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丕賱賲賱賰 賱賷乇
'The most perfect specimen of the dramatic art existing in the world' Percy Bysshe Shelley
Shakespeare's bleak and brutal tragedy begins when an ageing king, seeking a successor, rejects the young daughter who loves him and misplaces his trust in her malevolent sisters. In return they strip him of his power and condemn him to a wretched wasteland of horror and insanity. Set in a pitiless universe, King Lear is a towering, elemental masterpiece of fierce poetry and vast imaginative scope.
Used and Recommended by the National Theatre
General Editor Stanley Wells
Edited by George Hunter
Introduction by Kiernan Ryan
Shakespeare's bleak and brutal tragedy begins when an ageing king, seeking a successor, rejects the young daughter who loves him and misplaces his trust in her malevolent sisters. In return they strip him of his power and condemn him to a wretched wasteland of horror and insanity. Set in a pitiless universe, King Lear is a towering, elemental masterpiece of fierce poetry and vast imaginative scope.
Used and Recommended by the National Theatre
General Editor Stanley Wells
Edited by George Hunter
Introduction by Kiernan Ryan
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1605
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107228 people want to read
About the author
William Shakespeare
22.4k听books45.8k听followersWilliam 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".
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".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 8,064 reviews
February 11, 2020
I've read Lear many times, and, although I didn't learn much about the play this reading, I did learn a little about myself. I have always loved the play, but in the past I found its injustice and evil nigh overpowering, its victims pathetically guiltless, its perspective verging on the nihilistic. Now, though, I see goodness and grace everywhere: in Cordelia's plain-spoken honesty and love for Lear, in Kent and Gloster's loyalty, in Edgar's bizarre attempt to heal his father's soul through stratagem, and--perhaps most important--in the way Lear himself grows in understanding and compassion even as he grows in grief and madness.
The bad guys have their moments too: the devotion of Oswald to Goneril, Edmund's tardy but apparently sincere attempt to save Cordelia and Lear's lives, and--my favorite--the heroic effort of Cornwall's servant to intervene in the blinding of Gloster by wounding the vicious master whom he has served loyally all his life.
Goodness seems to triumph here even in the midst of loss, and I no longer feel the evil to be overwhelming: I merely bow my head in thanksgiving for goodness and tremble in reverence before the mystery of life.
August 17, 2021
King Lear, William Shakespeare
King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It depicts the gradual descent into madness of the title character, after he disposes of his kingdom giving bequests to two of his three daughters based on their flattery of him, bringing tragic consequences for all. Derived from the legend of Lear of Britain, a mythological Pre-Roman Celtic king.
毓賳賵丕賳賴丕蹖 趩丕倬 卮丿賴 丿乇 丕蹖乇丕賳: 芦卮丕賴 賱蹖乇禄貙 芦賱蹖乇 卮丕賴禄貨 芦賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 卮丕賴 賱蹖乇禄貨 芦丕賱賲賱讴 賱蹖乇禄貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 賵蹖賱蹖丕賲 卮讴爻倬蹖乇貨 丕賳鬲卮丕乇丕鬲蹖賴丕: (亘賳诏丕賴 鬲乇噩賲賴 賵 賳卮乇 讴鬲丕亘貙 毓賱賲蹖 賮乇賴賳诏蹖貙 賵乇噩丕賵賳丿貙 賳卮乇 賲乇讴夭貙 倬丕乇爻賴)貨 丕丿亘蹖丕鬲 丕賳诏賱爻鬲丕賳貨 鬲丕乇蹖禺 賳禺爻鬲蹖賳 禺賵丕賳卮: 爻丕賱 1973賲蹖賱丕丿蹖 賵 丿乇 爻丕賱 1995賲蹖賱丕丿蹖
毓賳賵丕賳: 賱蹖乇 卮丕賴貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 賵蹖賱蹖丕賲 卮讴爻倬蹖乇貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 噩賵丕丿 倬蹖賲丕賳貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 亘賳诏丕賴 鬲乇噩賲賴 賵 賳卮乇貙 1339貙 丿乇 200氐貙 趩丕倬 丿蹖诏乇 1347貨 丿乇 296氐貨 趩丕倬 丿蹖诏乇 丕賳鬲卮丕乇丕鬲 毓賱賲蹖 賮乇賴賳诏蹖貙 1373貨 趩丕倬 丿蹖诏乇 1375貨 卮丕亘讴 9644452518貨 趩丕倬 卮卮賲 1379貨 趩丕倬 賴賮鬲賲 1380貨 趩丕倬 賴卮鬲賲 1381貨 賳賴賲 爻丕賱1382貨 丿賴賲 1387貨 卮丕亘讴 9789644452512貨 蹖丕夭丿賴賲 1391貨 賲賵囟賵毓 賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 賴丕蹖 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳 亘乇蹖鬲丕賳蹖丕 - 爻丿賴 17賲
毓賳賵丕賳: 賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 卮丕賴 賱蹖乇貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 賵蹖賱蹖丕賲 卮讴爻倬蹖乇貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 賲.丕 亘賴 丌匕蹖賳貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 賵乇噩丕賵賳丿貙 1382貙 丿乇 144氐貙 卮丕亘讴 9647656408貨
毓賳賵丕賳: 丕賱賲賱讴 賱蹖乇貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 賵蹖賱蹖丕賲 卮讴爻倬蹖乇貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 賲丨賲丿 賲氐胤賮蹖 亘丿乇蹖貨 讴賵蹖鬲貙 賵夭丕乇丞 丕賱丕毓賱丕賲貙 1355貙 丿乇 222氐貙 亘賴 夭亘丕賳 毓乇亘蹖貨 卮丕亘讴9789642131631貨
毓賳賵丕賳: 卮丕賴 賱蹖乇貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 賵蹖賱蹖丕賲 卮讴爻倬蹖乇貨 亘丕夭賳诏乇蹖 丕賳丿乇賵 賲鬲蹖賵夭貨 賲鬲乇噩賲 賲乇噩丕賳 乇囟丕卅蹖貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 賳卮乇 賲乇讴夭貙 1393貙 丿乇 58氐貙 卮丕亘讴9789642131631貨
毓賳賵丕賳: 賱蹖乇 卮丕賴貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 賵蹖賱蹖丕賲 卮讴爻倬蹖乇貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 賲蹖賱丕丿 賲蹖賳丕讴丕乇貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 亘賳诏丕賴 鬲乇噩賲賴 賵 賳卮乇 倬丕乇爻賴貙 1394貙 丿乇 240氐貙 卮丕亘讴 9786002531919貨
毓賳賵丕賳: 賱蹖乇 卮丕賴貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 賵蹖賱蹖丕賲 卮讴爻倬蹖乇貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 亘蹖鬲丕 丨爻蹖賳蹖貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 丕賳鬲卮丕乇丕鬲 丕爻丨賯貙 1394貙 丿乇 64氐貙 卮丕亘讴 9786008175170貨
賮賴乇爻鬲: 倬乇丿賴 丕賵賱: 氐丨賳賴 丕賵賱 (賵丕賯毓 丿乇 賯氐乇 卮丕賴 賱蹖乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 丿賵賲 (賵丕賯毓 丿乇 鬲丕賱丕乇蹖 丿乇 禺丕賳賴 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 爻賵賲 (丕鬲丕賯蹖 丿乇 禺丕賳賴 丿賵讴 丌賱亘丕賳蹖)貨 氐丨賳賴 趩賴丕乇賲 (鬲丕賱丕乇蹖 丿乇 賯氐乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 倬賳噩賲 (丨蹖丕胤 乇賵亘乇賵蹖 賯氐乇)貨
倬乇丿賴 丿賵賲: 氐丨賳賴 丕賵賱 (賯賱毓賴鈥屰� 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 丿賵賲 (乇賵亘乇賵蹖 賯賱毓賴鈥屰� 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 爻賵賲 (噩賳诏賱)貨 氐丨賳賴 趩賴丕乇賲 (乇賵亘乇賵蹖 賯賱毓賴鈥屰� 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨
倬乇丿賴 爻賵賲: 氐丨賳賴 丕賵賱 (亘蹖丕亘丕賳)貨 氐丨賳賴 丿賵賲 (賴賲丕賳 亘蹖丕亘丕賳)貨 氐丨賳賴 爻賵賲 (賯賱毓賴鈥屰� 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 趩賴丕乇賲 (亘蹖丕亘丕賳貙 乇賵亘乇賵蹖 蹖讴 讴賱亘賴)貨 氐丨賳賴 倬賳噩賲 (賯賱毓賴鈥屰� 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 卮卮賲 (丕鬲丕賯蹖 丿乇 賳夭丿蹖讴蹖 賯賱毓賴鈥屰� 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 賴賮鬲賲 (賯賱毓賴鈥屰� 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨
倬乇丿賴 趩賴丕乇賲: 氐丨賳賴 丕賵賱 (亘蹖丕亘丕賳)貨 氐丨賳賴 丿賵賲 (噩賱賵蹖 賯氐乇 丿賵讴 丌賱亘丕賳蹖)貨 氐丨賳賴 爻賵賲 (丕乇丿賵诏丕賴 賮乇丕賳爻賵蹖賴丕 丿乇 賳夭丿蹖讴蹖 丿賵賵乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 趩賴丕乇賲 (趩丕丿乇 讴賵乇丿蹖賱蹖丕 丿乇 丿賵賵乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 倬賳噩賲 (賯賱毓賴鈥屰� 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 卮卮賲 (噩賱诏賴鈥屫й� 丿乇 賳夭丿蹖讴蹖 丿賵賵乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 賴賮鬲賲 (趩丕丿乇蹖 丿乇 丕乇丿賵诏丕賴 賮乇丕賳爻賵蹖賴丕)貨
倬乇丿賴 倬賳噩賲: 氐丨賳賴 丕賵賱 (丕乇丿賵诏丕賴 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖賴丕 丿乇 賳夭丿蹖讴蹖 丿賵賵乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 丿賵賲 (賲讴丕賳蹖 丿乇 亘蹖賳 丿賵 丕乇丿賵诏丕賴 賮乇丕賳爻賵蹖賴丕 賵 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖賴丕)貨 氐丨賳賴 爻賵賲 (丕乇丿賵诏丕賴 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖賴丕 丿乇 賳夭丿蹖讴蹖 丿賵賵乇)貨
賱蹖乇 卮丕賴貙 倬丕丿卮丕賴 讴賴賳爻丕賱 芦丕賳诏賱爻鬲丕賳禄貙 賯賱賲乇賵 禺賵蹖卮 乇丕 亘賴 丿賵 丿禺鬲乇 賳丕爻倬丕爻貙 賵 趩丕倬賱賵爻 禺賵丿貙 賲蹖亘禺卮賳丿貙 丿禺鬲乇 讴賴鬲乇卮丕賳 乇丕 讴賴 丕夭 趩乇亘 夭亘丕賳蹖 賵 賲丿丕賴賳賴 倬乇賴蹖夭 丿丕乇丿貙 賲丨乇賵賲 賲蹖讴賳賳丿貙 丕夭 丌賳 倬爻貙 丿賵 丿禺鬲乇 趩賳丕賳 亘丕 倬丿乇 倬蹖乇 禺賵蹖卮 乇賮鬲丕乇 賲蹖讴賳賳丿貙 讴賴 芦賱蹖乇禄 丿蹖賵丕賳賴 賲蹖卮賵丿貨 爻乇 亘賴 亘蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏匕丕乇丿貨 丕蹖賳 賯爻賲鬲 丕夭 賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴貙 倬乇鬲賵 丿乇禺卮丕賳 賳亘賵睾 芦卮讴爻倬蹖乇禄 丕爻鬲貨 爻乇丕賳噩丕賲 芦賱蹖乇禄 丿蹖賵丕賳賴貙 噩爻丿 亘蹖噩丕賳 丿禺鬲乇 讴賴鬲乇 乇丕貙 讴賴 亘賴 丿爻鬲 诏賲丕卮鬲诏丕賳 禺賵丕賴乇丕賳卮 丕夭 倬丕蹖 丿乇丌賲丿賴貙 丿乇 丌睾賵卮 賲蹖诏蹖乇丿 賵 丕夭 乇賳噩 夭賳丿诏蹖 乇賴丕 賲蹖卮賵丿貨
鬲丕乇蹖禺 亘賴賳诏丕賲 乇爻丕賳蹖 12/06/1399賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 25/05/1400賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 丕. 卮乇亘蹖丕賳蹖
King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It depicts the gradual descent into madness of the title character, after he disposes of his kingdom giving bequests to two of his three daughters based on their flattery of him, bringing tragic consequences for all. Derived from the legend of Lear of Britain, a mythological Pre-Roman Celtic king.
