Overview

'No, no, I am but shadow of myself...'Henry VI, Part I paints a vivid picture of political ambition, civil unrest, and war. One of Shakespeare's most collaborative plays, it was a theatrical hit when it was first performed in 1592. Scenes alternate between conflict at home and on foreign soil: between the growing civil dissention that would lead to the Wars of the Roses and the battles of the Hundred Years' War over England's claim to the French throne. It is an action-packed play, but one that offers a profound meditation on individual sacrifice and heroism, corruption, and the costs of conflict. Amy Lidster's introduction examines the play's historical, political, and theatrical contexts, offering a compelling analysis of the affective potential of theatre, language, and narrative to effect political change and shape our understanding of the history that it dramatizes. The introduction explores the play's use of sources, its position within a trilogy of plays about the reign of Henry VI, and its prominent but conflicted representation of France's defender, Joan la Pucelle (Joan of Arc). The introduction offers a fresh analysis of the vibrant theatrical repertory into which the play emerged — one that was marked by politically invested drama that staged diverse, transnational histories.The New Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative editions of Shakespeare's works with introductory materials designed to encourage new interpretations of the plays and poems. Using the text from the landmark The New Oxford Shakespeare Complete Works: Modern Critical Edition, these volumes offer readers the latest thinking on the authentic texts (collated from all surviving original versions of Shakespeare's work) alongside innovative introductions from leading scholars. The texts are accompanied by a comprehensive set of critical apparatus to give readers the best resources to help understand and enjoy Shakespeare's work.ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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9780192873569

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Amy Lidster is a Lecturer and Career Development Fellow at Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford, and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She has published widely on Shakespeare and early modern drama, and her books include Publishing the History Play in the Time of Shakespeare (2022), Wartime Shakespeare: Performing Narratives of Conflict (2023), and Authorships and Authority in Early Modern Dramatic Paratexts. Sarah Neville is an Associate Professor of English at the Ohio State University with a courtesy appointment in Theatre, Film, and Media Arts. She specializes in early modern English literature, bibliography, theories of textuality, and performance, chiefly examining the ways that authority is negotiated in print, digital, and live media. She is an assistant editor of The New Oxford Shakespeare (2016-17), for which she edited five plays in both old and modern-spelling editions, as well as an associate coordinating editor of the Digital Renaissance Editions.

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