Course Title: Shakespeare’s History Plays
The Major Tetralogy: Richard II, I & II Henry IV, Henry 5
Time: Fall 2025. Thurs. 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Dates: Sept. 18 – Nov. 20.
Location: Aliante Library, 2400 Deer Springs Way, N. Las Vegas, NV 89084.
Email: ajdrake@ajdrake.com | Web: https://www.ajdrake.com/shakespeare
Instructor: Alfred J. Drake, Ph.D.
Recommended Texts (*These editions can often be bought used at lower cost. Consider also Folger paperbacks.)
Shakespeare, William. Richard II. Folger/Simon & Schuster, 2016. ISBN-13: 978-1501146282.
Shakespeare, William. Henry IV, Pt. 1. Folger/Simon & Schuster, 2020. ISBN-13: 978-1982122515.
Shakespeare, William. Henry IV, Pt. 2. Folger/Simon & Schuster, 2020. ISBN-13: 978-1982157401.
Shakespeare, William. Henry V. Folger/Simon & Schuster, 2020. ISBN-13: 978-1982109417.
Or, you may prefer the Norton genre set: Greenblatt, Stephen et al., eds. The Norton Shakespeare. 4-vol. bundle. 3rd edition. New York: W. W. Norton, 2015. ISBN-13: 978-0393265460. (Used editions are sometimes available for $60-$70 online. New, the set costs about $120. Folger paperbacks are also excellent.)
Today’s interest in medieval and Renaissance-Era English monarchs is due in part to Shakespeare. Working from the Holinshed Chronicles and other sources, he not only tells “sad stories of the death of kings,” but celebrates their triumphs and explores their complexities. As needed, his stage contracts to a “little, little room,” as King Richard II describes his own grave, and expands as if to encompass “the vasty fields of France” where Henry V’s martial exploits made him one of England’s most iconic rulers. And in Henry IV, Parts I-II, the vivacious, morally dubious Sir John Falstaff combines in uneasy fashion the lighter and darker dimensions of the stories Shakespeare tells.
Materials Specific to This Class
Commentaries on the Plays — See also “Of Interest”
Navigation Bar at top of commentaries listed below
Richard II | 1 Henry IV | 2 Henry IV | Henry V
General Guides
Introduction to Shakespeare’s Life & Times (Drake)
Intro. to Shakespeare’s Language & Art, Pt. 1 (Drake)
Intro. to Shakespeare’s Language & Art, Pt. 2 (Drake)
*Note: We will watch film segments, which may contain material that some viewers find distressing.
Schedule (Subject to change)
Week 1 Sept. 18 Course Intro and Intro to Shakespeare’s history plays. (Optional: see “General Guides” above.)
Week 2 Sept. 25 Richard II. Act 1.
Week 3 Oct. 02 Richard II. Acts 2-3.
Week 4 Oct. 09 Richard II. Acts 4-5.
Week 5 Oct. 16 I Henry IV, Acts 1-2.
Week 6 Oct. 23 I Henry IV, Acts 3-5.
Week 7 Oct. 30 II Henry IV, Acts 1-2.
Week 8 Nov. 06 II Henry IV, Acts 3-5.
Week 9 Nov. 13 Henry V, Acts 1-2.
Week 10 Nov. 20 Henry V, Acts 3-5.