毓賳賵丕賳賴丕蹖 趩丕倬 卮丿賴 丿乇 丕蹖乇丕賳: 芦卮丕賴 賱蹖乇禄貙 芦賱蹖乇 卮丕賴禄貨 芦賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 卮丕賴 賱蹖乇禄貨 芦丕賱賲賱讴 賱蹖乇禄貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 賵蹖賱蹖丕賲 卮讴爻倬蹖乇貨 丕賳鬲卮丕乇丕鬲蹖賴丕: (亘賳诏丕賴 鬲乇噩賲賴 賵 賳卮乇 讴鬲丕亘貙 毓賱賲蹖 賮乇賴賳诏蹖貙 賵乇噩丕賵賳丿貙 賳卮乇 賲乇讴夭貙 倬丕乇爻賴)貨 丕丿亘蹖丕鬲 丕賳诏賱爻鬲丕賳貨 鬲丕乇蹖禺 賳禺爻鬲蹖賳 禺賵丕賳卮: 爻丕賱 1973賲蹖賱丕丿蹖 賵 丿乇 爻丕賱 1995賲蹖賱丕丿蹖
毓賳賵丕賳: 賱蹖乇 卮丕賴貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 賵蹖賱蹖丕賲 卮讴爻倬蹖乇貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 噩賵丕丿 倬蹖賲丕賳貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 亘賳诏丕賴 鬲乇噩賲賴 賵 賳卮乇貙 1339貙 丿乇 200氐貙 趩丕倬 丿蹖诏乇 1347貨 丿乇 296氐貨 趩丕倬 丿蹖诏乇 丕賳鬲卮丕乇丕鬲 毓賱賲蹖 賮乇賴賳诏蹖貙 1373貨 趩丕倬 丿蹖诏乇 1375貨 卮丕亘讴 9644452518貨 趩丕倬 卮卮賲 1379貨 趩丕倬 賴賮鬲賲 1380貨 趩丕倬 賴卮鬲賲 1381貨 賳賴賲 爻丕賱1382貨 丿賴賲 1387貨 卮丕亘讴 9789644452512貨 蹖丕夭丿賴賲 1391貨 賲賵囟賵毓 賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 賴丕蹖 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳 亘乇蹖鬲丕賳蹖丕 - 爻丿賴 17賲
毓賳賵丕賳: 賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 卮丕賴 賱蹖乇貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 賵蹖賱蹖丕賲 卮讴爻倬蹖乇貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 賲.丕 亘賴 丌匕蹖賳貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 賵乇噩丕賵賳丿貙 1382貙 丿乇 144氐貙 卮丕亘讴 9647656408貨
毓賳賵丕賳: 丕賱賲賱讴 賱蹖乇貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 賵蹖賱蹖丕賲 卮讴爻倬蹖乇貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 賲丨賲丿 賲氐胤賮蹖 亘丿乇蹖貨 讴賵蹖鬲貙 賵夭丕乇丞 丕賱丕毓賱丕賲貙 1355貙 丿乇 222氐貙 亘賴 夭亘丕賳 毓乇亘蹖貨 卮丕亘讴9789642131631貨
毓賳賵丕賳: 卮丕賴 賱蹖乇貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 賵蹖賱蹖丕賲 卮讴爻倬蹖乇貨 亘丕夭賳诏乇蹖 丕賳丿乇賵 賲鬲蹖賵夭貨 賲鬲乇噩賲 賲乇噩丕賳 乇囟丕卅蹖貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 賳卮乇 賲乇讴夭貙 1393貙 丿乇 58氐貙 卮丕亘讴9789642131631貨
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賮賴乇爻鬲: 倬乇丿賴 丕賵賱: 氐丨賳賴 丕賵賱 (賵丕賯毓 丿乇 賯氐乇 卮丕賴 賱蹖乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 丿賵賲 (賵丕賯毓 丿乇 鬲丕賱丕乇蹖 丿乇 禺丕賳賴 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 爻賵賲 (丕鬲丕賯蹖 丿乇 禺丕賳賴 丿賵讴 丌賱亘丕賳蹖)貨 氐丨賳賴 趩賴丕乇賲 (鬲丕賱丕乇蹖 丿乇 賯氐乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 倬賳噩賲 (丨蹖丕胤 乇賵亘乇賵蹖 賯氐乇)貨
倬乇丿賴 丿賵賲: 氐丨賳賴 丕賵賱 (賯賱毓賴鈥屰� 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 丿賵賲 (乇賵亘乇賵蹖 賯賱毓賴鈥屰� 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 爻賵賲 (噩賳诏賱)貨 氐丨賳賴 趩賴丕乇賲 (乇賵亘乇賵蹖 賯賱毓賴鈥屰� 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨
倬乇丿賴 爻賵賲: 氐丨賳賴 丕賵賱 (亘蹖丕亘丕賳)貨 氐丨賳賴 丿賵賲 (賴賲丕賳 亘蹖丕亘丕賳)貨 氐丨賳賴 爻賵賲 (賯賱毓賴鈥屰� 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 趩賴丕乇賲 (亘蹖丕亘丕賳貙 乇賵亘乇賵蹖 蹖讴 讴賱亘賴)貨 氐丨賳賴 倬賳噩賲 (賯賱毓賴鈥屰� 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 卮卮賲 (丕鬲丕賯蹖 丿乇 賳夭丿蹖讴蹖 賯賱毓賴鈥屰� 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 賴賮鬲賲 (賯賱毓賴鈥屰� 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨
倬乇丿賴 趩賴丕乇賲: 氐丨賳賴 丕賵賱 (亘蹖丕亘丕賳)貨 氐丨賳賴 丿賵賲 (噩賱賵蹖 賯氐乇 丿賵讴 丌賱亘丕賳蹖)貨 氐丨賳賴 爻賵賲 (丕乇丿賵诏丕賴 賮乇丕賳爻賵蹖賴丕 丿乇 賳夭丿蹖讴蹖 丿賵賵乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 趩賴丕乇賲 (趩丕丿乇 讴賵乇丿蹖賱蹖丕 丿乇 丿賵賵乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 倬賳噩賲 (賯賱毓賴鈥屰� 诏賱賵爻鬲乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 卮卮賲 (噩賱诏賴鈥屫й� 丿乇 賳夭丿蹖讴蹖 丿賵賵乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 賴賮鬲賲 (趩丕丿乇蹖 丿乇 丕乇丿賵诏丕賴 賮乇丕賳爻賵蹖賴丕)貨
倬乇丿賴 倬賳噩賲: 氐丨賳賴 丕賵賱 (丕乇丿賵诏丕賴 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖賴丕 丿乇 賳夭丿蹖讴蹖 丿賵賵乇)貨 氐丨賳賴 丿賵賲 (賲讴丕賳蹖 丿乇 亘蹖賳 丿賵 丕乇丿賵诏丕賴 賮乇丕賳爻賵蹖賴丕 賵 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖賴丕)貨 氐丨賳賴 爻賵賲 (丕乇丿賵诏丕賴 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖賴丕 丿乇 賳夭丿蹖讴蹖 丿賵賵乇)貨
賱蹖乇 卮丕賴貙 倬丕丿卮丕賴 讴賴賳爻丕賱 芦丕賳诏賱爻鬲丕賳禄貙 賯賱賲乇賵 禺賵蹖卮 乇丕 亘賴 丿賵 丿禺鬲乇 賳丕爻倬丕爻貙 賵 趩丕倬賱賵爻 禺賵丿貙 賲蹖亘禺卮賳丿貙 丿禺鬲乇 讴賴鬲乇卮丕賳 乇丕 讴賴 丕夭 趩乇亘 夭亘丕賳蹖 賵 賲丿丕賴賳賴 倬乇賴蹖夭 丿丕乇丿貙 賲丨乇賵賲 賲蹖讴賳賳丿貙 丕夭 丌賳 倬爻貙 丿賵 丿禺鬲乇 趩賳丕賳 亘丕 倬丿乇 倬蹖乇 禺賵蹖卮 乇賮鬲丕乇 賲蹖讴賳賳丿貙 讴賴 芦賱蹖乇禄 丿蹖賵丕賳賴 賲蹖卮賵丿貨 爻乇 亘賴 亘蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏匕丕乇丿貨 丕蹖賳 賯爻賲鬲 丕夭 賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴貙 倬乇鬲賵 丿乇禺卮丕賳 賳亘賵睾 芦卮讴爻倬蹖乇禄 丕爻鬲貨 爻乇丕賳噩丕賲 芦賱蹖乇禄 丿蹖賵丕賳賴貙 噩爻丿 亘蹖噩丕賳 丿禺鬲乇 讴賴鬲乇 乇丕貙 讴賴 亘賴 丿爻鬲 诏賲丕卮鬲诏丕賳 禺賵丕賴乇丕賳卮 丕夭 倬丕蹖 丿乇丌賲丿賴貙 丿乇 丌睾賵卮 賲蹖诏蹖乇丿 賵 丕夭 乇賳噩 夭賳丿诏蹖 乇賴丕 賲蹖卮賵丿貨
鬲丕乇蹖禺 亘賴賳诏丕賲 乇爻丕賳蹖 12/06/1399賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 25/05/1400賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 丕. 卮乇亘蹖丕賳蹖
July 1, 2024
Hot Shakespeare Summer continues with this tale of a King that should have internalized the phrase 鈥渇lattery gets you nowhere.鈥� Flattery gets you a pile of dead bodies and a collapsed kingdom now, Pops, but hey I guess thats why they call these 鈥渢ragedies.鈥� Brush the bodies aside for a moment because King Lear is an absolutely stunning story and play. Is it one of the greatest stories ever told? MAYBE! Ask , in his he called it 鈥�the most perfect specimen of the dramatic art existing in the world.鈥� And this is a guy who loved Shakespeare so much he named his boat after a character from The Tempest and had said character鈥檚 song engraved on his tombstone when the boat capsized and killed him. So that sounds like a strong argument if I鈥檝e ever heard one. Okay roll the bodies back in because this is a play of political turmoil wrought by hubris and familial fighting that has relevance long beyond the Bard鈥檚 lifetime, and its brilliantly bleak ending that shoves the audience鈥檚 faces directly in the muck as warning against such hubris was so harsh that the play was given a happier ending (鈥檚 was performed instead until reverting to the original ending in the mid 19th century). And so fall the mighty, and the rest of us crushed in their collapse, in this tale where speaking truth to power often lands on in a shallow grave yet far worse the fates of those who fail to see their own folly before all they know and love is eviscerated in it. This is a tale with teeth, one described in a poem (read it ) as a 鈥�fierce dispute, / Betwixt damnation and impassion'd clay.鈥� So join me and 鈥�we'll live / And pray, and sing, and tell old tales鈥� as we take a look at Shakespeare鈥檚 phenomenal King Lear
鈥�How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
To have a thankless child!鈥�
