Stephen Longstaffe is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Cumbria, UK.

This Critical Guide demonstrates why Shakespeare's drama about the education of a prince remains such a "renewable resource" for both schools and universities. Its impressive contributors show there is a perfect match between 1 Henry IV and the educational aims of the Continuum Renaissance Drama series. In a chain of ingeniously linked essays, they reveal how the play poses questions about multiculturalism, role play, history, generational conflict, and the control of the media that are as pressing today as in 1597. So this sophisticated Guide illustrates how Shakespeare does not simply serve modern education, but in deep, sometimes disturbing ways, teaches the teachers.

• Series Introduction \ 1 Henry IV Timeline \ 1. Introduction, Stephen Longstaffe \ 2. The Critical Backstory, Edel Lamb \ 3. Performance History, Graham Atkin \ 4. The State of the Art - Current Critical Research, Jonathan Hart \ 5. New Directions: The Madcap and Politic Prince of Wales:Ceremony and Courtly Performance in Henry IV, Alison Findlay \ 6. New Directions: 'The Devil Take Such Cozeners!' Radical Shakespeare's I Henry IV', Chris Fitter \ 7 New Directions: Falstaffian 'Gross Indecorum', 'Contrarietie', and Arrested Prodigality: Anachronism and Colliding Generational Sensibilities in 1 Henry IV, Robert Hornback \ 8. New Directions: 'By Shrewsbury Clock': The Time of Day and the Death of Hotspur in 1 Henry IV, Brian Walsh \ 9. A Survey of Resources, Martha Tuck Rozett \ Bibliography \ Notes on Contributors \ Index