This edition celebrates King Henry VI Part 2 as one of the most exciting and dynamic plays of the English renaissance theatre, with its exploration of power politics and social revolution and its focus on the relationship between divine justice and sin. An extensive discussion of performance history traces the play's progress on stage from abridgement and adaptation to full historical epic. A survey of criticism discusses the wide range of responses provoked by the play's handling of its historical theme, and concludes by focusing on the element of burlesque in the attempted social revolution portrayed.

シェイクスピアが描く本作の真髄は、王冠に翻弄される人間の欲望と、神の正義が揺らぐ乱世の残酷な美学にあります。権力闘争と社会革命の熱狂が交錯する構成は圧巻で、秩序の崩壊に潜む滑稽さと悲劇の絶妙な均衡は、読者の理性を激しく揺さぶるでしょう。 演劇史と共に進化し続けてきた上演のダイナミズムも見逃せません。政治劇の深淵が、舞台という身体表現を通じて歴史叙事詩へと昇華されるとき、作品は鋭い政治批評としての生命を宿します。言葉の端々に潜む野心と、動乱に呑まれる魂の叫びを、ぜひその身で体感してください。