King LearSimon and Schuster, 2011 M08 23 - 384 pages Shakespeare’s King Lear challenges us with the magnitude, intensity, and sheer duration of the pain that it represents. Its figures harden their hearts, engage in violence, or try to alleviate the suffering of others. Lear himself rages until his sanity cracks. What, then, keeps bringing us back to King Lear? For all the force of its language, King Lear is almost equally powerful when translated, suggesting that it is the story, in large part, that draws us to the play. The play tells us about families struggling between greed and cruelty, on the one hand, and support and consolation, on the other. Emotions are extreme, magnified to gigantic proportions. We also see old age portrayed in all its vulnerability, pride, and, perhaps, wisdom—one reason this most devastating of Shakespeare’s tragedies is also perhaps his most moving. The authoritative edition of King Lear from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes: -The exact text of the printed book for easy cross-reference -Hundreds of hypertext links for instant navigation -Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play -Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play -Scene-by-scene plot summaries -A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases -An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language -An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play -Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books -An annotated guide to further reading Essay by Susan Snyder The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu. |
From inside the book
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Page xiii
... death seems to provide escape from “the rack of this tough world.” What, then, keeps bringing us back to King Lear? There is, of course, the power of the language. Once one has absorbed this play, one can articulate one's own suffering ...
... death seems to provide escape from “the rack of this tough world.” What, then, keeps bringing us back to King Lear? There is, of course, the power of the language. Once one has absorbed this play, one can articulate one's own suffering ...
Page xxvii
... death” (1.1.40–43) carries within it a metaphor in which man is pictured as a pack-animal that, in its old age, shakes off its heavy load. Later in the same scene, within Lear's “I do invest you jointly with my power, / Preeminence ...
... death” (1.1.40–43) carries within it a metaphor in which man is pictured as a pack-animal that, in its old age, shakes off its heavy load. Later in the same scene, within Lear's “I do invest you jointly with my power, / Preeminence ...
Page xxix
... deaths, in both of which scenes implied stage action vitally affects our response to the play. It is immensely rewarding to work carefully with Shakespeare's language so that the words, the sentences, the wordplay, and the implied ...
... deaths, in both of which scenes implied stage action vitally affects our response to the play. It is immensely rewarding to work carefully with Shakespeare's language so that the words, the sentences, the wordplay, and the implied ...
Page xxxv
... death in 1603, for King James I), some were presented at the Inns of Court (the residences of London's legal societies), and some were doubtless performed in other towns, at the universities, and at great houses when the King's Men went ...
... death in 1603, for King James I), some were presented at the Inns of Court (the residences of London's legal societies), and some were doubtless performed in other towns, at the universities, and at great houses when the King's Men went ...
Page xxxvii
... . Seven years after his death, his collected plays were published as Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (the work now known as the First Folio). King Lear xxxviii The years in which Shakespeare wrote were.
... . Seven years after his death, his collected plays were published as Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (the work now known as the First Folio). King Lear xxxviii The years in which Shakespeare wrote were.
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Common terms and phrases
action actors ALBANY answer appear arms attend bear begin bring comes Cordelia CORNWALL course daughter death dost Dover Draw Duke earlier EDGAR edition Edmund Enter example exits eyes F corr father fear Folio follow Fool fortune France further give GLOUCESTER Gloucester’s gods Goneril grace hand hast hath head hear heart hold honor keep KENT kind King Lear ACT language Lear’s less letter lines live London look lord madam master means messenger nature never night notes OSWALD perhaps plays poor Pray present printed Q1 corr Q1 uncorr quartos readers reading REGAN scene SD F seek seems sentence servant Shakespeare’s shows sister speak speech stage stand suffering tell theater thee thing thou thought true turn wind