I first encountered the tale of King Lear in the 鈥檚 cinematic masterpiece, , a film where they built an entire castle set only to burn it to the ground for effect. Such is the nature of King Lear: a family, a kingdom, a legacy all dramatically burned to the ground for the audience's pleasure. Okay, fine, it鈥檚 bleak but I happen to like bleak, okay?! And this play hits with fists of fury, swinging lines that sting even as they lay flat on the page. 鈥�Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise,鈥� ouch, damn Shakespeare鈥it me again. 鈥�Get thee glass eyes, / And like a scurvy politician seem / To see the things thou dost not,鈥� haha, got 鈥榚m! And a good one to log away in your repertoire is 鈥�I am a man more sinned against than sinning,鈥� for when something negative comes up in a performance review. Just jokes, but then again 鈥�Many a true word hath been spoken in jest.鈥� I鈥檝e been going through Shakespeare鈥檚 works in order to read retellings, this one in preparation for 鈥檚 , and finding that I absolutely love them all. And so far, this one takes the crown. Suck it Lear, it鈥檚 Shakespeare鈥檚 crown now.
鈥�Who is it that can tell me who I am?鈥�
Have I mentioned this story has a body count? Because it鈥檚 big. And brutal. For newcomers to this work, it is based on the myth and tells the tale of King Lear as he doles out his kingdom to his children. His eldest two, Goneril and Regan, flatter him with praise to stoke his ego and they get some sweet inheritance from the bargain. Cordelia鈥攁 character said is symbolic of death, or at least force Lear and us all to 鈥�make friends with the necessity of dying鈥欌€攄oes not flatter him and says she loves him enough as a father but reserves half her love for a husband. She gets nothing. Yet when the sisters don鈥檛 house Lear, and Cordelia鈥檚 husband launches war on the Britons, and when another family feud between an illegitimate and a disinherited all come together in rage and bloodshed, shit hits the proverbial fan. And all because, as Regan is quick to point out, 鈥�He hath ever but slenderly known himself.鈥� It should come as no surprise that the concept of blindness figures prominently into the play both literally and figuratively. Sorry about them eyes, Gloucester.
鈥�Now, gods, stand up for bastards!鈥�
Part of the lasting legacy of Shakespeare is that his stories are malleable for the changing of the times and still smack with power even 400 years beyond his death. We are blessed with reincarnations of his work that have also become cultural touchstones for the moment, just look at how beloved is redressed for the 90s in , or still being a household name as he rules from Pride Rock in . While in Lear we read the famous line 鈥�we that are young shall never see so much, nor live so long,鈥� we still see many of the same issues reincarnated in political squabbling and struggles through the ages. This play doesn鈥檛 feel so distant, this play where a quid pro quo can gone sour can turn into war, where the feuds of the rich and powerful lead to the deaths of the poor and soldiers sent off to die. 鈥�As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods,鈥� Shakespeare writes, 鈥�They kill us for their sport.鈥� Yet for the rich the working class are but pawns with deaths they hardly register beyond statistics, and only bemoan when it means their lines have broken and death encroaches their territory like Birnam Wood on Dusinane.
Yet too we have King Lear more concerned with The Fool and the entertainment he provides as all descends to rot and ruin around him. How quick we are to look away from atrocities, block out the bad with entertainment, allow a major sporting event to take the spectacle of news and social media overriding the news of mass killings and sorrows. King Lear lives on because it captures the state of being human, being in a society, being under the rule of those for whom feuds can erupt into warfare. It is too late for the characters in Lear but it is not to late for us if we recognize and strive to correct it. Hopefully. A fantastic play, a story that lasts and lasts, King Lear is an absolute masterpiece. Pop 5 stars into the goodreads sky.
5/5
鈥�How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
To have a thankless child!鈥�
I first encountered the tale of King Lear in the 鈥檚 cinematic masterpiece, , a film where they built an entire castle set only to burn it to the ground for effect. Such is the nature of King Lear: a family, a kingdom, a legacy all dramatically burned to the ground for the audience's pleasure. Okay, fine, it鈥檚 bleak but I happen to like bleak, okay?! And this play hits with fists of fury, swinging lines that sting even as they lay flat on the page. 鈥�Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise,鈥� ouch, damn Shakespeare鈥it me again. 鈥�Get thee glass eyes, / And like a scurvy politician seem / To see the things thou dost not,鈥� haha, got 鈥榚m! And a good one to log away in your repertoire is 鈥�I am a man more sinned against than sinning,鈥� for when something negative comes up in a performance review. Just jokes, but then again 鈥�Many a true word hath been spoken in jest.鈥� I鈥檝e been going through Shakespeare鈥檚 works in order to read retellings, this one in preparation for 鈥檚 , and finding that I absolutely love them all. And so far, this one takes the crown. Suck it Lear, it鈥檚 Shakespeare鈥檚 crown now.
鈥�Who is it that can tell me who I am?鈥�
Have I mentioned this story has a body count? Because it鈥檚 big. And brutal. For newcomers to this work, it is based on the myth and tells the tale of King Lear as he doles out his kingdom to his children. His eldest two, Goneril and Regan, flatter him with praise to stoke his ego and they get some sweet inheritance from the bargain. Cordelia鈥攁 character said is symbolic of death, or at least force Lear and us all to 鈥�make friends with the necessity of dying鈥欌€攄oes not flatter him and says she loves him enough as a father but reserves half her love for a husband. She gets nothing. Yet when the sisters don鈥檛 house Lear, and Cordelia鈥檚 husband launches war on the Britons, and when another family feud between an illegitimate and a disinherited all come together in rage and bloodshed, shit hits the proverbial fan. And all because, as Regan is quick to point out, 鈥�He hath ever but slenderly known himself.鈥� It should come as no surprise that the concept of blindness figures prominently into the play both literally and figuratively. Sorry about them eyes, Gloucester.
