CRITICISM

Bergeron, David M. “Shakespeare Makes History: 2 Henry IV.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 31, No. 2 (Spring 1991): 231-45.

Argues that 2 Henry IV demonstrates an unusual “self-consciousness” about history, and examines the ways in which the characters in the play are used by Shakespeare to analyze as well as construct history.

Hart, Jonathan. “Temporality: Drama vs. History.” In Theater and World: The Problematics of Shakespeare's History, pp. 97-158. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1992.

Studies the relationship between historical time and the dramatic treatment of time in Shakespeare's second tetralogy, demonstrating the views of time held by the plays' major characters and arguing that each king strives to control time.

Hawkins, Sherman. “Structural Pattern in Shakespeare's Histories.” Studies in Philology 88, No. 1 (Winter 1991): 16-45.

Argues that the eight history plays may be connected by a structural pattern that allows for them to be viewed as individual and unique, as well as part of a larger unit.

Jones, Robert C. “1 Henry IV: ‘Is Not the Truth the Truth?’” In These Valiant Dead: Renewing the Past in Shakespeare's Histories, pp. 95-110. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1991.

Analyzes the view of history in Henry IV, Part One, and maintains that while the topic is treated with some skepticism, the play's overall attitude toward history remains largely hopeful.

Sterling, Eric. “The Battle between Words and Swords: Breaking Ideological Barriers in Shakespeare's Richard the Second.” In The Movement Towards Subversion: The English History Play from Skelton to Shakespeare, pp. 119-39. Lanham: University Press of America, Inc., 1996.

Examines the portrayal of history in Richard II and argues that Shakespeare depicts Richard as a worse king than historical evidence suggests.