Charles R. Forker – författare

This volume documents the course of Shakespeare criticism on "Richard II" from the earliest items of recorded criticism to the beginnings of the modern period around 1920. The introduction traces the history of the play.

This revised edition of King Richard II: Critical Tradition increases our the play was received and understood by critics, editors and general readers. Updated with a new introduction providing a survey of critical responses to Richard II since the 1990s to the present day, this volume offers, in separate sections, both critical opinions about the play across the centuries and an evaluation of their positions within and their impact on the reception of the play. The updated introduction offers an overview of recent criticism on the play in relation to feminist theory, queer theory, performance theory and ecocriticism. The chronological arrangement of the text-excerpts engages the readers in a direct and unbiased dialogue, whereas the introduction offers a critical evaluation from a current stance, including modern theories and methods. Featuring criticism by A.C. Swinburne, Walter Pater, Oscar Wilde and W.B. Yeats, this volume makes a major contribution to our understanding of the play and of the traditions of Shakespearean criticism surrounding it as they have developed from century to century.

Forker's critical edition fills the need for a fully annotated, historically contextualised and modernised text of the most important Elizabethan chronicle play apart from Shakespeare and Marlowe's Edward II.Now attributed definitely to George Peele, this drama helped to establish a major theatrical genre, raising contemporary political and religious issues through the dramatisation of medieval history in a compelling and popular fashion. A major source for Shakespeare, it throws new light on the bard's adaptation of earlier drama and helps to illustrate his working methods.With the full introduction and generous notes this Revels Plays edition will be the first port of call for students and enthusiasts of Elizabethan and early modern drama.