Penguin Classics: Henry IV – Part Two

‘Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown’

The old king Henry IV, sick and weary, must send out his forces – including the unruly Falstaff – to meet another rebellion that threatens to bring the country to the brink of civil war. But as the conflict grows, he must also confront a more personal problem – how to make his troublesome son Prince Hal accept his duty as heir and leave his carousing companions behind. Pitting youth against old age, father against son, carefree hope against the realities of ruling, this is an elegiac drama of pathos and regret.

‘This, of the history plays, is The Tragedy . . . the most lyrical Shakespeare ever wrote.’ Simon Schama

General Introduction by Stanley Wells
Edited by Peter Davison
Introduction by Adrian Poole