This edition celebrates Henry VI, Part 2 as one of the most exciting and dynamic works of English Renaissance theater, with its exploration of power politics and social revolution, as well as its focus on the relationship between divine justice and sin. A comprehensive discussion of the performance history traces the play's journey on stage from cuts and adaptations to the complete historical epic. An overview of the criticism discusses the wide range of reactions elicited by the treatment of the play's historical theme, concluding with a focus on the element of burlesque in the depicted attempted social revolution.