鈥�Now, gods, stand up for bastards!鈥�
Part of the lasting legacy of Shakespeare is that his stories are malleable for the changing of the times and still smack with power even 400 years beyond his death. We are blessed with reincarnations of his work that have also become cultural touchstones for the moment, just look at how beloved is redressed for the 90s in , or still being a household name as he rules from Pride Rock in . While in Lear we read the famous line 鈥�we that are young shall never see so much, nor live so long,鈥� we still see many of the same issues reincarnated in political squabbling and struggles through the ages. This play doesn鈥檛 feel so distant, this play where a quid pro quo can gone sour can turn into war, where the feuds of the rich and powerful lead to the deaths of the poor and soldiers sent off to die. 鈥�As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods,鈥� Shakespeare writes, 鈥�They kill us for their sport.鈥� Yet for the rich the working class are but pawns with deaths they hardly register beyond statistics, and only bemoan when it means their lines have broken and death encroaches their territory like Birnam Wood on Dusinane.
Yet too we have King Lear more concerned with The Fool and the entertainment he provides as all descends to rot and ruin around him. How quick we are to look away from atrocities, block out the bad with entertainment, allow a major sporting event to take the spectacle of news and social media overriding the news of mass killings and sorrows. King Lear lives on because it captures the state of being human, being in a society, being under the rule of those for whom feuds can erupt into warfare. It is too late for the characters in Lear but it is not to late for us if we recognize and strive to correct it. Hopefully. A fantastic play, a story that lasts and lasts, King Lear is an absolute masterpiece. Pop 5 stars into the goodreads sky.
5/5
December 17, 2022
兀賷 賲賳賰賳 爻丕賯乇乇 丕賳賴丕 鬲丨亘賳賷 丕賰孬乇責責
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賱賷丨匕乇 卮賰爻亘賷乇 丌亘丕亍 丕賱毓丕賱賲 賰賱賴 賲賳 丕賱丕爻鬲爻賴丕賱 賵 丕賱鬲賳丕夭賱 丕賱匕賷 賷賰卮賮 賲毓丿賳 丕賱噩賲賷毓
. . 賵 賲毓 禺乇賵噩賴 賮賷 丕賱毓丕氐賮丞 賴乇亘丕 賲賳 丕賱噩丨賵丿 鬲亘丿丕 賲兀爻丕鬲賴..
賵 賲賳 鬲胤賲爻 毓丕胤賮鬲賴 氐賵鬲 毓賯賱賴: 爻賷賰賵賳賳 噩夭丕丐賴 丕爻胤賵乇賷丕
賵賱賷丿賮毓賳 孬賲賳 睾亘丕丐賴 賵 睾賮賱鬲賴
賵 鬲亘丿兀 爻賱爻賱丞 賲賳 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 丕賱賮馗丞 ..丕賱亘丿丕卅賷丞 丕賱賲賳丕爻亘丞 賱賱賯乇賳 丕賱17賮賷 賲噩賲賱賴丕 ...賱賳賮賴賲 毓亘乇 丕賱賲丌爻賷 賲丕賴賷丞 賰賱賲鬲賷賳 賮賯胤
丕賱廿禺賱丕氐 ..賵 丕賱禺賷丕賳丞
賲賳 丕賰孬乇 賯氐氐 丕賱毓丕賱賲 丕丨乇丕噩丕 賵 賲賰乇丕..毓賳丿賲丕 賷賳鬲氐乇 丕賱鬲賲賱賯 賵 丕賱鬲胤亘賷賱 丕賳鬲氐丕乇丕 爻丕丨賯丕
賲賳 鬲丨亘賷賳 丕賰孬乇責賵丕賱丿賰..夭賵噩賰 ..丕亘賳賰責責
賴賳丕 丕賱賮胤乇丞 賵 丕賱胤亘賷毓丞 爻鬲噩賷亘..乇睾賲 丕賳賴丕 鬲亘丿賵 馗丕賱賲丞
賮丕賱丕亘 丕賱匕賷 賷毓胤賷 賮賯胤..賷丨馗賶 亘丕賱賯爻胤 丕賱丕賯賱 賲賳 丕賱丨亘
賵 丕賱夭賵噩 丕賱匕賷 賷兀禺匕 賵 賷毓胤賷 賷丨馗賶 亘丕賱賳氐賷亘 丕賱兀賰亘乇
賵 丕賱丕亘賳 丕賱匕賷 賷兀禺匕 賮賯胤 賷賮賵夭 亘丨亘 睾賷乇 賲丨丿賵丿 賵 賱丕 賲卮乇賵胤
爻賳丞 丕賱丨賷丕丞
丕賱鬲賷 賯乇乇 賲賱賰 亘乇賷胤丕賳賷丕"賱賷乇"丕賳 賷鬲丨丿丕賴丕
亘賰賱 氐賱賮 賵 睾乇賵乇 亘爻丐丕賱賴 丕賱丕睾亘賶 毓亘乇 毓賲乇賴 丕賱胤賵賷賱
丕賷賰賳 "爻丕賯乇乇"丕賳賴丕 鬲丨亘賳賷 丕賰孬乇責
丕賱爻丐丕賱 賲毓賷賵亘 賵 賷睾賱亘 丕賱賲馗丕賴乇 毓賱賶 丕賱丨賯賷賯丞
賮鬲亘丕賱睾 :噩賵賳乇賷賱 賵 乇賷噩丕賳 賮賷 賵氐賮 丨亘賴賲丕 賱丕亘賷賴賲丕 賮賷爻毓丿 亘賲亘丕賱睾鬲賴賲丕..賵 賴賱 賵賱丿 亘毓丿 丕賱賲賱賰 丕賱匕賷 賱丕 賷賳爻丕賯 賵乇丕亍 丕賱鬲賲賱賯責
丕賲丕 賰賵乇丿賷賱賷丕 丕賱丨賰賷賲丞 丕賱噩賲賷賱丞 貨兀丨亘 亘賳丕鬲賴 廿賱賶 賯賱亘賴 ..賳噩丿賴丕 鬲賰乇賴 丕賱鬲賲賱賯 賵 鬲鬲賲爻賰 亘丕賱氐乇丕丨丞 賰丕賱禺乇丕鬲賷鬲 丕賱毓賳賷丿丞
賱鬲丐賰丿 丕賳賴丕 鬲丨亘賴..賵 賱賰賳賴丕 賲爻鬲賯亘賱丕 爻鬲丨亘 夭賵噩賴丕 賵 兀亘賳丕亍賴丕 兀賰孬乇 賲賳賴
丨爻賳丕 .. 賴賳丕賰 丨賯丕卅賯 賲賳 丕賱丕賮囟賱 賱賱噩賲賷毓 丕賱丕丨鬲賮丕馗 亘賴丕 賮賷 丕賱賯賱賵亘 賵 亘丕賱胤亘毓 : 賷丨乇賲賴丕 賵丕賱丿賴丕 賲賳 賳氐賷亘賴丕 賮賷 丕賱賲賲賱賰丞 賵 賷賲賳丨 丕禺鬲賷賴丕 賰賱 卮賷亍 賵 賷毓賷卮 囟賷賮丕 毓賱賷賴賳
賱賷丨匕乇 卮賰爻亘賷乇 丌亘丕亍 丕賱毓丕賱賲 賰賱賴 賲賳 丕賱丕爻鬲爻賴丕賱 賵 丕賱鬲賳丕夭賱 丕賱匕賷 賷賰卮賮 賲毓丿賳 丕賱噩賲賷毓
. . 賵 賲毓 禺乇賵噩賴 賮賷 丕賱毓丕氐賮丞 賴乇亘丕 賲賳 丕賱噩丨賵丿 鬲亘丿丕 賲兀爻丕鬲賴..
賵 賲賳 鬲胤賲爻 毓丕胤賮鬲賴 氐賵鬲 毓賯賱賴: 爻賷賰賵賳賳 噩夭丕丐賴 丕爻胤賵乇賷丕
賵賱賷丿賮毓賳 孬賲賳 睾亘丕丐賴 賵 睾賮賱鬲賴
賵 鬲亘丿兀 爻賱爻賱丞 賲賳 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 丕賱賮馗丞 ..丕賱亘丿丕卅賷丞 丕賱賲賳丕爻亘丞 賱賱賯乇賳 丕賱17賮賷 賲噩賲賱賴丕 ...賱賳賮賴賲 毓亘乇 丕賱賲丌爻賷 賲丕賴賷丞 賰賱賲鬲賷賳 賮賯胤
丕賱廿禺賱丕氐 ..賵 丕賱禺賷丕賳丞
March 28, 2025
"Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!
You sulfurous and thought-executing fires...
Singe my white head!"
The king, with Fool, on a Blasted Heath.
(King Lear's Madness)
Divine conviction would be an awful thing for a "white head", an "old fool" like me on my Blasted Heath, if it hadn't already fried my bones to the marrow!
And I don't mince my words. I call 'em as I saw 'em.
My review will follow in two stages:
First, my shocked-to-extreme-discomfort reading of Shakespeare's (for me) sibylistically-couched, convicting Lear at age 19, in 1969;
And second, the serving out of my own idiotically bipolar life sentence, from 1969 to 2023 (but not much beyond that, the Lord willing)!
Ready for it?
Then here goes...
***
"There's no fool like an old fool," had muttered my paternal grandmother Gladys, years before my Dad had driven us all up Vancouver Island, northwards, to see the awesome Douglas Fir tree preserve in 1980.
The old fool was my Uncle Arthur, who had married a younger widow (I rather liked Aunt Alice. She was so nice to us three kids, and I thought my Uncle had had impeccable taste in his choice of a helpmate). He was Gladys' brother, btw.
We were to have lunch with Arthur and Alice. They would join us in our sightseeing.
Granny, you had been right to worry, though the object of your angst shoulda been me. My uncle was in good hands.
