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King Lear by William Shakespeare
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King Lear

by William Shakespeare (Author)

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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    The Three Theban Plays: Antigone ; Oedipus at Colonus ; Oedipus the King by Sophocles (allenmichie)
  2. 72
    A Thousand Acres: A Novel by Jane Smiley (browner56)
    browner56: The original and a modern retelling of a powerful story involving some very strong women
  3. 31
    Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare (chrisharpe)
  4. 03
    Now, Voyager by Irving Rapper (lucyknows)
    lucyknows: King Lear could be successfully paired with the film adaptation of Now Voyager by Irving Rapper
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Showing 1-5 of 67 (next | show all)
Maybe the fifteenth time I've read Lear (this time in the tiny red-leather RSC edition). Always impressed, especially with the curses and curse-like screeds. I can't stand Lear onstage, particularly the blinding of Gloster (so spelled in this edition). How sharper than a serpants teeth it is / to have a thankless child--though having a thankless parent like Lear, Act I Sc I, ain't so great either. I do love the Russian film Lear with music by Shostakovich, and the King's grand route through his bestiary of hawks and eagles.
I suppose this is Shakespeare's great (that's redundant, since "Sh" is mostly "great") assessment of homelessness. The undeservingly roofless. it is also his only play on retirement, which he recommends against. Or perhaps Lear should have had a condo in Florida? Of course, his hundred knights, a problem for the condominium board, as it was for his daughters. And Shakespeare, who says in a sonnet he was "lame by fortune's despite" also addresses the handicapped here, recommending tripping blind persons to cheer them up.
Of course, Lear has his personal Letterman-Colbert, the Fool, so he doesn't need a TV in the electrical storm on the heath. That's fortunate, because it would have been dangerous to turn on a TV with all that lightening. The play seems also to recommend serious disguises like Kent's dialects and Edgar's mud. Next time I go to a party I'll think about some mud, which reduces Edgar's likelihood of being killed by his former friends.
And finally, the play touches on senility, where Lear cannot be sure at first Cordelia is his daughter.
I'm not sure, but the author may be recommending senility as a palliative to tragedy--and to aging. A friend of mine once put it, "Who's to say the senile's not having the time of his life?" ( )
1 vote AlanWPowers | Jun 8, 2013 |
Powerful tragedy of an aging king, betrayed by his daughters, robbed of his kingdom, descending into madness. Perhaps the bleakest of Shakespeare's tragic dramas, it explores themes of filial ingratitude, injustice, wretchedness and the meaninglessness of life with unsurpassed power and depth. Reprinted here from an authoritative British edition, complete with explanatory footnotes.
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  tauruseducation | Jun 6, 2013 |
Powerful tragedy of an aging king, betrayed by his daughters, robbed of his kingdom, descending into madness. Perhaps the bleakest of Shakespeare's tragic dramas, it explores themes of filial ingratitude, injustice, wretchedness and the meaninglessness of life with unsurpassed power and depth.
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  tauruseducation | Jun 6, 2013 |
I think this was the darkest, and most disturbing of the three Shakespearian tragedies I have read this semester! Although both Titus and Othello also have a lot of violence and darkness, King Lear has two elaborate plots, two families that are being thorn up from the inside, and fathers who suddenly appear to not know their children, and start judging their children in a different way than before.

The turmoil this creates, and the utter darkness that follows is almost painful, and the whole story unfolds with excrutiating details of violence towards two old, fragile men.

( )
  Lexxie | Apr 23, 2013 |
Spoiler I suppose...

Well, I expected to hate it...being one of the tragedies, I didn't. I actually really loved it. (Thank you Comrade D!)Other than Cordelia, I was comletely fine with everyone who died. I did have to laugh that there were only three main characters alive at the end though!

I found one aspect rather annoyingly unrealistic, the fact that Lear seemed to be homeless without the favor of at least one of his two elder daughters. Kings have many a castle...you would think that he would have one to go to, even if he couldn't go to one of the two his daughers inhabited. I suppose it would have killed the plot otherwise, but it was a bit silly in any case. Setting that aside, it was exciting and interesting and I found myself not wanting to put it down...wanting to see what happened. ( )
  Ameliapei | Apr 18, 2013 |
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» Add other authors (238 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Shakespeare, WilliamAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Brooke, C. F. TuckerEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Buck, Philo M.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Foakes, R.A.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Günther, FrankTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hallqvist, Britt G.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Harbage, AlfredEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Harrison, G. B.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kellogg, BrainerdEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kittredge, George LymanEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lamar, Virginia A.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Muir, KennethEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Orgel, StephenEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Radspieler, HansEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ridley, M. R.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Wieland, Christoph Martin.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Wright, Louis B.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Ran (1985IMDb)
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Epigraph
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First words
I thought the king had more affected the Duke of Albany than Cornwall.
Quotations
Although the last, not least.
Nothing will come of nothing.
How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is

To have a thankless child!
Oh, that way madness lies; let me shun that.
The worst is not

So long as we can say, "This is the worst."
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
This entry is for the COMPLETE "King Lear" only. Do not combine it with abridgements, simplified adaptations or modernizations, Cliffs Notes or similar, or videorecordings of performances, and please separate any that are here.

It should go without saying that this work should also not be combined with any other plays or combinations of plays.
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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 074348276X, Mass Market Paperback)

Folger Shakespeare Library

The world's leading center for Shakespeare studies

Each edition includes:

• 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 famous lines and phrases

• An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language

• An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play

• Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books

Essay by Susan Snyder

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., 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.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:45:48 -0500)

(see all 8 descriptions)

Often regarded as one of the most supreme products of the human mind, this book dazzles us with power, its range and its artistry. In a world where bitterness and innocence, correction and irresponsibility effortlessly co-exist, this play takes us to the very heart of what it is to be human.… (more)

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Two editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia.

Editions: 0140714766, 0141012293

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