King LearPenguin Books, 1970 - 175 pages "King Lear, one of Shakespeare's darkest and most savage plays, tells the story of the foolish and purblind Lear, who divides his kingdom, as he does his affections, according to vanity and whim. Lear's failure as a father engulfs himself and his world in turmoil and tragedy." "Eminent linguist and translator Burton Raffel offers generous help with vocabulary, pronunciation, and prosody and provides alternative readings of phrases and lines. His on-page annotations give readers all the tools they need to comprehend the play and begin to explore its many possible interpretations. Raffel provides an introductory essay, and in a concluding essay Harold Bloom examines Lear, who, though possessed of Jobean dignity, is rather unlike Job, since Lear so determinedly brings about his own suffering."--BOOK JACKET. |
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Common terms and phrases
Alack ALBANY ALFRED HARBAGE arms art thou bastard bear Bedlam blessing blood brother Burgundy codpiece Cordelia CORNWALL daughter dear death Dost thou doth Dover Duke Duke of Albany Duke of Cornwall Earl of Gloucester EDMUND Enter Edgar Enter Gloucester Enter Kent Enter Lear evil Exeunt Exit eyes father fear Flibbertigibbet folio fool fortune foul fiend France GENTLEMAN give GLOUCESTER EDGAR Gloucester's castle gods GONERIL grace hast hath hear heart heavens hither honor I'ld justice King Lear knave lady LEAR Enter Lear's letter look lord madam master MESSENGER nature never night noble nuncle pity play poor poor Tom pow'rs Pray Prithee quarto reason REGAN Servants Shakespeare shalt sirrah sister speak stand sword tell thee There's thine things thou art thou dost traitor true trumpet villain William Shakespeare wind word