King LearStandard Ebooks King Lear is a tragedy by Shakespeare, written about 1605 or 1606. Shakespeare based it on the legendary King Leir of the Britons, whose story is outlined in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s pseudohistorical History of the Kings of Britain (written in about 1136). The play tells the tale of the aged King Lear who is passing on the control of his kingdom to his three daughters. He asks each of them to express their love for him, and the first two, Goneril and Regan do so effusively, saying they love him above all things. But his youngest daughter, Cordelia, is compelled to be truthful and says that she must reserve some love for her future husband. Lear, enraged, cuts her off without any inheritance. The secondary plot deals with the machinations of Edmund, the bastard son of the Earl of Gloucester, who manages to convince his father that his legitimate son Edgar is plotting against him. After Lear steps down from power, he finds that his elder daughters have no real respect or love for him, and treat him and his followers as a nuisance. They allow the raging Lear to wander out into a storm, hoping to be rid of him, and conspire with Edmund to overthrow the Earl of Gloucester. The play is a moving study of the perils of old age and the true meaning of filial love. It ends tragically with the deaths of both Cordelia and Lear—so tragically, in fact, that performances during the Restoration period sometimes substituted a happy ending. In modern times, though, King Lear is performed as written and generally regarded as one of Shakespeare’s best plays. This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright’s 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks. |
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... look to receive from his age, not alone the imperfections of long-engraffed condition, but therewithal the unruly waywardness that infirm and choleric years bring with them. Such unconstant starts are we like to have from him as this of ...
... looks among you ; What grows of it , no matter ; advise your fellows so : I would breed from hence occasions , and I shall , That I may speak : I'll write straight to my sister , To hold my very course . Prepare for dinner . ( Exeunt ...
... of unkindness : I will look further into't . But where's my fool ? I have not seen him this two days . Since my young lady's going into France , sir , the fool hath much pined away . KING LEAR No more of that; I have noted it.
... looks with me, you rascal? (Striking him.) I'll not be struck, my lord. Nor tripped neither, you base football player. (Tripping up his heels.) I thank thee, fellow; thou servest me, and I'll love thee. Come, sir, arise, away! I'll ...
... Look, sir, I bleed. GLOUCESTER Where is the villain, Edmund? EDMUND Fled this way, sir. When by no means he could— GLOUCESTER Pursue him, ho! Go after. (Exeunt some Servants.) By no means what? EDMUND GLOUCESTER EDMUND GLOUCESTER ...