But, Gladys, thank heaven the benison of an early hiatus generously preserved you from my own extreme embarrassment and fall from grace. You see, by 1980, Granny, I was a psych ward vet ( "the curse is come upon me,"cried the Lady of Shalott). And I had read Lear, artlessly reclining in a red and blue plastic chaise longue, one gratuitously gorgeous summer day 11 months earlier.
You had already gone to your reward.
It was a prescient play that had stuck in my craw. For good reason.
For soon after I was to fall into Lear鈥檚 Snake Pit.
Though I had received my driver's license at sixteeen, at nineteen I had shown a rather autistic disregard for all the road signs (meaning I had never followed or obeyed body language)!
I was lost - and was subsequently arrested.
***
That was a graceful way of putting my own majorly and ungraciously hellish fall from paradise, Granny.
Now, Move over, Lucifer.
Cold enough for you down here?
***
"If to be warmed, then I must freeze, and quake
In frigid purgatorial fires,
Of which the flame is Roses, and the smoke Briars."
The icy and freezing moods of the doctors, following my frigid hypodermic welcome on the fifth floor of the Royally Awful Hospital in my home town demanded I show them a little human warmth.
Or so I thought.
So I did. But then they all just cranked up the A/C!
You see, they REALLY wanted me to follow "After Strange Gods" as T.S. Eliot, who wrote the poetry at the start of this ending of my review, said.
Namely Baal or Mammon.
And I, as forthrightly as I could muster, refused.
ALL HELL then broke loose.
Until I prayed.
Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner...
And, poof! I got married to my dream soulmate.
The stagehands removed the old mise-en-scene, with - eureka! - a changeover to our modern pleasant split-level home in suburbia.
The sudden Grace of Purgatory!
Yet all was still not as it appeared. And what had happened to me?
Well...
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less travelled by -
And THAT had made All the Difference.
Yes, a new road - upon which I now had to carefully learn Subtle Moral Discernment.
And thus my current Purgatorial Adventures commenced - amid 鈥渁n alien people clutching their own gods.鈥�
And I am glad of a NEW life - Far from the Madding Crowd:
And Free from the Blasted Heath!
You sulfurous and thought-executing fires...
Singe my white head!"
The king, with Fool, on a Blasted Heath.
(King Lear's Madness)
Divine conviction would be an awful thing for a "white head", an "old fool" like me on my Blasted Heath, if it hadn't already fried my bones to the marrow!
And I don't mince my words. I call 'em as I saw 'em.
My review will follow in two stages:
First, my shocked-to-extreme-discomfort reading of Shakespeare's (for me) sibylistically-couched, convicting Lear at age 19, in 1969;
And second, the serving out of my own idiotically bipolar life sentence, from 1969 to 2023 (but not much beyond that, the Lord willing)!
Ready for it?
Then here goes...
***
"There's no fool like an old fool," had muttered my paternal grandmother Gladys, years before my Dad had driven us all up Vancouver Island, northwards, to see the awesome Douglas Fir tree preserve in 1980.
The old fool was my Uncle Arthur, who had married a younger widow (I rather liked Aunt Alice. She was so nice to us three kids, and I thought my Uncle had had impeccable taste in his choice of a helpmate). He was Gladys' brother, btw.
We were to have lunch with Arthur and Alice. They would join us in our sightseeing.
Granny, you had been right to worry, though the object of your angst shoulda been me. My uncle was in good hands.
But, Gladys, thank heaven the benison of an early hiatus generously preserved you from my own extreme embarrassment and fall from grace. You see, by 1980, Granny, I was a psych ward vet ( "the curse is come upon me,"cried the Lady of Shalott). And I had read Lear, artlessly reclining in a red and blue plastic chaise longue, one gratuitously gorgeous summer day 11 months earlier.
You had already gone to your reward.
It was a prescient play that had stuck in my craw. For good reason.
For soon after I was to fall into Lear鈥檚 Snake Pit.
Though I had received my driver's license at sixteeen, at nineteen I had shown a rather autistic disregard for all the road signs (meaning I had never followed or obeyed body language)!
I was lost - and was subsequently arrested.
***
That was a graceful way of putting my own majorly and ungraciously hellish fall from paradise, Granny.
Now, Move over, Lucifer.
Cold enough for you down here?
***
"If to be warmed, then I must freeze, and quake
In frigid purgatorial fires,
Of which the flame is Roses, and the smoke Briars."
The icy and freezing moods of the doctors, following my frigid hypodermic welcome on the fifth floor of the Royally Awful Hospital in my home town demanded I show them a little human warmth.
Or so I thought.
So I did. But then they all just cranked up the A/C!
You see, they REALLY wanted me to follow "After Strange Gods" as T.S. Eliot, who wrote the poetry at the start of this ending of my review, said.
Namely Baal or Mammon.
And I, as forthrightly as I could muster, refused.
ALL HELL then broke loose.
Until I prayed.
Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner...
And, poof! I got married to my dream soulmate.
The stagehands removed the old mise-en-scene, with - eureka! - a changeover to our modern pleasant split-level home in suburbia.
The sudden Grace of Purgatory!
Yet all was still not as it appeared. And what had happened to me?
Well...
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less travelled by -
And THAT had made All the Difference.
Yes, a new road - upon which I now had to carefully learn Subtle Moral Discernment.
And thus my current Purgatorial Adventures commenced - amid 鈥渁n alien people clutching their own gods.鈥�
And I am glad of a NEW life - Far from the Madding Crowd:
And Free from the Blasted Heath!
July 10, 2019
King Lear can be read in various ways - as a theological drama, as a philosophical one, as a supreme example of Shakespeare's intuitive egalitarianism or even as a melodrama lifted towards tragedy only by its superb poetry. It is the most titanic of Shakespeare's tragedy.
August 20, 2024
"How sharper than a serpent's ( snake's ) tooth it is to have a thankless child"...Good King Lear, feared in his younger days, has two, in pagan Britain, the inhabitants worship the numerous gods, there, hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, the ancient ruler, in his eighties, can no longer govern well, no stamina, his mind is deteriorating quickly, with no sons but three devoted daughters, he believes, decides to divide the kingdom, equally, between them, but first the widower monarch, needs to hear how much his daughters love him...Goneril, the oldest, married to the weak duke of Albany, is a vile, mean, jealous, without morals, woman, her sister Regan, just as bad, the wife of the cruel duke of Cornwall, they could be twins, emotionally, but hate each other with a passion, as only sisters can, the husbands are puppets in their endless conspiracies for absolute power. Goneril and Regan, shower the gullible king with untrue platitudes of endearment, lovely Cordelia, the youngest, unmarried but has many suitors, says she loves her father like a daughter should , but the puzzled, quite angry man , misconstruing these mild remarks, and he, Lear, banishes his child, no land either, for the former favorite, but not before giving Cordelia , to the sympathetic king of France, as his bride, he admires her nobility...without a dowry. The Earl of Kent protests, vehemently, (the sovereign's biggest supporter) and he too is told to leave Britain at once, or be executed, the poor, oblivious man, has given away all power and benefits to his unworthy children... no longer now,"Every inch a king ". Kent risks his life by staying in England, disguising himself in order to help the feeble friend, Lear, becoming his loyal servant, Caius, protecting the confused, mad king, from his evil, rival daughters, many insults ( he Lear, regrets his unwise gifts to them) . The very cold, scheming , ambitious bastard son, Edmund, ( the term fits more than one way) of the too trusting nobleman, the Earl of Gloucester, feels he deserves all the glory, wealth and titles, that his older brother, the virtuous, but naive Edgar, who is continually kind to the half-brother, will inherit, someday, nothing is beneath him, lies and deceit, get more elaborate, making love to Goneril and Regan, maneuvering forward to accomplish his desires and the contemptible goals, he wants...In real life there are no happy endings, people live, do good things or bad, and then die, the next generation repeats this eternal pattern, until the final rays of the Sun, shine for the last time, and the darkness swallows the world. This play by Shakespeare, is one of the finest ever written, it shows why the author was and is still the greatest writer to put down his ideas on paper.
March 29, 2020
鈥淭hou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise.鈥�
There is a hope, of course, for many of us to become wiser as we become older. In most cases, this does work, but sometimes we exchange naivete for senility, with too few years of graceful wisdom in between.
King Lear with his daughters. The cast of the 2018 movie.
King Lear makes the decision to split his kingdom between his three daughters. A magnanimous decision if viewed one way, but a very foolish decision if one considers the normal course of human behavior when a vacuum of power occurs. Lear鈥檚 Fool states the situation very clearly.
When thy Fool is calling thy a fool, thy should probably ponder thy actions a while longer. There is a part of me that feels that Lear may have felt the gears of his mind begin to slip in the worn out grooves of their passage. He may have believed he was doing his kingdom a favor by stepping down in favor of the youth of his loins. I鈥檓 sure he imagines a more idyllic life, riding, hunting, joking, eating, and doing whatever else he chooses to do at any given time in the company of his stipulated 100 knights who are his entourage of chaos.
Of course, there is a rub from the very opening of the play. Cordelia, his youngest daughter and most precious, does not give him the reassuring answers he wishes to hear. In a fit of madness, he banishes her. The two older daughters, Goneril and Regan, are more astute in their proclamations of love and devotion, telling their father what they know he wants to hear.
Early on, despite the sisters鈥� obvious duplicity in the face of Cordelia鈥檚 honesty, I find myself sympathetic to them. It is obvious that they, too, have suffered under the increasingly more unpredictable madness of King Lear.
The theme of the play revolves around madness and blindness. The kissing cousins of afflictions. Lear may have suffered first from madness, but his blindness to Cordelia鈥檚 devotion sets off a cascade of horrific events that only can ever be set right if he finds his sanity. He is not alone. The Earl of Gloucester proves equally blind in the assessment of his two sons, Edgar and Edmund. Edgar is the dutiful son. Edmund, the bastard, is suffering from numerous resentments which are, unfortunately, being fed by his naked ambition.
