About the Play:

Editor Edward Burns takes a fresh look at a play usually regarded as the first component of a three-part historical epic. This edition argues that Henry VI Part 1 is a 'prequel', a freestanding piece that returns for ironic and dramatic effect to a story already familiar to its audience. The play's ingenious use of stage space is closely analyzed, as is its manipulation of a series of setpiece combats to give a coherent syntax of action. Discussion of the dramatic structure created by the opposing figures of Talbot and Jeanne la Pucelle, and exploration of the critical controversies surrounding the figure of Jeanne, lead to a reflection on the nature of the history play as genre in the 1590s.

Offering a wealth of helpful and incisive commentary, The Arden Shakespeare has developed a reputation as the premier scholarly edition to which academics, students and actors most frequently refer.

About the Editor:

Edward Burns is Senior Lecturer in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Liverpool. He is author and editor of books on Shakespeare, including King Henry VI Part I, The Arden Shakespeare. In addition to his published work he has directed and designed more than forty plays.