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As Lear sinks into rage and madness he is deserted by everyone except his "bitter" Fool, the loyal Kent and the exiled Cordelia. The play descends into a nighmarish theatre of cruelty and absurdity as Lear realises he has "ta'en/Too little care" of the poverty and corruption of his kingdom, and his loyal but foolish friend Gloucester has his eyes gouged out. Metaphors of monstrosity and perversions of nature structure the dramatic action, and the play's ending remains one of the most harrowing in all of Shakespeare. Many see a profound despair and nihilism in King Lear, and would agree with Kent's conclusion that "All's cheerless, dark, and deadly". Other writers have identified a radical but pessimistic critique of contemporary conceptions of kingship and absolutist authority, yet it remains a remarkable tragedy of public misjudgement and intensely private grief and anguish. --Jerry Brotton --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Review
Gloucester and Kent speak of the division of the kingdom, and Kent meets Edmund, the bastard son of the Earl of Gloucester. Read the first page
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Of course Shakespeare was genius, but meant for theatre NOT print.,
By
This review is from: King Lear (Paperback)
I, like everybody else trying to sell this book at Amazon, read this because it was required for an English class at university. I'm better for having read it. But let's face it, Shakespeare's stories were meant to be experienced in a theatre. If you want to know Shakespeare's story about King Lear, find a local theatre company and request it.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not as represented in 'Click to look inside',
By Michael from Montreal (Montreal Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: King Lear (Paperback)
Can't complain about the price, but the cover illustration is wrong (wrong publisher), there are no 'notes' or 'further reading' etc. and the book is 120 pages, not 300 something (as according to 'Click to look...' nor 144 as stated in the product description section).
5.0 out of 5 stars
A father's folly and a daugther's devotion,
This review is from: King Lear (Mass Market Paperback)
After you begin to read a few of Shakespeare's plays in their original language you begin to develop an understanding of the structure of the language and the expressions used in that time. The trick I believe is to persevere; like any good thing, once you have mastered it, you begin to feel a sense of accomplishment. This greatly enhances your enjoyment of the plays.King Lear is a play about honoring one's parents, a very relevant lesson for those of us in the modern world. As with many of Shakespeare's other plays, the language may be old but the lessons are still as relevant as ever. Lear, the King of England gives his blessing and lands to two of his daughters based on their outward show of affection for him, while neglecting his third; Cordelia, because she would rather show her love than make an outward display " my love's more richer than my tongue". It turns out that her two daughters deeds are contrary to their words and the rest of the play deals with Lear almost going mad at the ingratitude and lack of respect shown to him by his two daughters. There is another subplot with the earl of Gloucester being deceived by his illegitimate son into wanting to kill his other son, Edgar. The story unfolds with two of these men, Lear and Gloucester being mistreated by their children who outwardly show love but inwardly have cold and calculating hearts. As with other tragedies, there must be deaths and disappointment, and King Lear is full of them. Unlike Othello however, King Lear does not have a very depressing ending and there is a feeling that everything will be alright, life goes on in other words. I have tried to outline very briefly what this play is about and hopefully have shown a little of what is inside this very rich play. I would recommend King Lear to anyone wanting to read Shakespeare, I would also recommend you read it in the original language because even though it may be more difficult to comprehend, the language is richer and you will be reading Shakespeare and not some modern editor's idea of him.
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