If not for the trustful natures of his father and brother, Edmund would not have attempted to undermine and destroy them. It is their fault for being so gullible. *sigh*
Gloucester was never shy about how Edmund came to be his son. He proclaimed his pleasure in his making to anyone who cared to listen.
My sympathy for Goneril and Regan quickly evaporates as Edmund, in his deception and aspirations, creates a wedge between the sisters that destroys what I once found so likeable about them...their loyalty to one another.
For me, what makes this play so brilliant is the shifting sympathies I feel as the plot progresses. What I once believed is revealed to be untrue. Characters prove unreliable even to the point that several are going around disguising their identities. Those most true are those most reviled. This play is a tragedy, and as the dominos begin to fall, Lear鈥檚 madness seems to have infected all. Who is responsible for all of this? Well, we could say Lear, but really it is his wisdom eroded by madness that causes such dreadful devastation to the kingdom.
I paired reading this play with watching the 2018 Anthony Hopkins鈥檚 King Lear, which has been set in a more modern society, much like Ian McKellen鈥檚 masterful version of Richard III (1995). This adaptation of Lear, available on Amazon Prime, has an all star cast, including Emma Thompson, Emily Watson, Jim Broadbent, Tobias Menzies, and Florence Pugh, whom I absolutely loved in Lady Macbeth, based on the Nikolai Leskov story. I鈥檓 sure that role allowed her the opportunity to work with the Hollywood greats who were cast for this movie.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:
There is a hope, of course, for many of us to become wiser as we become older. In most cases, this does work, but sometimes we exchange naivete for senility, with too few years of graceful wisdom in between.
King Lear with his daughters. The cast of the 2018 movie.
King Lear makes the decision to split his kingdom between his three daughters. A magnanimous decision if viewed one way, but a very foolish decision if one considers the normal course of human behavior when a vacuum of power occurs. Lear鈥檚 Fool states the situation very clearly.
鈥滾ear: Dost thou call me a fool, boy?
Fool: All the other titles thou hast given away; that thou wast born with.鈥�
When thy Fool is calling thy a fool, thy should probably ponder thy actions a while longer. There is a part of me that feels that Lear may have felt the gears of his mind begin to slip in the worn out grooves of their passage. He may have believed he was doing his kingdom a favor by stepping down in favor of the youth of his loins. I鈥檓 sure he imagines a more idyllic life, riding, hunting, joking, eating, and doing whatever else he chooses to do at any given time in the company of his stipulated 100 knights who are his entourage of chaos.
Of course, there is a rub from the very opening of the play. Cordelia, his youngest daughter and most precious, does not give him the reassuring answers he wishes to hear. In a fit of madness, he banishes her. The two older daughters, Goneril and Regan, are more astute in their proclamations of love and devotion, telling their father what they know he wants to hear.
Early on, despite the sisters鈥� obvious duplicity in the face of Cordelia鈥檚 honesty, I find myself sympathetic to them. It is obvious that they, too, have suffered under the increasingly more unpredictable madness of King Lear.
The theme of the play revolves around madness and blindness. The kissing cousins of afflictions. Lear may have suffered first from madness, but his blindness to Cordelia鈥檚 devotion sets off a cascade of horrific events that only can ever be set right if he finds his sanity. He is not alone. The Earl of Gloucester proves equally blind in the assessment of his two sons, Edgar and Edmund. Edgar is the dutiful son. Edmund, the bastard, is suffering from numerous resentments which are, unfortunately, being fed by his naked ambition.
Edmund: 鈥滻 do serve you in this business.
A credulous father, and a brother noble,
Whose nature is so far from doing harms
That he suspects none; on whose foolish honesty
My practices ride easy! I see the business.
Let me, if not by birth, have lands by wit:
All with me鈥檚 meet that I can fashion fit.鈥�
If not for the trustful natures of his father and brother, Edmund would not have attempted to undermine and destroy them. It is their fault for being so gullible. *sigh*
Gloucester was never shy about how Edmund came to be his son. He proclaimed his pleasure in his making to anyone who cared to listen.
Gloucester: 鈥淏ut I have a son, Sir, by order of law, some year elder than this, who yet is no dearer in my account: though this knave came something saucily to the world before he was sent for, yet was his mother fair; there was good sport at his making, and the whoreson must be acknowledged.鈥�
My sympathy for Goneril and Regan quickly evaporates as Edmund, in his deception and aspirations, creates a wedge between the sisters that destroys what I once found so likeable about them...their loyalty to one another.
For me, what makes this play so brilliant is the shifting sympathies I feel as the plot progresses. What I once believed is revealed to be untrue. Characters prove unreliable even to the point that several are going around disguising their identities. Those most true are those most reviled. This play is a tragedy, and as the dominos begin to fall, Lear鈥檚 madness seems to have infected all. Who is responsible for all of this? Well, we could say Lear, but really it is his wisdom eroded by madness that causes such dreadful devastation to the kingdom.
I paired reading this play with watching the 2018 Anthony Hopkins鈥檚 King Lear, which has been set in a more modern society, much like Ian McKellen鈥檚 masterful version of Richard III (1995). This adaptation of Lear, available on Amazon Prime, has an all star cast, including Emma Thompson, Emily Watson, Jim Broadbent, Tobias Menzies, and Florence Pugh, whom I absolutely loved in Lady Macbeth, based on the Nikolai Leskov story. I鈥檓 sure that role allowed her the opportunity to work with the Hollywood greats who were cast for this movie.
Edgar: 鈥淭he weight of this sad time we must obey;
Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.
The oldest hath borne most: we that are young
Shall never see so much nor live so long.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:
August 13, 2017
My first encounter with Shakespeare has totally swept me off my feet. As much as I had heard of the indisputable grandeur of the most famous playwright of all times I never expected to be so immersed in the swirling undercurrents of the incongruities of human nature that are so vividly portrayed in this tragedy. Even though my inexpensive Wordsworth edition wasn鈥檛 generous with annotations or academic essays, the universality of Shakespeare鈥檚 art, wrought in versed polyptotons, playful aphorisms and grotesque imagery, surpasses all attempts to categorize his work. Always elusive and prone to countless interpretations, Shakespeare remains inscrutable and daunts the present reader with questions of yesteryear about the meaning of life.
A surrealistic bargain that includes the old King Lear exchanging land for the love declarations of his three daughters in the opening scene triggers a chain of events that combine a peculiar mix of humorous absurdity, demented remorse and virulent wrath that escalates to a tragic climax.
The Duke of Glo鈥檚ter is blind when his eyes more clearly see and, cheated by his bastard son, the Machiavellian Edmund, he accuses his legitimate offspring Edgar of conspiracy.
Two fathers in the autumn of their lives misjudge their siblings, act impulsively and end up paying dearly for their pride. One loses his sight, the other his sanity, but both preserve faithful servants that guide them through the wilderness of the desolate heath where the sky dissolves into tears under a raging storm.
Lush with religious references, Greek mythology and several doses of misogynistic diatribe, the setting and aim of the story persists in being ambiguous, although the critics seem to agree on Pre-Christian Britain there is doubt regarding its moral purpose. But whether Shakespeare confirmed or subverted the idea of a providential order is secondary to me. The power of this play relays in the ongoing paradoxes that coexist in all the characters as it does in human nature, for they all display an irrepressible tendency for extreme cruelty, envy and greed that is counterbalanced with a great capacity for forgiveness, repentance and love.
How can divine justice fit the randomness of an untamed nature that punishes the innocent without apparent purpose?
鈥淎s flies to wanton boys are we to the gods:
They kill us for their sport.鈥�
Is the blind or deranged man the Fool or else the Sage that illuminates the audience with sporadic lucidity?
鈥淥, let me kiss that hand!
Let me wipe it first; it smells of mortality.鈥�
Whatever the case, Shakespeare鈥檚 response is unequivocal.
Love is what keeps us going. Without love, children would be orphans, lovers sterile and Kings, beggars.
Yet love doesn鈥檛 stamp out vileness, indifference or sorrow because human beings are but 鈥漟orked animals鈥� trapped in a fabricated reality that try to swim against the currents of this vitriolic maelstrom called existence.
But oh!, the joy of flickering hope, of stars aligned, of virtue prevailing over darkness, because with Shakespeare, everything is possible.
鈥淪o we'll live,
And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh
At gilded butterflies鈥�
Edit, August 13th 2017: From Harold Bloom's essay: "Lear, beyond us in grandeur and in essential authority, is still a startlingly intimate figure, since he is an emblem of fatherhood itself. Outrageously hyperbolical, insanely eloquent, Lear nevertheless always demands more love than can be given and so he scarcely can speak without crossing the realms of the unsayable."
A surrealistic bargain that includes the old King Lear exchanging land for the love declarations of his three daughters in the opening scene triggers a chain of events that combine a peculiar mix of humorous absurdity, demented remorse and virulent wrath that escalates to a tragic climax.
The Duke of Glo鈥檚ter is blind when his eyes more clearly see and, cheated by his bastard son, the Machiavellian Edmund, he accuses his legitimate offspring Edgar of conspiracy.
Two fathers in the autumn of their lives misjudge their siblings, act impulsively and end up paying dearly for their pride. One loses his sight, the other his sanity, but both preserve faithful servants that guide them through the wilderness of the desolate heath where the sky dissolves into tears under a raging storm.
Lush with religious references, Greek mythology and several doses of misogynistic diatribe, the setting and aim of the story persists in being ambiguous, although the critics seem to agree on Pre-Christian Britain there is doubt regarding its moral purpose. But whether Shakespeare confirmed or subverted the idea of a providential order is secondary to me. The power of this play relays in the ongoing paradoxes that coexist in all the characters as it does in human nature, for they all display an irrepressible tendency for extreme cruelty, envy and greed that is counterbalanced with a great capacity for forgiveness, repentance and love.
