William Shakespeare

Henry VI, Part II - Thrift Editions William Shakespeare

Jacket Description/Back: Preferring a life of spiritual contemplation, Henry VI leaves politics to his nobles. The resulting power struggle pits the Houses of York and Lancaster against one another for control of the crown. Against a backdrop of violent rebellion, the play explores the relationship between law and justice and the extent of a ruler's authority. The second of three plays based on the life of England's fifteenth-century monarch, this historical drama chronicles the conflicts behind the War of the Roses. Each part of the trilogy is self-contained and can be appreciated without knowledge of the others. Vivid characterization, dark comedy, and powerful language combine for a memorable portrait of a country devastated by civil war. Dover (2015) republication of the edition published by the Caxton Publishing Company, London. See every Dover book in print atwww.doverpublications.comBiographical Note:"He was not of an age, but for all time," declared Ben Jonson of his contemporary William Shakespeare (1564 1616). Jonson's praise is especially prescient, since at the turn of the 17th century Shakespeare was but one of many popular London playwrights and none of his dramas were printed in his lifetime. The reason so many of his works survive is because two of his actor friends, with the assistance of Jonson, assembled and published the First Folio edition of 1623."Publisher Marketing: Preferring a life of spiritual contemplation, Henry VI leaves politics to his nobles. The resulting power struggle pits the Houses of York and Lancaster against one another for control of the crown. Against a backdrop of violent rebellion, the play explores the relationship between law and justice and the extent of a ruler's authority. The second of three plays based on the life of England's fifteenth-century monarch, this historical drama chronicles the conflicts behind the War of the Roses. Each part of the trilogy is self-contained and can be appreciated without knowledge of the others. Vivid characterization, dark comedy, and powerful language combine for a memorable portrait of a country devastated by civil war.

Contributor Bio:  Shakespeare, William Arguably the greatest English-language playwright, William Shakespeare was a seventeenth-century writer and dramatist, and is known as the Bard of Avon. Under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth I, he penned more than 30 plays, 154 sonnets, and numerous narrative poems and short verses. Equally accomplished in histories, tragedies, comedy, and romance, Shakespeare s most famous works include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, The Taming of the Shrew, and As You Like It. Like many of his contemporaries, including Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare began his career on the stage, eventually rising to become part-owner of Lord Chamberlain s Men, a popular dramatic company of his day, and of the storied Globe Theatre in London. Extremely popular in his lifetime, Shakespeare s works continue to resonate more than three hundred years after his death. His plays are performed more often than any other playwright s, have been translated into every major language in the world, and are studied widely by scholars and students.