Audiobook · read by volunteers
King Henry IV, Part 1
William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
Read by David Barnes, Mark F. Smith, Michael Sirois, Max Porter Zasada, John Lieder, Larysa Jaworski, Joshua B. Christensen, Kalynda, Jordan Schneider, Lisa Wilson · 5 chapters · 2 h 50
About the book
England is troubled. King Henry IV holds a crown he took by force, and the nobles who helped him to it now begin to doubt their reward. In the north, the fiery Hotspur, Henry Percy, burns with pride and resentment. In London, the king's son, Prince Hal, spends his days in taverns in the company of Sir John Falstaff, a fat, witty, cowardly and unforgettable knight. Rebellion is gathering, and sooner or later the prince will have to choose between the tavern and the throne. Shakespeare weaves together politics, war and comedy in a play that is among his most popular. Full cast, five acts and nearly three hours of language that ranges from the council chamber to the alehouse, with some of the best comic scenes in English drama.
Introduction
William Shakespeare lived from 1564 to 1616. Henry IV, Part 1 was written in the mid-1590s and first printed in 1598. It is the second of the eight history plays that dramatise the long dynastic conflict known as the Wars of the Roses, and its events follow those of Richard II, in which Henry Bolingbroke seized the crown.
Where Richard II is a play of poetry and tragic loss, Henry IV, Part 1 is crowded and various. It is built around three worlds: the court, where a king worries about his legitimacy and his heir; the rebel camp, where Hotspur and his allies plot against the crown; and the taverns of Eastcheap, where Falstaff holds court. The play balances the claims of honour, duty and appetite, and asks what it means to be a ruler. Falstaff in particular has become one of the great comic creations of world literature, and he has been admired by readers and audiences from the beginning.
This recording is a LibriVox production in which volunteers read the parts of a large cast. It is divided by act, and lasts about two hours and forty-eight minutes.
Why listen today? Because the play has everything: battle, wit, family tension and some of the finest prose and verse in the language. It also rewards listening, since Shakespeare wrote it to be heard. If you know only the tragedies, this history play will show you another side of him.
Public domain
William Shakespeare died in 1616: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text