King Lear

by William Shakespeare

A fresh and accessible approach to English Literature.

Genres: Nonfiction, Plays, Classics, Shakespeare

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 16, 1998

About the author

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".

Reviews

[Mohammed AlNuwaiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tragedy of King Lear redefines the concept of tragedy in profound ways. The story begins with King Lear testing his daughters’ love through words, a seemingly simple act that sets the stage for his downfall. The two eldest daughters, whose flattering words conceal their deceit, become the source of his deepest sorrow and anguish. In contrast, his youngest daughter, whom he banishes for supposedly loving him the least, ultimately proves her devotion by standing by his side in his final moments. The play’s culmination, marked by the deaths of all major characters, underscores a powerful and universal truth: that regardless of status or intentions, we all meet the same inevitable end.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this among a list of graphic novels offered at my library.

I first read King Lear in college and did not enjoy this version very much. King Lear has 3 daughters and asks all 3 to declare their love in order to get their inheritance. In the end they all die as well as many others. All because the king's ego needs a boost. Cordelia loves him but dies anyway. Betrayal. Treachery. Greed.

[Amanuel Sahilu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t have the words for this, so I’ll use Hazlitt’s:

“We wish that we could pass this play over, and say nothing about it. All that we can say must fall far short of the subject; or even of what we ourselves conceive of it. To attempt to give a description of the play itself or of its effect upon the mind, is mere impertinence: yet we must say something.—It is then the best of all Shakespeare's plays, for it is the one in which he was the most in earnest.“

[Federico Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

great summary but misses the greatest parts

The mad scene, seeing Cordelia and his daughters as a child again, the windstorm it all felt somewhat rushed and thus renders the play merely a series of pointless tragedies without any redeeming qualities or lessons to learn from.
In a sense it is almost like a horror film.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edited and rendered into modern English by Alan Durband. Increased one's understanding of Shakespear.

[Mills College Library]

EBOOK

[Helen Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

read for work but really enjoyed. Lots of good stuff

[Mona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Triumph, my Britain, thou hastone to show,
to whom all scenes of Europe homage owe
He was not of an age, but for all time.
" Rival Ben Janson"