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 |
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Page viii
... daughters and storms ; in the aberrations of his reason , we discover a mighty irregular power of reasoning , immethodized from the ordinary purposes of life , but exerting its powers , as the wind blows where it listeth , at will upon ...
... daughters and storms ; in the aberrations of his reason , we discover a mighty irregular power of reasoning , immethodized from the ordinary purposes of life , but exerting its powers , as the wind blows where it listeth , at will upon ...
Page ix
... . As youngest and unmarried daughter , Cordelia has probably never spo- ken publicly before the court . Lear's intention for the opening scene is that it will be Cordelia's coming out : she INTRODUCTION ix The Division of the Kingdom.
... . As youngest and unmarried daughter , Cordelia has probably never spo- ken publicly before the court . Lear's intention for the opening scene is that it will be Cordelia's coming out : she INTRODUCTION ix The Division of the Kingdom.
Page x
... daughters ; sev- eral of the play's many letters pass between them . It is wholly appro- priate that he should end up promised to them both . Like the king's favorite daughter , Cordelia , Edgar ( who is the king's godson ) is unjustly ...
... daughters ; sev- eral of the play's many letters pass between them . It is wholly appro- priate that he should end up promised to them both . Like the king's favorite daughter , Cordelia , Edgar ( who is the king's godson ) is unjustly ...
Page xiv
... daughters ? And art thou come to this ? " True wisdom comes not in Gloucester's and Edgar's words of Stoic comfort or Albany's hapless faith in divine providence , but in moments of folly and love , as in this exchange : EDGAR KENT ...
... daughters ? And art thou come to this ? " True wisdom comes not in Gloucester's and Edgar's words of Stoic comfort or Albany's hapless faith in divine providence , but in moments of folly and love , as in this exchange : EDGAR KENT ...
Page xv
... daughter dead in his arms , loyal Kent asks , " Is this the promised end ? " He is thinking of Doomsday , but the line is also a sly allusion on Shakespeare's part : in all previous ver- sions of the Lear story , several of which would ...
... daughter dead in his arms , loyal Kent asks , " Is this the promised end ? " He is thinking of Doomsday , but the line is also a sly allusion on Shakespeare's part : in all previous ver- sions of the Lear story , several of which would ...
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