it for a class and ran out of time and it was kind of boring whoops

Nikki K

3.5 stars. Not my favourite Shakespeare, would see it performed but probably won't read it again

Lucy Hacker

Beautiful - my favourite Shakespeare; unleash the dogs of war!!

Andrew Matthews

King Henry V (Orchard Classics)

zilver 

when the king of france thinks ur a dumb bitch for wanting to invade his country so he sends u tennis balls and you end up winning a sick battle even though u were outnumbered 5 to 1 but u still feel bad abt urself as a human being so u go fishing for compliments from ur soldiers and they end up hating u so u prank ur right hand man into fighting them because ur actually a dumb bitch but at least u got the girl (and the two countries) in the end

In Henry IV, Part I, Shakespeare dramatizes the reign of King Henry IV, who rose to power after Richard II was usurped. Henry IV is plagued by a group of rebels led by the charismatic Hotspur. Henry's son Hal leads the battle against the rebels and kills Hotspur, though Hal's friend Falstaff takes the credit. The rest of Henry's reign is chronicled in Henry IV, Part II. When the play opens, Henry IV is angry with "Hotspur" (Henry Percy, the son of the Earl of Worcester), who won't surrender the prisoners taken in a recent battle with the Scots. Henry's son Hal meanwhile spends most of his time carousing with his friend Falstaff, an amoral but amusing knight. Hal later has a change of heart and decides to prove himself as a nobleman and prince.

(Annotated Edition)

Henry IV, Part 1

Liam Holbrook

John Dover Wilson's New Shakespeare, published between 1921 and 1966, became the classic Cambridge edition of Shakespeare's plays and poems until the 1980s. The series, long since out-of-print, is now reissued. Each work is available both individually and as a set, and each contains a lengthy and lively introduction, main text, and substantial notes and glossary printed at the back. The edition, which began with The Tempest and ended with The Sonnets, put into practice the techniques and theories that had evolved under the 'New Bibliography'. Remarkably by today's standards, although it took the best part of half a century to produce, the New Shakespeare involved only a small band of editors besides Dover Wilson himself. As the volumes took shape, many of Dover Wilson's textual methods acquired general acceptance and became an established part of later editorial practice, for example in the Arden and New Cambridge Shakespeares.

The Cambridge Dover Wilson Shakespeare

The First Part of the History of Henry IV, Part 1

Logan Allen

King Henry V (Arden Shakespeare: Third Series)

Tess Letasz

Moira

Jameila

Mat Connor

The stirring continuation of the themes begun in Henry IV, Part One again pits a rebellion within the State and that master of misrule, Falstaff, against the maturing of Prince Hal. Alternating scenes between bawdy tavern and regal court, between revelry and politics, Shakespeare probes at the sources, uses, and responsibilities of power as an old king dies and a young king must choose between a ruler's solemn duty and a merry but dissipated friend, Falstaff. The play represents Shakespeare at the peak of his maturity in writing historical drama and comedy.

Henry IV, Part II

Reviews

Highlights