King Richard II

To Shakespeare’s contemporaries, Richard II was a balanced dramatisation of the central political and constitutional issue of the time, how to cope with an unjust ruler. But over the last century or so, the play came to be regarded as the poetic fall of a tragic hero. The Introduction to this edition provides a full context for both the Shakespearean and the modern views of King Richard’s fall. For this updated edition the editor has added a new section to the Introduction which takes account of the number of important professional theatre productions and the large output of scholarly criticism on the play which have appeared in recent years. The Reading List has also been revised and augmented.

• Updated edition of a text which has been highly popular in the series since 1984 • Substantial additional section to the Introduction • One new production photograph and a revised Reading List

Introduction, with new section on recent stage and critical interpretations; Note on the text; List of characters; The play; Textual analysis; Appendixes: Shakespeare’s use of Holinshed; ‘An Homilie Against Disobedience’; Extracts from England’s Parnassus; Reading list.

‘Gurr’s account is hard-headed and scholarly, very deftly interweaving comment on the play’s action with discussion of contemporary political events … thorough, scholarly and continuously helpful.’ The Times Higher Education Supplement

\'… sensible and balanced judgements add to an already perceptive introductory essay.\' The Journal of the English Association