Name: King Lear
ISBN: 158663853X

SparkNotes

Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a modern version, with marginal notes and explanations and full descriptions of each character.

King Lear

Jenny Zhong

This is the excellent foppery of the world, that, when we are sick in fortune, often the surfeit of our own behaviour, we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars; as if we were villains on necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves, and treachers by spherical pre-dominance; drunkards, liars, and adulterers by an enforc’d obedience of planetary influence; and all that we are evil in, by a divine thrusting on. An admirable evasion of whore-master man, to lay his goatish disposition to the charge of a star! My father compounded with my mother under the Dragon’s Tail, and my nativity was under Ursa Major, so that it follows I am rough and lecherous. Fut! I should have been that I am, had the maidenliest star in the firmament twinkled on my bastardising.

William Shakespeare

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, complete with explanatory footnotes.

Adam Scharf

Kendall McClain

King Lear (Shakespeare Made Easy Series)

I read the modern English version of this play. It was definitely full of drama and bloodshed- but I expected nothing less.

Jeweliet Coffee

Fleur van Ravesteijn 

A timeless telling of family, betrayal, hunger for power and the devastation these things lead to. 
(I recommend listening to the BBC 3 Radio Drama by the Renaissance Theatre Company to guide your reading)

Aaliyah Jenkins

Eh. Had to read for school, but I've never understood shakespeare.

diana

gio☕

Credo che, fino ad ora, sia una delle opere shakespeariane che più ho amato. Vista a teatro, letta poi, quest’opera ha realizzato uno dei miei sogni: vedere Shakespeare messo in scena. La tragedia è superba, i personaggi sono perfetti, uno più bello dell’altro in quanto drammaticità e umanità. Il tema della verità, della finzione, della follia… Tutte cose che amo follemente e che mi catturano in continuazione in una maniera indicibile. Ricerco sempre un pizzico di follia nei personaggi, forse perché è una tematica che mi affascina da morire, e trovarla perfettamente delineata, inquadrata, descritta… Cosa potevo chiedere di più?
Ho amato i monologhi di tutti i personaggi, le loro storie parallele che poi si sono incontrate in un punto, in uno stesso punto fino all’atto finale, fino alla conclusione meravigliosa. E poi lui, Edgar, che ho amato dalla sua prima scena e che ho tentato di proteggere, all’interno del mio cuore, con quanta più cura mi riuscisse. Credo che il centro di tutti siano loro: Edmund ed Edgar. Edmund diabolico, Edgar vittima della crudeltà del fratellastro.
Ciò che ho amato ancora di più - e che mi ha portato quasi a piangere, nel momento in cui Cordelia si riunisce a Lear - è stata la tematica del rapporto padri-figli, centro di tutta la tragedia. Shakespeare lo aveva già visto, quel rapporto, ne aveva già viste tutte le problematiche, tutti i difetti. Ma ne aveva visto anche la bellezza, la poesia, i pregi; ne aveva visto la drammaticità e la felicità, la forza, la potenza di questo amore tanto forte quanto precario.
E io ho amato questa tragedia, forse più di Romeo e Giulietta, più della Tempesta… Forse perfino più dell’Amleto.

Celeste Richardson

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

One of the major themes of this play is familial love and what it really looks like. For the most part, we are shown what relationships that should be loving are in actuality when those involved care more about themselves, their own comfort or pride or so on, than they do those they should love based on birth alone. And when parents don’t set an example of love, as we see from Lear when he banishes Cordelia for not tickling his ears with false boasts of love as her sisters do, children often emulate what they see, as Cordelia’s sisters go on to do in their treatment of their father. 

I love the role of the Fool in any Shakespeare play that includes the part. The way said Fool can speak the truth in riddles that others dare not speak has always fascinated me. They walk a dangerous line, which this play’s Fool acknowledges in Act 1, Scene 4; some threaten him when he lies, others when he tells the truth, and still others when he holds his peace. But the need to speak truth mingles with the need to entertain, and it makes for a very interesting character who almost feels like a breaking of the 4th wall. In modern literature, I’m reminded of Wit from The Stormlight Archives, who takes on this same role in multiple settings.

While I very much appreciate this play, it’s hard to get past the unrelenting darkness of it long enough to find any true enjoyment. The conniving of Edmund was fun to read. The Fool and Edgar (while disguised) had definite amusing moments. But there wasn’t really anyone to root for, and this is a play that, even if you go in completely blind, you can somehow from the first scene that it’s going to end terribly. Which is certainly did. I’m glad to have refreshed my memory, and I very much enjoyed the act of buddy reading it with Emma. There were some profound thoughts to consider. But man, was it a downer.

Trever

Absolutely my favorite Shakespeare. Far better than Hamlet. The tragedy, as dramatic as it is, Isn't as over-the-top as Hamlet, and I also appreciate the inclusion of the heroic underdog characters Edgar and Kent

Deniz Erkaradağ

Glorious! I can't wait to see it on stage. Reading both the tragedy and the depth of the characters are amazing.

Simon Elliott Stegall

Jenna Kathleen

Re-read in August 2016.
This is still not one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, but I love the character of Edmund and all the classical and medieval references make me smile. Something new I picked up on after reading Stephen King's The Gunslinger earlier this year:
"Child Rowland to the Dark Tower came,
His word was still 'Fie, foh, and fum,
I smell the blood of a British man."
This Child Rowland (also Childe Roland) is showing up all over the place in fiction over the ages! From Scottish and Scandinavian ballads to Shakespeare to Robert Browning to Stephen King, he sure does get around.

