British & Irish, Shakespeare, Criticism & Theory, Reference 

This edition celebrates King Henry VI Part 2 as one of the most exciting and dynamic plays of the English renaissance theater, with its exploration of power politics and social revolution and its focus on the relationship between divine justice and sin. An extensive discussion of performance history traces the play's progress on stage from abridgement and adaptation to full historical epic. A survey of criticism discusses the wide range of responses provoked by the play's handling of its historical theme, and concludes by focusing on the element of burlesque in the attempted social revolution portrayed. A facsimile of the First Quarto printed by Thomas Creed in 1594 appears as an appendix. Also included are notes about textual variants in the early quartos, a selection of lines that are thought to refer to other plays, a doubling chart, a list of the play's sources, and a genealogy chart.