'The red rose and the white are on his face, The fatal colours of our striving houses'. Henry VI Part III is Shakespeare's bloodiest History. Bringing the trilogy on the Wars of the Roses to a close, it depicts all the horrors of a long, internecine conflict — butchered children, tortured claimants, and the corpses of unfortunate conscripts. At the heart of this nightmare are the families of York and Lancaster, who are nearing the end of their battle for the throne. There are kings, but no conquerors — the crown changes hands three times throughout the course of the play, and old ties are broken to serve personal interests and private ambitions. Richard Stacey's introduction considers the shape of the plot, which uses an inverse structure to collapse the difference between the two warring sides, alongside the representation of Yorkshire and the North, the depiction of physical and non-physical disabilities, and the contrasting features of the octavo and folio texts.The New Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative editions of Shakespeare's works with introductory materials designed to encourage new interpretations of the plays and poems. Using the text from the landmark The New Oxford Shakespeare Complete Works: Modern Critical Edition, these volumes offer readers the latest thinking on the authentic texts (collated from all surviving original versions of Shakespeare's work) alongside innovative introductions from leading scholars. The texts are accompanied by a comprehensive set of critical apparatus to give readers the best resources to help understand and enjoy Shakespeare's work.ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.