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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... KING LEAR Whom I have ever honour'd as my king , Loved as my father , as my master follow'd , As my great patron thought on in my prayers— The bow is bent and drawn , make from the shaft . KENT KING LEAR KENT KING LEAR KENT Let it fall.
... master, whom thou lovest, Shall find thee full of labours. (Horns within. Enter KING LEAR , Knights, and Attendants.) Let me not stay a jot for dinner; go get it ready. (Exit an Attendant.) How now! what art thou? A man, sir. What dost ...
... master . Nuncle Lear , nuncle Lear , tarry and take the fool with thee . A fox , when one has caught her , And such a daughter , Should sure to the slaughter , If my cap would buy a halter : So the fool follows after . ( Exit . ) This ...
... master, My worthy arch and patron, comes to-night: By his authority I will proclaim it, That he which finds him shall deserve our thanks, Bringing the murderous coward to the stake; He that conceals him, death. When I dissuaded him from ...
... master. GLOUCESTER Weapons! arms! What's the matter here? CORNWALL Keep peace, upon your lives: He dies that strikes again. What is the matter? REGAN CORNWALL OSWALD KENT The messengers from our sister and the king. What is your ...