How can divine justice fit the randomness of an untamed nature that punishes the innocent without apparent purpose?
鈥淎s flies to wanton boys are we to the gods:
They kill us for their sport.鈥�
Is the blind or deranged man the Fool or else the Sage that illuminates the audience with sporadic lucidity?
鈥淥, let me kiss that hand!
Let me wipe it first; it smells of mortality.鈥�
Whatever the case, Shakespeare鈥檚 response is unequivocal.
Love is what keeps us going. Without love, children would be orphans, lovers sterile and Kings, beggars.
Yet love doesn鈥檛 stamp out vileness, indifference or sorrow because human beings are but 鈥漟orked animals鈥� trapped in a fabricated reality that try to swim against the currents of this vitriolic maelstrom called existence.
But oh!, the joy of flickering hope, of stars aligned, of virtue prevailing over darkness, because with Shakespeare, everything is possible.
鈥淪o we'll live,
And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh
At gilded butterflies鈥�
Edit, August 13th 2017: From Harold Bloom's essay: "Lear, beyond us in grandeur and in essential authority, is still a startlingly intimate figure, since he is an emblem of fatherhood itself. Outrageously hyperbolical, insanely eloquent, Lear nevertheless always demands more love than can be given and so he scarcely can speak without crossing the realms of the unsayable."
October 31, 2022
丨賰丕賷丞 亘爻賷胤丞 噩丿丕 毓賳 賲賱賰 毓噩賵夭 賷乇賷丿 鬲賵乇賷孬 賲賱賰賴 賱亘賳丕鬲賴 丕賱孬賱丕孬 賵 賷爻兀賱 賰賱 賲賳賴賳 爻丐丕賱丕 爻丕匕噩丕: 賲賳 賲賳賰賳 鬲丨亘賳賷 兀賰孬乇責
丕賱兀賰孬乇 賳賮丕賯丕 賰丕賳鬲丕 睾賵賳賷乇賷賱 賵乇賷噩丕賳 賮丨丕匕鬲丕 乇囟丕 賵丕賱丿賴賲丕 兀賲丕 丕賱氐睾賷乇丞 賰賵乇丿賷賱賷丕 賮賱賲 鬲爻鬲胤毓 鬲賲賱賯 賵丕賱丿賴丕 賵 睾囟亘 毓賱賷賴丕 賵 胤乇丿賴丕 賲賳 乇丨賲鬲賴 賵 賱賵賱丕 賲賱賰 賮乇賳爻丕 丕賱匕賷 鬲夭賵噩賴丕 賱賰丕賳鬲 賲賱賯丕丞 賮賷 丕賱卮丕乇毓.
鬲丿賵乇 丕賱兀賷丕賲 賵 鬲賳賯賱亘 丕賱廿亘賳鬲丕賳 毓賱賶 賵丕賱丿賴賲丕 賵 鬲賳賯匕賴 丕賱廿亘賳丞 丕賱氐睾乇賶 廿賱丕 兀賳 丕賱兀賲賵乇 鬲鬲亘丿賱 賵 賷賳鬲賴賷 丕賱兀賲乇 亘賲兀爻丕丞 鬲賲賵鬲 賮賷賴丕 丕賱亘賳丕鬲 丕賱孬賱丕孬 賵 賷亘賯賶 賱賷乇 丕賱毓噩賵夭 丕賱賲禺乇賮 丕賱匕賷 賱賲 賷賯丿乇 丕賱氐丿賯 賵 丕賱廿禺賱丕氐 賵 賳氐乇 毓賱賷賴賲丕 丕賱賳賮丕賯 賵 丕賱賰匕亘 賮禺爻乇 賰賱 卮賷亍
丕爻鬲賲鬲毓鬲 亘丕賱賲爻乇丨賷丞 丕賱乇丕卅毓丞 丕賱鬲賷 賲孬賱賴丕 賷丨賷 丕賱賮禺乇丕賳賷 賵 兀毓丕丿 亘賴丕 丕賱噩賲賴賵乇 丕賱亘爻賷胤 賱賲爻乇丨 賴丕丿賮 賵 賱丕 賷禺賱賵 兀賷囟丕 賲賳 丕賱丿毓丕亘丞
March 2, 2021
賱丕 兀馗賳 丕賳 賴賳丕賰 賲賳 丕爻鬲胤丕毓 鬲氐賵賷乇 丕賱丕賳丨丿丕乇 賳丨賵 丕賱噩賳賵賳 賰賲丕 賮毓賱 鈥徹促冐池ㄙ娯�
賮賲賳 賴匕賷丕賳 兀賵賮賷賱賷丕 賮賷 賴丕賲賱鬲 丨賷孬 鬲賳鬲賴賷 賮賷 兀毓賲丕賯 丕賱賳賴乇
丨鬲賶 氐乇禺丕鬲 賱賷乇 丕賱乇丕毓丿丞 賮賷 丕賱亘乇賷丞
鬲鬲亘丿賶 亘乇丕毓鬲賴 賲毓 賰賱 亘賷鬲 卮毓乇賷
賵賰賱 賲卮賴丿 禺丕賱丿 賱賱兀亘丿 賮賷 匕丕賰乇丞 丕賱兀丿亘
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
丕賱賲賱賰 賱賷乇 賴賷 丕賱賲爻乇丨賷丞 丕賱兀賰孬乇 丿乇丕賲賷丞 賱卮賰爻亘賷乇 賮賷 乇兀賷賷
賮賴賷 賲亘賰賷丞 賲賳 丕賱亘丿丕賷丞 賵賲賮噩毓丞 賮賷 賳賴丕賷丕鬲賴丕
賵賳鬲爻丕亍賱 賲丕 丕賱匕賷 賮毓賱賴 賱賷乇 賱賷爻鬲丨賯 賴匕丕 丕賱毓匕丕亘 賵匕賱賰 丕賱賲氐賷乇責
賲丕 丕賱匕賷 賮毓賱鬲賴 賰賵乇丿賷賱賷丕 賱鬲爻鬲丨賯 賳賮爻 丕賱賲氐賷乇鈥�
鈥� 賱賷乇 賮乇胤 賮賷 丨賯賵賯賴
丕賳禺丿毓 亘夭賷賮 丕賱賲馗丕賴乇 賵氐丿賯 賰賱賲丕鬲 賲噩賵賮丞 毓賵囟丕 兀賳 賷乇賶 丕賱氐丿賯 賮賷 鈥徹Ｙ佖关з� 賲賳 丨賵賱賴
丕爻鬲禺賮鬲賴 賯賵鬲賴 賵賴賷賲賳鬲賴 賮乇丕丨 賷賯爻賲 賵賷賲賳丨 賵賷賵夭毓
賵賲賳 孬賲 鬲賳丕夭賱 毓賳 丨賯賴 賮賷 兀賳 賷賰賵賳 丕賳爻丕賳
賵兀賳 賷賰賵賳 毓丕丿賱
賵兀賳 賷賰賵賳 賯賵賷 丕賱賯賵丞 丕賱丨賯丞
賱賷乇 賲孬丕賱 賱賰賱 卮禺氐 鬲賳丕夭賱 鈥�
賱賰賱 卮禺氐 賷鬲乇賰 賳賮爻賴 賷禺丿毓
賱賰賱 卮禺氐 賴乇亘 賲賳 丕賱賲賵丕噩賴丞
乇賲夭 賱賳丕 噩賲賷毓丕
兀賲丕 賰賵乇丿賷賱賷丕 丕賱賲爻賰賷賳丞 賮賰丕賳 賱丕亘丿 賵兀賳 鬲賲賵鬲
賱兀賳 賴匕賴 丕賱兀乇囟 亘賰賱 賮爻丕丿賴丕 賱丕 鬲爻毓 乇賵丨丕 亘乇賷卅丞 賰乇賵丨賴丕
賰賲丕 賱賲 鬲爻毓 賲賳 賯亘賱 賱丕 丿賷丿賲賵賳丞 賵賱丕 兀賵賮賷賱賷丕
丕賱兀乇賵丕丨 丕賱兀賰孬乇 胤賴乇丕 賲賰丕賳賴丕 丕賱爻賲丕亍
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
丕賱睾乇賷亘 兀賳 賲毓馗賲 丕賱丕賯鬲亘丕爻丕鬲 丕賱鬲賷 兀丨亘賴丕 賱卮賰爻亘賷乇
賲賵噩賵丿丞 賮賷 賴匕賴 丕賱賲爻乇丨賷丞 亘乇睾賲 兀賳賴丕 鬲兀鬲賷 賮賷 丕賱賲乇賰夭 丕賱禺丕賲爻 賮賷 鈥徺呝佖顿勜ж�
賵賱賰賳 丕賱卮毓乇 丕賱匕賷 賳孬乇賴 卮賰爻亘賷乇 賴賳丕 毓胤乇 賵夭賴乇丕 賵賯賱賵亘丕 丿丕賲賷丞
賷噩亘乇賳賷 毓賱賶 丕賱毓賵丿丞 賲乇丕乇丕 賱氐賮丨丕鬲 賱賷乇
亘丕賱胤亘毓 賲卮賴丿賷 丕賱賲賮囟賱 賴賵 賱賷乇 丕賱氐丕乇禺 賮賷 丕賱亘乇賷丞
賱丕 賷賲賰賳 賱兀丨丿 賮賷 兀賷 毓氐乇 兀賳 賷賰鬲亘 賲卮賴丿 賷賯丕乇亘 賴匕丕 丕賱噩賲丕賱
賲爻鬲丨賷賱
---------
賲賱丨賵馗丞 兀禺賷乇丞
***
賰賱 賲賳 賯乇兀 卮賰爻亘賷乇 賲鬲乇噩賲丕 (賱兀賷 賱睾丞) 賱賲 賷賯乇兀 卮賰爻亘賷乇
賱賲 賷鬲毓乇賮 丨鬲賶 毓賱賶 賯卮賵乇 賲丕 賰鬲亘賴
卮賰爻亘賷乇 賷賯乇兀 亘丕賱廿賳噩賱賷夭賷丞 亘賳氐賴 丕賱兀氐賱賷
賱丕 亘丕賱賳氐賵氐 丕賱賲亘爻胤丞 兀賵 丕賱卮丕乇丨丞
卮賰爻亘賷乇 賷賯乇兀 賴賰匕丕
And worse I may be yet: the worst is not
So long as we can say 'This is the worst.
