LibGuides: The World of William Shakespeare: Histories

Shakespeare's History Plays

Image from http://www.shakespeare-online.com/quiz/historyquiz/historiesquizmain.html; accessed August 25, 2021.

Criticism on Shakespeare's Histories in the HMCPL Catalog

William Shakespeare: Histories & poems by Harold Bloom, editor
Call Number: R 822.3 SHA WIL
ISBN: 0877546584
Publication Date: 1986
From the introduction: "Falstaff is to the world of the histories what Shylock is to the comedies, and Hamlet to the tragedies: 'the' problematical representation. Falstaff, Shylock, Hamlet put to us the question: precisely how does Shakespearean representation differ from anything before it, and how has it overdetermined our expectations of representation ever since?"
William Shakespeare's 'Richard II' by Harold Bloom, editor
Call Number: 822.33 SHA WIL
ISBN: 9780877549369
Publication Date: 1988
From the book jacket: "In 'Richard II', the first play in the Henriad, Shakespeare introduces a question that will dominate the tetralogy: What is the nature of kingship? In the confrontation between Richard II and Henry Bolingbroke the playwright explores whether kingship can be simply a matter of divine birthright or if it requires the efficient use of power or some moral imperative."
William Shakespeare's 'Henry V' by Harold Bloom, editor
Call Number: 822.33 SHA WIL
ISBN: 9780877549277
Publication Date: 1988
From the book jacket: "...of late critics have begun to question any easy disregard of the culminating play of the Henriad. Both the play and its hero, the Hal who divested himself of Falstaff, monarch of wit, are more difficult to interpret than they at first appear, as Shakespeare both celebrates and questions national glory, kingly virtue, and the love underlying expedient alliances."

AVL Articles on Shakespeare's History Plays

Abrams, Richard. "Rumor's Reign in 2 Henry IV: The Scope of a Personification." English Literary Renaissance (Vol. 16 Issue 3). Reprint: Shakespearean Criticism (Vol. 100). Gale Literature. 25 Aug. 2021.

Banerjee, Rita. "The Common Good and the Necessity of War: Emergent Republican Ideals in Shakespeare's Henry V and Coriolanus." Comparative Drama (Vol 40, Issue 1), Spring 2006. Gale Literature. 25 Aug. 2021.

Bischoff, Sarah. "Richard's Body Politic: Disability and Ability in Shakespeare's Histories." Journal of the Wooden O. 2018, Vol. 18, p. 1-17. 17p. Academic Search Premier. 25 Aug. 2021.

Forker, Charles R. "Unstable identity in Shakespeare's Richard II." Renascence: Essays on Values in Literature 54.1 (2001): 3+.Master FILE Premier. 25 Aug. 2021.

Low, Jennifer. "'Those Proud Titles Thou Hast Won': Sovereignty, Power, and Combat in Shakespeare's Second Tetralogy." Comparative Drama 34.3 (2000): 269. Gale Literature. 25 Aug. 2021.