The Lady's Tailor - King Henry IV. - Part II

Henry IV ( Part 2 )
Play by Shakespeare

Picture - The Lady's Tailor. Feeble, the woman's tailor, measures a lady at her waist while a gentleman
sits in a chair at his side 

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Henry IV ( Part 2 ) the play by William Shakespeare

Full text of the script of the play Henry IV ( Part 2 ), by William Shakespeare
Cast and characters in Henry VI Part 2 play by William Shakespeare

Index of plays by William Shakespeare

Introduction - The play and the image displayed in the picture
This section is dedicated to Henry IV ( Part 2 ), the play by William Shakespeare. The picture is 18th century and image displayed represents the essence of the play which, we hope, will bring to life a famous scene or character from the play. The information provided in this section of william-shakespeare.info includes famous quotes / quotations, summary of the plot or story, facts about the play, a list of the cast and characters and access to the full text of the script of the play by William Shakespeare.

Summary of the plot or story
There is much confusion when the fighting is over but the royalists defeat the rebels. More fighting ensues and once again Sir John Falstaff appears in the plot encouraging Prince Hal in his boisterous ways. The rebels are finally defeated and peace reigns. However, he dies and Hal becomes King Henry V. Hal realises he must change and becomes a sober and solemn person. Falstaff is banished from Hal's court and is lectured to also change his wayward ways.

Information provided about the play
William Shakespeare never published any of his plays and therefore none of the original manuscripts have survived. Eighteen unauthorised versions of his plays were, however, published during his lifetime in quarto editions by unscrupulous publishers (there were no copyright laws protecting Shakespeare and his works during the Elizabethan era). A collection of his works did not appear until 1623 ( a full seven years after Shakespeare's death on April 23, 1616) when two of his fellow actors, John Hemminges and Henry Condell, posthumously recorded his work and published 36 of William’s plays in the First Folio. Some dates are therefore approximate other dates are substantiated by historical events, records of performances and the dates plays appeared in print.

Date first performed
It is believed that the drama was first performed on March 3rd 1592. In the Elizabethan era there was a huge demand for new entertainment and the work would have been produced immediately following the completion of the play.

Date first printed
It is believed that the script was first printed in 1594 although this has now been confirmed. As William Shakespeare clearly did not want his work published details of the play would have therefore been noted, and often pirated without his consent, following a performance.

The settings
The settings are London, York, Westminster, Gloucestershire and Yorkshire in England 

Theme of Henry IV ( Part 2 )
The play is categorised as a History

Number of words
The number of words in thescript, according to the Complete Public Domain Text is 27,969 
 

Famous Quotes / Quotations

The quotes are amongst Shakespeare's most famous including
'eaten me out of house and home' and 'We have heard the chimes at midnight'. Details of these famous quotes follow, complete with information regarding the Act and the Scene, allowing a quick reference to the section of the play that these quotations can be found in.


"He hath eaten me out of house and home". - (Act II, Scene I).

"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown". - (Act III, Scene I).

"A man can die but once". - (Act III, Scene II). 

"I do now remember the poor creature, small beer". - (Act II, Scene II).

"We have heard the chimes at midnight". - (Act III, Scene II)

History
The drama was based on real people and events taken from English history. The characters are from the royal Houses of Lancaster and York.
House of Lancaster
Henry IV ("Bolingbroke," son of the Duke of Lancaster), 1399-1413. 
Henry V (son of Henry IV), 1413-1422.
Henry VI (son of Henry V, deposed), 1422-1471. 
House of York:
Edward IV (son of duke of York), 1461-1483.
Edward V (son of Edward IV), 1483.
Richard III ("Crookback," brother of Edward IV) 1483-1485. 

We recommend the following link to access facts, information, a biography and timeline of
King Henry IV

William Shakespeare's Main Source
The Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland by Raphael Holinshed 

The Cast and Characters
Click the link at the top of the page to access a list of all the cast and characters
 

Henry IV ( Part 2 ) the play by William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare Site Map Page Back Index of plays by Shakespeare

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