Friday 16 July 2010

What is good... SHAKESPEARE

PLAYS AND INFO.


Henry IV (Part 1) the play by William Shakespeare

Summary of the plot or story
This is one of Shakespeare's most popular plays, featuring the opportunistic , Sir John Falstaff. Part I is the second in a series of four English history plays that make up Shakespeare's major tetralogy. It continues the saga of the Bolingbrook family and the Plantagenet monarchy that begins with Henry IV's seizure of power in Richard II and the coming of age of Prince Henry. The plot shifts back and forth between the troubled realm of Henry IV's court and the vulgar world of the tavern in which Sir John Falstaff presides over his group of rascals and is joined by the fun-loving Prince Henry or Hal. The plot encompasses rebellion and the struggle for power. Prince Hal and Falstaff join the fighting and Hal kills the rebel Hotspur. Falstaff feigns death saying, "The better part of valour is discretion; in the which better part, I have saved my life.". The play concludes with King Henry and Hal leaving for Wales to confront rebels. At the same time, Prince John of Lancaster, Hal's younger brother, heads toward York to do battle with rebel forces led by the Earl of Northumberland (Hotspur's father).

Information provided about the play
William Shakespeare never published any of his plays and therefore none of the original manuscripts have survived. Eighteen unauthorised versions of his plays were, however, published during his lifetime in quarto editions by unscrupulous publishers (there were no copyright laws protecting Shakespeare and his works during the Elizabethan era). A collection of his works did not appear until 1623 ( a full seven years after Shakespeare's death on April 23, 1616) when two of his fellow actors, John Hemminges and Henry Condell, posthumously recorded his work and published 36 of William’s plays in the First Folio. Some dates are therefore approximate other dates are substantiated by historical events, records of performances and the dates plays appeared in print.

Date Henry IV (Part1) was first performed
It is believed that Henry IV (Part1) was first performed between 1597 and 1598. In the Elizabethan era there was a huge demand for new entertainment and Henry IV (Part1) would have been produced immediately following the completion of the play.

Date first printed
It is believed that the script was first printed in 1597. As William Shakespeare clearly did not want his work published details of the play would have therefore been noted, and often pirated without his consent, following a performance.

The settings for Henry IV (Part1)
The settings are London, Rochester, and York in England

The theme of Henry IV (Part1)
The play is categorised as a History

Number of words
The number of words in the script, according to the Complete Public Domain Text is 26,158

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