King LearGildan Media LLC aka G&D Media, 2024 M01 12 - 232 pages GREED, BETRAYAL, MADNESS King Lear, first performed around 1805, and thought to have been written between Othello and Macbeth, is one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies. It is a story of madness and flattery and the struggle for power but above all it is about human suffering, as we watch a monarch who is betrayed by his daughters and robbed of his kingdom descend into madness. It is one of the most relentlessly bleak of Shakespeare's tragedies. The story challenges us with the magnitude, the intensity, and the sheer duration of the pain that it represents. Lear's themes of ingratitude, injustice, and the meaninglessness of life are explored with unsurpassed power and depth. Greed, treachery, and cruelty are everywhere and the final act of the play is both brutal and heartbreaking. As we see old age portrayed in all its vulnerability, along with pride, and, perhaps, wisdom—it is only one reason that this most devastating of Shakespeare’s tragedies is also perhaps his most moving. The play has been widely adapted for the stage and motion pictures, with the title role coveted by many of the world's most accomplished actors. |
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Alack ALBANY arms art thou bastard bear beggars blood brother Burgundy canst CAPTAIN choughs comes CORDELIA CURAN dear death Dost thou doth Dover Duke of Albany Duke of Cornwall Earl of Gloucester EDMUND Enter EDGAR Enter GLOUCESTER Enter KENT Enter LEAR Exeunt eyes farewell father fear flesh Flibbertigibbet follow FOOL fortune foul fiend France gainst GENTLEMAN Give GLOUCESTER'S CASTLE Enter gods GONERIL grace hand hath hear heart heavens HERALD hither honor horse I'ld king KING LEAR knave lady LEAR Let letter look lord madam master MESSENGER Methinks nature never night noble nuncle pelican daughters pity poor poor Tom pray Prithee Re-enter REGAN SCENE seek Servants shame sirrah sister slave sorrow speak stand storm sweet lord sword tears tell thee There's thine thing thou art thou dost thou hast thou shalt traitor trumpet villain wind wits word wretch