Histories: Volume 1
by William Shakespeare
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"The Everyman Complete Shakespeare will publish the History plays in two volumes. In volume I are contained Shakespeare's first five history plays- HENRY VI parts I, II and II; RICHARD III and KING JOHN. The text of the plays is accompainied by extensive notes, author chronology, bibliography and a detailed introduction to each play and to Shakespeare's history plays in general by Tony Tanner."Tags
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What can you say that hasn't been said about the works of one of the most brilliant minds who ever lived? All superlatives elude me. Only the Ancient Greek playwrights are his equals. All others pale in comparison. Unfortunately, so many are turned-off to Shakespeare because of their introduction to him in high school. What a pity. Shakespeare is to be watched! Reading him is a poor substitute. If you can readily understand the English language of his day, he is easy to read, but few are adept at this.
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William Shakespeare, 1564 - 1616 Although there are many myths and mysteries surrounding William Shakespeare, a great deal is actually known about his life. He was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, son of John Shakespeare, a prosperous merchant and local politician and Mary Arden, who had the wealth to send their oldest son to Stratford Grammar School. show more At 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, the 27-year-old daughter of a local farmer, and they had their first daughter six months later. He probably developed an interest in theatre by watching plays performed by traveling players in Stratford while still in his youth. Some time before 1592, he left his family to take up residence in London, where he began acting and writing plays and poetry. By 1594 Shakespeare had become a member and part owner of an acting company called The Lord Chamberlain's Men, where he soon became the company's principal playwright. His plays enjoyed great popularity and high critical acclaim in the newly built Globe Theatre. It was through his popularity that the troupe gained the attention of the new king, James I, who appointed them the King's Players in 1603. Before retiring to Stratford in 1613, after the Globe burned down, he wrote more than three dozen plays (that we are sure of) and more than 150 sonnets. He was celebrated by Ben Jonson, one of the leading playwrights of the day, as a writer who would be "not for an age, but for all time," a prediction that has proved to be true. Today, Shakespeare towers over all other English writers and has few rivals in any language. His genius and creativity continue to astound scholars, and his plays continue to delight audiences. Many have served as the basis for operas, ballets, musical compositions, and films. While Jonson and other writers labored over their plays, Shakespeare seems to have had the ability to turn out work of exceptionally high caliber at an amazing speed. At the height of his career, he wrote an average of two plays a year as well as dozens of poems, songs, and possibly even verses for tombstones and heraldic shields, all while he continued to act in the plays performed by the Lord Chamberlain's Men. This staggering output is even more impressive when one considers its variety. Except for the English history plays, he never wrote the same kind of play twice. He seems to have had a good deal of fun in trying his hand at every kind of play. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, all published on 1609, most of which were dedicated to his patron Henry Wriothsley, The Earl of Southhampton. He also wrote 13 comedies, 13 histories, 6 tragedies, and 4 tragecomedies. He died at Stratford-upon-Avon April 23, 1616, and was buried two days later on the grounds of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. His cause of death was unknown, but it is surmised that he knew he was dying. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- Histories: Volume 1
- First words
- Richard III: Richard: Now is the winter of our discontent made glorius summer by this sun of York...
Henry VI, 1: Duke of Bedford: Hung be the heavens with black, yield day to night!
Henry VI, 2: Duke of Suffolk: As by ... (show all)your high imperial majesty I had in charge at my depart for France, to marry Princess Margaret for your Grace...
Henry VI, 3: Earl of Warwick: I wonder how the king escaped our hands.
King John: John: Now, say, CHatillon, what would France with us? - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Richard III: Earl of Richmond: Now civil wounds are stopt, peace lives agen: that she may long live here, God say Amen!
Henry VI, 1: Earl of Suffolk: Margaret shall now be queen, and rule the kingl but I will rule both her, the king, and the realm.
Henry VI, 2: Earl of Salisbury: Sound drums and trumpets; --and to London all: and more such days as these to us befall!
Henry VI, 3: Edward: For here, I hope, begins our lasting joy.
King John: Bastard: Now these her princes are come home again, come the three corners of the world in arms, and we shall shock them; naught shall make us rue, if England to itself do rest but true.
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