King Henry IV, Part 1 (Arden Shakespeare: Third Series)

The play needs no commentary by me. This edition is impressive. This is the first Arden Third Series play I've read, and I find it better overall than any other commented version I've used. I bought the Arden Second Series of Henry IV, Part 2, because we're going to both plays this weekend, and the Third Series is not out yet. I was surprised how much better the Third Series is. The typography and layout make it easier to read than any other footnoted edition I've read. The notes are on the same page as the text, where they are easy to refer to, but they are in a smaller font size and in two columns, which differentiates them from the text and makes them less distracting. The headings of the notes are bold, rather than italic, which makes them quicker to locate. The text notes, of interest only to specialists, are in an even smaller font and have been moved to the bottom of the page. The result is that the extensive notes are readily accessible when I need them, yet minimally distracting when I don't.The Introduction is long, but interesting and helpful. Being no expert, I don't judge this editor's views and choices against those of others, but his reasoning is plausible and his approach seems down-to-earth, giving what seems like appropriate weight to the commercial motives and dynamic nature of dramas.The notes explain more than some readers need, but that's better than explaining too little for newcomers to Shakespeare.The illustrations are interesting, and some are helpful. The map of places mentioned and the genealogies should be in every edition. The List of Roles is followed by two pages of notes about the characters. This is very helpful in keeping track of the characters, which is much harder to do when reading than when watching actors play the roles.A cavil: I like the old-fashioned way of dealing with words ending in -ed, showing in the text when the e is stressed or elided. In this version, "unfamiliar typographic conventions have been avoided in order to minimize obstacles to the reader," and pronunciations are shown in the notes if they differ from modern usage. For me, this is more awkward than the old way, with the -'d or -èd right in the text.

I read this for school and really liked the edition! It had interesting footnotes that gave good context and much needed "translations" from Shakespearean English!

My professor uses the Arden Shakespeare editions for our class, and they are truly a delight to read. So far I’ve read Arden’s editions of Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Henry IV part one. They also include the history of film and other theatrical information. I love them. I plan on buying more.

I love this play, and this edition. It's captivating and insightful, and I'm reading right after finishing "The Plantagenets," which I also recommend, and which teed it up nicely. (That book ends with Henry IV deposing Richard II, leading directly to the situation this play depicts.)One problem with reading the history of the English kings is their stories tend to blur together after while. I've always been able to keep Henry II straight, because I watched "The Lion in Winter" 20 years ago, and still picture Peter O'Toole as Henry, Katherine Hepburn as Eleanor of Aquitaine, etc. I think I have this set of Henry's etched in my brain for another 20, too.I tried two other editions of Henry IV, before settling on this one (Arden):- The Applause edition: I loved the thorough explanations and insights into how actors have played scenes over time FOR OTHER PLAYS (several of the well-known tragedies), so I was expecting the same. Nope. Nothing but lots of footnotes indicating technical decisions on which folio/quarto was used on a particular line.- Oxford School Series. The explanatory notes were very helpful, and I would have been very happy with this edition. But I compared this with Arden (reviewed here) line by and Arden had far more historical information and insightful notes on the wordplay (eg, biblical sources he was playing off). Also, the Oxford actually overdid it explaining some phrases I found obvious.I read through more than a dozen versions of this play, and found this most superior, by far. (Also, get historical info on all the major characters.) This appears to be the best out there. It costs a bit more: about $8 more than the others, but I'll be spending 40-60 hours with it, so that's less than 20 cents per hour of my time for something much more effective. A bargain.(If money is really tight, I highly recommend the "Oxford School Series," (and note that's different than just "Oxford," which is also out there.

I imagine that it would be very difficult to top the Arden Shakespeare Edition of King Henry IV, Part One. The scholarly introduction is well written and goes into great depth on the major themes of the play. The play text itself is easy to follow and has plentiful footnotes. I do not think a reader could ask for much more. This is a great edition for a college student or anyone wanting to earn a deeper understanding of the play. Highly recommended!

Clearly paid out and very useful footnotes

bought for daughter at uni

As with all Arden editions of the shakespeare plays, this has helpful and interesting notes on the play.

perfect condition

I think that the Arden Shakespeare editions are the best for reading Shakespeare and this is no exception.