This edition celebrates King Henry VI Part 2 as one of the most exciting
and dynamic plays of the English renaissance theatre, 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.