King Lear and the Gods

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University Press of Kentucky, 2014 M07 15 - 384 pages

Many critics hold that Shakespeare's King Lear is primarily a drama of meaningful suffering and redemption within a just universe ruled by providential higher powers. William Elton's King Lear and the Gods challenges the validity of this widespread optimistic view. Testing the prevailing view against the play's acknowledged sources, and analyzing the functions of the double plot, the characters, and the play's implicit ironies, Elton concludes that this standard interpretation constitutes a serious misreading of the tragedy.

 

Contents

Part II
73
Part III
265
19671987
339

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About the author (2014)

William R. Elton is professor of English at the Graduate School, City University of New York. He has published widely in English Renaissance drama and intellectual history.

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