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 viii
... nature , the corruptions and abuses of power . Few theater lovers would agree with Lamb , but few would deny that the role of Lear presents perhaps the greatest of all chal- lenges to the Shakespearean actor . There is a theater saying ...
... nature , the corruptions and abuses of power . Few theater lovers would agree with Lamb , but few would deny that the role of Lear presents perhaps the greatest of all chal- lenges to the Shakespearean actor . There is a theater saying ...
Page x
... nature of his children ; that blindness leads , in Shakespeare's cruelest literalization of metaphor , to the plucking out of his eyes . Edmund corresponds to the wicked daughters ; sev- eral of the play's many letters pass between them ...
... nature of his children ; that blindness leads , in Shakespeare's cruelest literalization of metaphor , to the plucking out of his eyes . Edmund corresponds to the wicked daughters ; sev- eral of the play's many letters pass between them ...
Page xi
... natural order " are actually shaped by " custom " -for him , primo- geniture and legitimacy would come into this ... nature " as a principle of survival and self - seeking . Gloucester's philosophical orientation , meanwhile , turns ...
... natural order " are actually shaped by " custom " -for him , primo- geniture and legitimacy would come into this ... nature " as a principle of survival and self - seeking . Gloucester's philosophical orientation , meanwhile , turns ...
Page xiv
... natural things - lilies , mustard seed , sparrows , a language analogous to that of Lear in his madness . The fundamental folly of Christianity is its demand that you throw away your possessions . Lear pretends to do this in Act 1 , but ...
... natural things - lilies , mustard seed , sparrows , a language analogous to that of Lear in his madness . The fundamental folly of Christianity is its demand that you throw away your possessions . Lear pretends to do this in Act 1 , but ...
Page xv
... nature , but in King Lear we are again and again reminded that what you see in a mirror is an image , not the thing itself . Gloucester doesn't really jump off the cliff : it's all an elaborate game , designed by Edgar to teach him a ...
... nature , but in King Lear we are again and again reminded that what you see in a mirror is an image , not the thing itself . Gloucester doesn't really jump off the cliff : it's all an elaborate game , designed by Edgar to teach him a ...
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