Arden Shakespeare Richard II: A Critical Reader (Arden Early Modern Drama Guides)

This volume offers a thought-provoking guide to Richard II, surveying its key themes and critical reception. It also provides a detailed and up-to-date history of the play's rich stage performance, looking particularly closely at major contemporary performances in the UK. With new critical essays, the guide opens up fresh perspectives on this much studied work, including essays on legitimacy of kingship, the politics of landscape on 'this sceptred isle' of England, the early modern understanding of mockery and the role of corrective laughter, and the play's engagement with other drama from the period. The fifth essay provides a full survey of the performance history of Richard II in the UK from the play's role in the Earl of Essex's uprising in 1601 to modern adaptations including the BBC series The Hollow Crown (2012). The volume finishes with a guide to learning and teaching resources and how these might be integrated into effective pedagogic strategies in the classroom.