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 xv
... Lear enters with his beloved daughter dead in his arms , loyal Kent asks , " Is this the promised end ? " He is ... King Lear is a play full of questions . The big ones go unanswered . The biggest of all is Lear's " Why should a dog , a ...
... Lear enters with his beloved daughter dead in his arms , loyal Kent asks , " Is this the promised end ? " He is ... King Lear is a play full of questions . The big ones go unanswered . The biggest of all is Lear's " Why should a dog , a ...
Page xviii
... King Lear ? According to the conventions of Elizabethan and Jacobean tragedy , the senior remain- ing character speaks the final speech . That is the mark of his assumption of power . Thus Fortinbras rules Denmark at the end of Hamlet ...
... King Lear ? According to the conventions of Elizabethan and Jacobean tragedy , the senior remain- ing character speaks the final speech . That is the mark of his assumption of power . Thus Fortinbras rules Denmark at the end of Hamlet ...
Page xix
... Lear's divi- sion of the kingdom at the beginning of the play , he proposes to divide the kingdom at the end of the play , suggesting that Kent and Edgar should share power between them . Kent , wise as ever , sees the foolishness of ...
... Lear's divi- sion of the kingdom at the beginning of the play , he proposes to divide the kingdom at the end of the play , suggesting that Kent and Edgar should share power between them . Kent , wise as ever , sees the foolishness of ...
Page xx
... King Lear and that the editorial task was to reconstruct it . Generations of editors adopted a " pick and mix " approach to the text , moving between Quarto and Folio readings , making choices on either aesthetic or bibliographic ...
... King Lear and that the editorial task was to reconstruct it . Generations of editors adopted a " pick and mix " approach to the text , moving between Quarto and Folio readings , making choices on either aesthetic or bibliographic ...
Page xxi
... King Lear was not a bad text based on actors ' mem- ories but an authoritative one , almost certainly deriving from Shakespeare's own holograph ( The Texts of " King Lear " and their Ori- gins : vol . 1 Nicholas Okes and the First ...
... King Lear was not a bad text based on actors ' mem- ories but an authoritative one , almost certainly deriving from Shakespeare's own holograph ( The Texts of " King Lear " and their Ori- gins : vol . 1 Nicholas Okes and the First ...
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