Jeremy Anderberg

While commonly touted one of his masterpieces, Lear is also considered one of the bleakest of Shakespeare’s works. I, however, did not know that going into it.

Right away, I was surprised at how difficult it was to follow the language. It’s very different from the English we know; that’s what 400+ years does, I guess. At the same time, I was also surprised that by the end of each scene I sort of knew what was happening, and was transfixed enough by the power of the words and the story to keep on going. The Amazon reviewer I quoted above said it perfectly — it is indeed a bit like reading a foreign language, but one that you surprisingly understand.

Just two days after starting it, I closed the book, slightly amazed at what had just transpired.

King Lear is an intensely powerful, albeit tragic, story. Lear is dividing his kingdom between his three daughters, but that process doesn’t quite go as planned. The King goes a bit mad, underlings fight about it (and plenty of other things too), and it all comes back in the end to bite just about everyone in the ass.

It’s true what I’ve always read about history’s most famous playwright: Shakespeare’s works touch on the most elemental of human experiences and emotions: jealousy, familial love and connection, parenthood, legacy and inheritance, memory, and more. I’ve read the final lines over and over and over again, which is not something I normally do.

King Lear is, without needing my endorsement, an all-time classic that I’ll certainly be reading again someday.

Анастасия Розова

*Read for class.

Yes, this one I enjoyed quite a bit. Especially the part where Lear, "Tom" (Edgar) and Joker are being completely mad. Precious.

El Rey Lear

Daniela V.

Decidí releer éste libro ya que recordaba muy poco del original, tal vez debido a que hace unos años lo adapté para hacer una pequeña obra de teatro y desde ahí en más sólo recordé mi propia versión de la historia. Por cierto, me gustaba mucho más mi versión.

Es definitivamente la peor obra que leí de Shakespeare. Sin duda no nos llevamos muy bien, salvo en algunos casos como Otelo, que me encantó. 

Siento que todo lo que escribió no es genuino, demasiado afectado para mi gusto. Lleva el drama (que en su justa dosis me agrada) hasta un nivel desopilante y no da mucho desarrollo en sus tragedias. En las últimas dos páginas del libro conté más de 5 muertes, ninguna de las cuales fue desarrollada.

Otro problema que tuve con ésta obra fue que se hacía muy poco creíble por momentos. Gloucester no reconoce a su hijo Edgar la primera vez que lo ve en una cabaña desolada (view spoiler)[(Y me refiero a la primera vez, cuando Gloucester tenía sus ojos) (hide spoiler)], la gente que vive en un mismo castillo no se reconoce, etc. Además, los hechos tienen tan poco desarrollo que se torna un tanto confusa la obra. Releí una escena tres veces para entender cómo (view spoiler)[Gloucester pierde sus dos ojos cuando fue sólo herido una vez (hide spoiler)] pero no hubo caso.

Uno de los temas principales de la obra es la demencia, y no porque veamos como un anciano va perdiendo su razón en sus últimos años, sino porque todos los personajes están completamente locos y exageran cada situación con la que se encuentran. Me parece que hubiese sido mucho mejor no exaltar tanto la locura en otros personajes, así su carácter podría contrastar con el del senil Lear. 

Una decepción bastante grande, porque aún tenía a mi interpretación de la malvada Goneril en mi corazón.

Katerina Thorson

As always I have nothing bad to say about Shakespeare. I am the stereotypical English major with an addiction to this man's work. Not only on a contextual level but also on a pleasureful context as well. It's never a dull moment when I pick up one of Shakespeare's work, it really isn't. I honestly could sit in my room all day and read all the works that he has created. After all I have them in a complete portfolio on my bedside :)

Asha Sidhu

King Lear (New Folger Library Shakespeare)

Zeke Taylor

The story of a king who craves flattery—and the daughter who refuses him even at the cost of her own inheritance. King Lear wants nothing more than to be praised, and when he decides to divide his realm according to how much each of his daughters can impress him with their declarations of love, Goneril and Regan are quick to oblige. Only the youngest, Cordelia, cannot give him what he wants—and she is promptly cut out of his will. Lear’s decision will roil not only his family but his kingdom, for the political implications of the inheritance set off a tragic series of events as Lear’s madness grows. One of the theater’s greatest works, re-popularized most recently by the 2018 film adaptation starring Anthony Hopkins, King Lear is a cornerstone of Western literature and a timeless story.

Edith Quijano

A. R. Braunmuller

Stephen Orgel

Novel Ideas

Amanda Shameem

Derek Graf

King Lear, one of Shakespeare's darkest and most savage plays, tells the story of the foolish and Job-like Lear, who divides his kingdom, as he does his affections, according to vanity and whim. Lear's failure as a father engulfs himself and his world in turmoil and tragedy.Shakespeare's King Lear challenges us with the magnitude, intensity, and sheer duration of the pain that it represents. Its figures harden their hearts, engage in violence, or try to alleviate the suffering of others. Lear himself rages until his sanity cracks. What, then, keeps bringing us back to King Lear? For all the force of its language, King Lear is almost equally powerful when translated, suggesting that it is the story, in large part, that draws us to the play.The play tells us about families struggling between greed and cruelty, on the one hand, and support and consolation, on the other.