King LearRandom House Publishing Group, 2009 M08 4 - 272 pages A king foolishly divides his kingdom between his scheming two oldest daughters and estranges himself from the daughter who loves him. So begins this profoundly moving and disturbing tragedy that, perhaps more than any other work in literature, challenges the notion of a coherent and just universe. The king and others pay dearly for their shortcomings–as madness, murder, and the anguish of insight and forgiveness that arrive too late combine to make this an all-embracing tragedy of evil and suffering. Each Edition Includes: • Comprehensive explanatory notes • Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship • Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English • Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories • An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography |
From inside the book
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Page x
... character , initially describes Edmund as " proper " : he has the bearing of a gentleman , but his illegitimacy has deprived him of the benefits of society . His first soliloquy makes a good case for the unfairness of a social order ...
... character , initially describes Edmund as " proper " : he has the bearing of a gentleman , but his illegitimacy has deprived him of the benefits of society . His first soliloquy makes a good case for the unfairness of a social order ...
Page xii
... character better prepared to voice this sentiment . THIS GREAT STAGE OF FOOLS The Stoic philosopher tries to be ruled by reason rather than passion . But for the great sixteenth - century humanist Desiderius Erasmus in his Praise of ...
... character better prepared to voice this sentiment . THIS GREAT STAGE OF FOOLS The Stoic philosopher tries to be ruled by reason rather than passion . But for the great sixteenth - century humanist Desiderius Erasmus in his Praise of ...
Page xviii
... character speaks the final speech . That is the mark of his assumption of power . Thus Fortinbras rules Denmark at the end of Hamlet , Lodovico speaks for Venice at the end of Othello , Malcolm rules Scotland at the end of Macbeth , and ...
... character speaks the final speech . That is the mark of his assumption of power . Thus Fortinbras rules Denmark at the end of Hamlet , Lodovico speaks for Venice at the end of Othello , Malcolm rules Scotland at the end of Macbeth , and ...
Page xxiii
... character who closes the play as a mature and victorious duke assuming responsi- bility for the kingdom . In Folio he is weaker , he stands by as his wife walks all over both him and the moral order , he avoids responsibility . His ...
... character who closes the play as a mature and victorious duke assuming responsi- bility for the kingdom . In Folio he is weaker , he stands by as his wife walks all over both him and the moral order , he avoids responsibility . His ...
Page xxiv
... character . Capitals indicate that part of the name which is used for speech headings in the script ( thus " LEAR , King of Britain " ) . Locations are provided by the Folio for only two plays . Eighteenth- century editors , working in ...
... character . Capitals indicate that part of the name which is used for speech headings in the script ( thus " LEAR , King of Britain " ) . Locations are provided by the Folio for only two plays . Eighteenth- century editors , working in ...
Contents
Textual Notes | 122 |
ScenebyScene Analysis | 142 |
The RSC and Beyond | 156 |
Shakespeares Career in the Theater | 203 |
A Chronology | 218 |
References | 226 |
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Common terms and phrases
Act 4 Scene actor Adrian Noble Alack Albany Albany's Antony Antony Sher audience bastard beggar blind Brian Cox Burgundy Cordelia Corin Redgrave CORNWALL daughters death disguised dost Dover Duke Duke of Cornwall Edgar editors Edmund Enter Lear Exeunt Exit eyes father feel Following fortune France GENTLEMAN give gods Goneril Goneril and Regan grace hath heart human Ian McKellen Jonathan Bate KENT KENT LEAR King Lear kingdom knave LEAR FOOL LEAR KENT Lear's letter Lines look lord madam messenger Michael Gambon nature night nuncle performance Peter Brook pity played Lear poor Pray production Q corrected Q uncorrected Quarto text Regan role Royal Shakespeare Company running scene sense servant Shake Shakespeare sister speak speech stage storm tell theater thee there's thine things Tragedy traitor Trevor Nunn trumpet villain