This richly annotated edition takes a fresh look at the first part of
Shakespeare's second tetralogy of history plays, showing how it relates
to the other plays in the sequence. Forker places the play in its
political context, discussing its relation to competing theories of
monarchy, looking at how it faced censorship because of possible
comparisons between Richard II and Elizabeth I, and how Bolingbroke's
rebellion could be compared to the Essex rising of the time. This
edition also reconsiders Shakespeare's use of sources, asking why he
chose to emphasise one approach over another. Forker also looks at the
play's rich afterlife, and the many interpretations that actors and
directors have taken. Finally, the edition looks closely at the
aesthetic relationship between language, character, structure and
political import.