I’ve started some of the histories off recommendations. I enjoyed it a lot more than I imagined I would. I’m planning to start part 2 soon so I can find out what happens.

I feel like I enjoyed the first part much more than this second part, but I also many be realizing that the comedies and tragedies are much more suited for me than histories.

After doing some research I found that Part 2 is not as popular as Part 1, so now I understand why.

http://nhw.livejournal.com/1124586.ht...

It's a curious play, with a lot of good scenes (and some very famous quotes) which are not tied together particularly well. The plot is essentially the hubris and fall of Falstaff, against a background of high politics where King Henry IV dies and passes on not just the office but the role of kingship to his son Henry V. Falstaff's story is much more interesting than the warring aristocrats, and the young prince Henry seems much less in the action than in the previous play, though he gets the killer line "I know you not, old man" in the last scene. Henry IV himself does get some good lines, especially in his dying scenes, but we had a lot of faffing around with rebellious Archbishops and Welshmen before we got there.

Richard Griffiths as Falstaff and Julian Glover as Henry IV carry the Arkangel production. Jamie Glover as Prince Hal has a disastrous concept of blank verse, and perhaps I would have liked the play more with a different actor in that role. Ex-Catweazle (and alternate Doctor) Geoffrey Bayldon is good as Shallow.
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FFYAA

This is the third of the "Wars of the Roses" history plays, falling between Henry IV part 1 and Henry V. It's probably also the least well-known of them, with its rather downbeat story showing the process by which the dashing Prince Hal turns himself into the calculating (but still charismatic) statesman Henry V. The whole structure of the play builds up to Henry's rejection of his former friend and drinking companion Falstaff, in one of the most celebrated put-down speeches in literature: "I know thee not, old man ... Leave gormandizing; know the grave doth gape / For thee thrice wider than for other men." (Act V, Sc.5).

Though the mood is a bit sombre, there are plenty of funny moments. But above all, it's a play about the process of growing up and taking responsibility. In an odd way, it made me think about the cult BBC comedy Absolutely Fabulous — Edina is pathetic and absurd because she is a Prince Hal who never rejected her particular Falstaff, Patsy.

[it would be presumptuous to attempt to "review" Shakespeare, and there's not much point reviewing the specific edition, as LT mixes them all in together anyway, but at least this play will no longer be the most-owned book in my list without any reviews at all!]