- Category: Books » Theatre & Plays » Shakespeare
- Format: Paperback Learn more about the Paperback format using Tower WIKI.
- Publisher: Pocket Classics
- ISBN: 074348276X
- WAPI (Tower ID): 100440723
- Release Date: January 1, 2004
- Average Customer Review: There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!
- Tower.com Sales Rank: #90988 in Books (See Top 100 Books Bestsellers)
- #155 in Theatre & Plays (See Top 100 Theatre & Plays Bestsellers)
- #22 in Shakespeare (See Top 100 Shakespeare Bestsellers)
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Product DescriptionMore Books by William Shakespeare (Author) a...Run a Quick Search on "SparkNotes King Lear" by William Shakespeare and Stephen Orgel to Browse Related Products:Browse more products related to "SparkNotes King Lear"Browse more products related to "William Shakespeare and Stephen Orgel"SynopsisAn edition of Shakespeare's tragedy, including discussion of its plot, themes, characters, language, production, and author. Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a modern version, discusses the author and the theater of his time, and provides quizzes and other study activities. AnnotationShakespeare probably wrote KING LEAR in 1605, but the action of the play takes place in the eighth century B.C. Lear, the elderly king of Britain, is ready to cease his rule and divide his kingdom among his three daughters. But his heart hardens against his youngest daughter, Cordelia, who refuses to give him the glib flattery he seeks, and he capriciously disowns her. Cordelia marries the king of France, leaving the kingdom to her two unsavory sisters, Goneril and Regan, who promptly begin scheming to strip Lear of not only his authority but his dignity. The old king, devastated by their insulting treatment of him, begins to lose his reason. Forced to flee, he wanders into the wilderness, accompanied by his devoted Fool and by Kent, a nobleman in disguise who stays true to him. As Lear faces a devastating storm and encounters a variety of men, both noble and depraved, his daughters take revenge on anyone who tries to help him, including his old friend Gloucester, who is cruelly blinded before he too is turned out into the wild. Eventually, all these characters make their way to Dover, where Cordelia has landed with the French army under the command of her husband in an attempt to save her father's kingdom. As more blood is shed and the two evil sisters are finally vanquished, one of Shakespeare's saddest endings closes the play, as Lear gives into his grief after Cordelia's death, realizing that it was she who, after all, loved him the best. In KING LEAR, with its bleak vision of the human life, Shakespeare deals with questions of justice and injustice, and whether the world is indifferent to the fate of mankind. The play is interesting for its depictions of madness in several characters, from the professionally nonsensical Fool to Lear's own ravings in the depths of his confusion. KING LEAR is also a probing examination of family and its implications, and of a proud man who is brought low before he is able to understand, too late, what constitutes true goodness and humility. At a time when power in England had just been transferred from the childless Elizabeth I to her nephew, James I, questions of authority and succession were very much in the public discourse, giving the play an added dimension in the eyes of Shakespeare's contemporaries. A popular upbeat version of the play, in which Cordelia lived, was current in England until the mid-19th century. If You Enjoy "SparkNotes King Lear (Paperback)", May We Also Recommend:
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