Whether for the student wishing for an overview of critical approaches or anxious to fill in the gaps in his Shakespearean culture, for those wishing to catch up on the diversity of literary theories, or for the inquisitive browser, this set of volumes assuredly charts the map of current criticism.

The four-volume Companion to Shakespeare's Works, compiled as a single entity, offers a uniquely comprehensive snapshot of current Shakespeare criticism. This volume looks at Shakespeare's histories.

Notes on Contributors

Introduction

1. The Writing of History in Shakespeare's England

2. Shakespeare and Contemporary Dramatists of History

3. Censorship and the Problems with History in Shakespeare's England

4. Nation Formation and the English History Plays

5. The Irish Text and Subtext of Shakespeare's English Histories

6. Theories of Kingship in Shakespeare's England

7. “To beguile the time, look like the time”: Contemporary Film Versions of Shakespeare's Histories

8. The Elizabethan History Play: A True Genre?

9. Damned Commotion: Riot and Rebellion in Shakespeare's Histories

10. Manliness Before Individualism: Masculinity, Effeminacy, and Homoerotics in Shakespeare's History Plays

11. French Marriages and the Protestant Nation in Shakespeare's History Plays

12. The First Tetralogy in Performance

13. The Second Tetralogy: Performance as Interpretation

14. 1 Henry VI

15. Suffolk and the Pirates: Disordered Relations in Shakespeare's 2 Henry VI

16. Vexed Relations: Family, State, and the Uses of Women in 3 Henry VI

17. “The power of hope?” An Early Modern Reader of Richard III

18. King John

19. The King's Melting Body: Richard II

20. 1 Henry IV

21. Henry IV, Part 2: A Critical History

22. Henry V