King LearThe Signet Classics edition of one of William Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies. Full of cruelty and betrayal, King Lear is the timeless and tragic story of a kingdom held in the thrall of an aging ruler’s descent into madness. Desperate for praise, he banishes those who would guide him with honesty and surrounds himself with sycophants—an action that leads to his ultimate downfall.... This revised Signet Classics edition includes unique features such as: • An overview of Shakespeare's life, world, and theater • A special introduction to the play by the editor, Russell Fraser • Selections from Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia, and The True Chronicle History of King Lear, the sources from which Shakespeare derived King Lear • Dramatic criticism from Samuel Johnson, A. C. Bradley, John Russell Brown, and others • A comprehensive stage and screen history of notable actors, directors, and productions • Text, notes, and commentaries printed in the clearest, most readable text • And more... |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 44
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In 1592, thanks to the cantankerousness of Robert Greene, we have our first reference, a snarling one, to Shakespeare as an actor and playwright. Greene, a graduate of St. John's College, Cambridge, had become a playwright and a ...
In 1592, thanks to the cantankerousness of Robert Greene, we have our first reference, a snarling one, to Shakespeare as an actor and playwright. Greene, a graduate of St. John's College, Cambridge, had become a playwright and a ...
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actor.) The profession of actor was not for a gentleman, and it occasionally drew the scorn of university men like Greene who resented writing speeches for persons less educated than themselves, but it was respectable enough; players, ...
actor.) The profession of actor was not for a gentleman, and it occasionally drew the scorn of university men like Greene who resented writing speeches for persons less educated than themselves, but it was respectable enough; players, ...
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From his acting, his play writing, and his share in a playhouse, Shakespeare seems to have made considerable money. ... Of small bequests to relatives and to friends (including three actors, Richard Burbage, John Heminges, ...
From his acting, his play writing, and his share in a playhouse, Shakespeare seems to have made considerable money. ... Of small bequests to relatives and to friends (including three actors, Richard Burbage, John Heminges, ...
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... usually assume two conspiracies: (1) a conspiracy in Elizabethan and Jacobean times, in which a surprisingly large number of persons connected with the theater knew that the actor Shakespeare did not write the plays attributed to ...
... usually assume two conspiracies: (1) a conspiracy in Elizabethan and Jacobean times, in which a surprisingly large number of persons connected with the theater knew that the actor Shakespeare did not write the plays attributed to ...
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... acting according to nature hinder base utter ( ly ) commonplace a fool , an idiot ( 1 ) wicked ( 2 ) worthless nearest ( 1 ) trivial ( 2 ) fussy music ( 1 ) prudence ( 2 ) stratagem immediately anticipate handsome test alive ...
... acting according to nature hinder base utter ( ly ) commonplace a fool , an idiot ( 1 ) wicked ( 2 ) worthless nearest ( 1 ) trivial ( 2 ) fussy music ( 1 ) prudence ( 2 ) stratagem immediately anticipate handsome test alive ...
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Common terms and phrases
action actors Albany answer appears arms bear better called cause characters comes Cordelia Cornwall course daughters death draw Edgar Edmund effect Elizabethan Enter evil Exeunt Exit eyes F omits fall father feel Folio follow Fool fortune give Gloucester gods Goneril Hamlet hand hath head hear heart hold human Kent kind King Lear Lear’s less lines live look lord master means mind nature never night noble Oswald performance perhaps person pity play poor present prints production question reason reference Regan roles scene seems sense servant Shakespeare sister sometimes speak speech stage stand storm suffering suggest tell theater thee things thou thought tragedy true turn women
Bibliographic information
| Title | King Lear Signet classic Shakespeare Works, William Shakespeare |
| Author | William Shakespeare |
| Editor | Russell Fraser |
| Publisher | Penguin, 1998 |
| ISBN | 1101142278, 9781101142271 |
| Length | 352 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |