The two Henry IV plays, described as "the twin summits of Shakespeare's achievement", feature the unlikely friendship of Prince Hal and Falstaff. This book further analyzes their relationship. Past performances and criticism have often presented Falstaff, arguably the world's greatest comic character, as too much of a clown. Shakespeare works from different moral centres to give each main character his due. Though Falstaff is rejected by Prince Hal as Henry V, his voice, representing Eastcheap's seamier, more human side of existence, cannot ultimately be denied. After his death, the Hostess of the tavern in Eastcheap associates Falstaff, one of the City's own, with Britain's legendary past.
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781036409661
Publisert
2024-09-17
Utgiver
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Høyde
212 mm
Bredde
148 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
102

Forfatter

Biografisk notat

John Hardy completed his doctorate at the University of Oxford, UK, after being elected a "Prize Fellow" of Magdalen College in Oxford. A Queensland Rhodes Scholar, he retired from Bond University (Australia) as Emeritus Professor, where he had been Professor of Humanities, and Foundation Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Previously he had been Assistant Professor of English at the University of Toronto, Canada, and held chairs at the University of New England, Australia, and the Australian National University. During the 1980s he was Secretary of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. He has contributed to or edited more than a dozen books including three major works of literary criticism: Reinterpretations: Essays on Poems by Milton, Pope and Johnson; Jane Austen's Heroines: Intimacy in Human Relationships; and Shakespeare's Great Tragedies: Experiencing their Impact.