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Henry IV Part Two

Henry IV Part Two

Summary

'This, of the history plays, is The Tragedy ... the most lyrical Shakespeare ever wrote' Simon Schama

The old king Henry IV, sick and weary, must send out his forces - including the unruly Falstaff - to meet another rebellion that threatens to bring the country to the brink of civil war. But as the conflict grows, he must also confront a more personal problem - how to make his troublesome son Prince Hal accept his duty as heir and leave his carousing companions behind. Pitting youth against old age, son against father, carefree hope against the realities of ruling, this is an elegiac drama of pathos and regret.

Used and Recommended by the National Theatre

General Editor Stanley Wells
Edited by Peter Davison
Introduction by Adrian Poole

About the author

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, and was baptised on 26 April 1564. His father was a glove maker and wool merchant and his mother, Mary Arden, was the daughter of a well-to-do local land owner. Shakespeare was probably educated in Stratford’s grammar school. In 1582 he married Anne Hathaway, and the couple had a daughter the following year and twins in 1585.

Shakespeare’s theatrical life seems to have commenced around 1590. We do know that he was part of the Lord Chamberlain’s Company, which was renamed the King’s Company in 1603 when James I succeeded to the throne. The Company acquired interests in two theatres in the Southwark area of London, near the banks of the Thames - the Globe and the Blackfriars.

Shakespeare’s poetry was published before his plays, with two poems appearing in 1593 and 1594, dedicated to his patron Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. Most of Shakespeare’s sonnets were probably written at this time as well.

Records of Shakespeare’s plays begin to appear in 1594, and he produced roughly two a year until around 1611. His earliest plays include Henry VI and Titus Andronicus. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice and Richard II all date from the mid to late 1590s. Some of his most famous tragedies were written in the early 1600s; these include Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Antony & Cleopatra. His late plays, often known as the Romances, date from 1608 onwards and include The Tempest.

Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616 and was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. The first collected edition of his works was published in 1623 and is known as ‘the First Folio’.
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