In my ongoing quest to read Shakespeare's complete works, I have made a discovery: I find a lot of his main characters in the tragedies annoying (which isn't rare for me, I find a lot of characters who bemoan their fate irritating). The difference with Will is that even though I don't necessarily LIKE these people, I certainly CARE. King Lear is not different: the bullying tyrant and his tragic, loyal daughter are unforgettable. Actually, the subplot of Edmund and Edgar was what really got to me, with the whole tension about legitimate children and those who aren't. It's essentially, perfect. ( )

Easily my favorite of the Shakespeare plays I've read. I'd love to see this one. ( )

I recently read this for the Shakespeare module on my degree, and was a little disappointed. Having been told it was the Bard's masterpiece, I perhaps came to it with rather high expectations, but then doesn't everyone with Shakespeare? In my own opinion I feel that it falls short of Hamlet, though is superior to Othello, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet in Shakespeare's line-up of 'famous tragedies' in terms of reading; on performance I cannot comment having seen only Hamlet and R&J. The Fool is an excellent character, and his relationship with Cordelia perhaps the most interesting in the drama. Edmond is also a good dramatic character, but the sisters Regan and Gonerill were flat. Lear's language is itself at times brilliant, but something left me wanting the dexterity of Hamlet. Cordelia is powerful in her absence, and really dominates the final act through her own speech, and that of Lear. The play is undoubtedly infused with some magical moments, but as a text to read, it does not, for me, inspire or humor as Hamlet manages. ( )

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1184482...

This is another one of the great Shakespeare plays which I did not know at all before starting this project. (I thought I might have seen a school production but must have been mistaken.) It's a bleak piece of work, two dysfunctional families (Lear and his daughters, Gloster and his sons) who are each capable of private disaster and combine to make public catastrophe. Lear in particular is a walking emotional trainwreck.

Shakespeare's triumph here is that although Lear behaves incredibly badly in the very first scene, we still sympathise enough to want to know what happens to him. Edmund is a much smoother baddie, who is worthy of a play of his own. The plot is a wee bit wobbly at the edges, but that's not the point: this is a play about strong characters and their families.

The bit with Gloster's eyes being pulled out and jumped on is pretty repulsive - I don't recall anything this gruesome in Shakespeare since Titus Andronicus; perhaps the audience was demanding more gore?
Arkangel have two excellent actors paying Lear and Edgar in Trevor Peacock (who I'm ashamed to say I knew only from The Vicar of Dibley before I started this project) and David Tennant (whoever he is). Along with the Fool (John Rogan) they rather overshadow the rest of the cast - I particularly wished that Gerry Murphy as Edmund had found a little more oomph. But basically the quality of the script carries even average performances from the others to make it a pretty good listen. ( )

My favorite 'portable' edition of the play. ( )