Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, M.A., Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of English, University of Sussex.

The Shakespeare Series by Wordsworth Classics, with Henry V as the first volume, presents a newly edited series of works by William Shakespeare. The textual editing seeks to take into account recent doctoral research while offering a careful reassessment of the material.

Henry V is the most famous and influential of Shakespeare's historical works. Its powerful patriotic rhetoric has resonated timelessly, gaining famed expression in Laurence Olivier's film. Henry himself, intelligent and charismatic, who led his "band of brothers" to victory at the Battle of Agincourt, indeed seems to be "the star of England." In recent years, the play has attracted increasing critical attention and is now particularly controversial. Kenneth Branagh's production reflects the change in the evaluation of the play. Does this play have a skeptical undercurrent that subverts its patriotism? Are Henry's successes laden with irony? Has the current skepticism distorted a fundamentally proud nationalist dramatic performance? Henry V demonstrates Shakespeare's renowned ability to impart new complexity to the material he adapts, so that different eras find in his work the familiar and the strange, the friendly and the fierce, the supportive and the provocative.

Pages: 160, Dimensions: 12.9x12.9cm