King LearStandard Ebooks King Lear is a tragedy by Shakespeare, written about 1605 or 1606. Shakespeare based it on the legendary King Leir of the Britons, whose story is outlined in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s pseudohistorical History of the Kings of Britain (written in about 1136). The play tells the tale of the aged King Lear who is passing on the control of his kingdom to his three daughters. He asks each of them to express their love for him, and the first two, Goneril and Regan do so effusively, saying they love him above all things. But his youngest daughter, Cordelia, is compelled to be truthful and says that she must reserve some love for her future husband. Lear, enraged, cuts her off without any inheritance. The secondary plot deals with the machinations of Edmund, the bastard son of the Earl of Gloucester, who manages to convince his father that his legitimate son Edgar is plotting against him. After Lear steps down from power, he finds that his elder daughters have no real respect or love for him, and treat him and his followers as a nuisance. They allow the raging Lear to wander out into a storm, hoping to be rid of him, and conspire with Edmund to overthrow the Earl of Gloucester. The play is a moving study of the perils of old age and the true meaning of filial love. It ends tragically with the deaths of both Cordelia and Lear—so tragically, in fact, that performances during the Restoration period sometimes substituted a happy ending. In modern times, though, King Lear is performed as written and generally regarded as one of Shakespeare’s best plays. This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright’s 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks. |
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... Sometime with lunatic bans , sometime with prayers , Enforce their charity . Poor Turlygod ! poor Tom ! That's something yet : Edgar I nothing am . ( Exit . ) SCENE IV Before GLOUCESTER'S castle KING LEAR GENTLEMAN KENT (
William Shakespeare. SCENE IV Before GLOUCESTER'S castle KING LEAR GENTLEMAN KENT ( KENT in the stocks . ) ( Enter KING LEAR , FOOL , and Gentleman . ) ' Tis strange that they should so depart from home , And not send back my messenger ...
... GENTLEMAN They could not, would not do 't; 'tis worse than murder, To do upon respect such violent outrage: Resolve me, with all modest haste, which way Thou mightst deserve, or they impose, this usage, Coming from us. My lord, when at ...
... being apt To have his ear abused , wisdom bids fear . Shut up your doors , my lord ; ' tis a wild night : My Regan counsels well ; come out o ' the storm . ( Exeunt . ) ACT III SCENE I A heath. KENT GENTLEMAN KENT GENTLEMAN.
William Shakespeare. ACT. III. SCENE. I. A. heath. KENT GENTLEMAN KENT GENTLEMAN KENT GENTLEMAN (Storm still. Enter KENT and a Gentleman, meeting.) Who's there, besides foul weather? One minded like the weather, most unquietly. I know you ...