...
Love's not love
When it is mingled with regards that stand
Aloof from th' entire point.
...
I have no way and therefore want no eyes
I stumbled when I saw. Full oft 'tis seen
our means secure us, and our mere defects
prove our commodities.
...
We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage:
When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down,
And ask of thee forgiveness: so we'll live,
And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh
At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues
Talk of court news; and we'll talk with them too,
Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out;
And take upon's the mystery of things,
As if we were God's spies: and we'll wear out,
In a wall'd prison, packs and sects of great ones,
That ebb and flow by the moon.
...
A knave; a rascal; an eater of broken meats; a
base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited,
hundred-pound, filthy, worsted-stocking knave; a
lily-livered, action-taking knave, a whoreson,
glass-gazing, super-serviceable finical rogue;
one-trunk-inheriting slave; one that wouldst be a
bawd, in way of good service, and art nothing but
the composition of a knave, beggar, coward, pandar,
and the son and heir of a mongrel bitch: one whom I
will beat into clamorous whining, if thou deniest
the least syllable of thy addition.
...
Poor naked wretches, whereso'er you are,
That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm,
How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides,
Your loop'd and window'd raggedness, defend you
From seasons such as these? O, I have ta'en
Too little care of this! Take physic, pomp;
Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel,
That thou mayst shake the superflux to them,
And show the heavens more just.
April 9, 2009
I was lucky enough to be living in Stockholm when Ingmar Bergman staged Lear at the Swedish National Theatre in the late 80s, and I saw it twice. Bergman's take on the play was very interesting and unusual; he interpreted it as fundamentally optimistic.
Obviously, you're wondering why, and in the hands of a lesser director it would probably just have been a piece of unnecessary perversity. Bergman's reasoning was, in fact, not bizarre. He saw the key scene of the play as the reconciliation between Lear and Cordelia; this was the one shown on the poster, which was plastered all over town. Everywhere you looked, you could see Lear and his daughter kneeling, holding hands, and looking into each other's eyes, with relief and joy streaming from their faces. What Bergman was saying was that everyone, like Lear, has done horrible things to the people who love them most. Usually they never have a chance to say sorry, or receive forgiveness from the people they have wronged. Lear got that chance, just before he and Cordelia died, so we should be happy for him.
Bergman directed the play when he was about 70. If you know anything about his life, you will readily understand why he might have interpreted it this way. It was an extremely moving production.
Obviously, you're wondering why, and in the hands of a lesser director it would probably just have been a piece of unnecessary perversity. Bergman's reasoning was, in fact, not bizarre. He saw the key scene of the play as the reconciliation between Lear and Cordelia; this was the one shown on the poster, which was plastered all over town. Everywhere you looked, you could see Lear and his daughter kneeling, holding hands, and looking into each other's eyes, with relief and joy streaming from their faces. What Bergman was saying was that everyone, like Lear, has done horrible things to the people who love them most. Usually they never have a chance to say sorry, or receive forgiveness from the people they have wronged. Lear got that chance, just before he and Cordelia died, so we should be happy for him.
Bergman directed the play when he was about 70. If you know anything about his life, you will readily understand why he might have interpreted it this way. It was an extremely moving production.
April 22, 2024
[Was just reminded that this review exists and I had to bring it back. I was truly unhinged in 2016. Need to reintroduce that energy back into my life, lmao. I'm still so proud of m RiRi-ification of Zeus. Enjoy.]
King Lear, a modern reimagination by yours truly.
LEAR: Gather 'round daughters, ya daddy is old af and wants to retire. Whoever kisses my sweet ass the most will get the largest part of my kingdom.
GONERIL: Daddy, I love you so so so so so so much.
REGAN: Daddy, I love you even moooooooooooore.
LEAR: (squeals happily) Ah, there's nothing like family. Cordelia, how about you?
CORDELIA: (shifts awkwardly) I have nothing, my lord.
LEAR: Nothing?
CORDELIA:
LEAR: BITCH, THE DOOR! (the door being France)
KENT: For real? This decision will bite you in the ass one day.
LEAR: Kent, you know what, while we're at it, you can fuck off too.
*
EDMUND: Honey, you should see me in a crown. I might not be as honorable of a bastard as Jon Snow but I will sit on that goddamn throne. (screams) DAAAAAD?
GLOUCESTER: I told you not to call me that in public, you little shit.
EDMUND: Edgar, your honorable, loyal and rightful heir, is plotting to kill you. Yeah, I'm totally not making that up to steal his place.
GLOUCESTR: Fair enough. (screams) EDGAAAAR?
EDGAR: Yes, O my beloved father?
GLOUCESTER: Piss off.
EDGAR: (shrugs) Well, then, guess I'm going to live naked in the woods now. Walden has nothing on me.
*
LEAR: (slowly descending into madness upon realizing that Regan and Goneril are fake hoes who want to get rid of his sorry ass) Zeus, you hear me? I need some thunder and lightning to fit my mood.
ZEUS:
(The biggest storm ever hits. Shakespeare in the back taking notes for The Tempest.)
LEAR: (dancing in the rain) CASH ME OUTSIDE HOWBOW DAH?
GLOUCESTER: Umm... guys, don't you wanna do something? Your father's 'bout to catch a cold.
GONERIL: You're 'bout to catch those hands. (stabs his eyes out)
REGAN: (tosses Gloucester's blind ass to the streets) Well done, sis.
GONERIL: And they say women are weak.
REGAN: (looks around savagely) Now who's gonna help us kill our father next?
EDMUND: I'm in.
REGAN: (leers at Edmund) Edmund with his fine ass.
GONERIL: (giving Regan a side-eye) This D is mine. I will poison her ass.
ALBANY: (looking at Goneril, is shooketh) My wife's a ho.
*
Meanwhile...
CORDELIA: (marching on Britain with her French army) Yee-haa!
EDGAR: (returning from the woods after having saved his father from committing suicide) Yee-haaa!
KENT: (donning costume) Bitches, I'm back!
LEAR: (embracing Cordelia) Everything is going to be alright now.
ALBANY: (stepping onto the scene)
REGAN: (dies from poisoning; off-stage of course because no one cares about women)
GONERIL: (kills herself; off-stage, that goes without saying)
CORDELIA: (gets fucking hanged; OFF-STAGE)
EDMUND: (gets killed off-stage)
LEAR: FML. (dies)
ALBANY:
EDGAR: Guess, I'll be King now.
ALBANY: The Quarto says I will be King.
EDGAR: Fuck the Quarto, the Folio is on my side.
ME: (as the curtains close)
King Lear, a modern reimagination by yours truly.
LEAR: Gather 'round daughters, ya daddy is old af and wants to retire. Whoever kisses my sweet ass the most will get the largest part of my kingdom.
GONERIL: Daddy, I love you so so so so so so much.
REGAN: Daddy, I love you even moooooooooooore.
LEAR: (squeals happily) Ah, there's nothing like family. Cordelia, how about you?
CORDELIA: (shifts awkwardly) I have nothing, my lord.
LEAR: Nothing?
CORDELIA:
LEAR: BITCH, THE DOOR! (the door being France)
KENT: For real? This decision will bite you in the ass one day.
LEAR: Kent, you know what, while we're at it, you can fuck off too.
*
EDMUND: Honey, you should see me in a crown. I might not be as honorable of a bastard as Jon Snow but I will sit on that goddamn throne. (screams) DAAAAAD?
GLOUCESTER: I told you not to call me that in public, you little shit.
EDMUND: Edgar, your honorable, loyal and rightful heir, is plotting to kill you. Yeah, I'm totally not making that up to steal his place.
GLOUCESTR: Fair enough. (screams) EDGAAAAR?
EDGAR: Yes, O my beloved father?
GLOUCESTER: Piss off.
EDGAR: (shrugs) Well, then, guess I'm going to live naked in the woods now. Walden has nothing on me.
*
LEAR: (slowly descending into madness upon realizing that Regan and Goneril are fake hoes who want to get rid of his sorry ass) Zeus, you hear me? I need some thunder and lightning to fit my mood.
ZEUS:
(The biggest storm ever hits. Shakespeare in the back taking notes for The Tempest.)
LEAR: (dancing in the rain) CASH ME OUTSIDE HOWBOW DAH?
GLOUCESTER: Umm... guys, don't you wanna do something? Your father's 'bout to catch a cold.
GONERIL: You're 'bout to catch those hands. (stabs his eyes out)
REGAN: (tosses Gloucester's blind ass to the streets) Well done, sis.
GONERIL: And they say women are weak.
REGAN: (looks around savagely) Now who's gonna help us kill our father next?
EDMUND: I'm in.
REGAN: (leers at Edmund) Edmund with his fine ass.
GONERIL: (giving Regan a side-eye) This D is mine. I will poison her ass.
ALBANY: (looking at Goneril, is shooketh) My wife's a ho.
*
Meanwhile...
CORDELIA: (marching on Britain with her French army) Yee-haa!
EDGAR: (returning from the woods after having saved his father from committing suicide) Yee-haaa!
KENT: (donning costume) Bitches, I'm back!
LEAR: (embracing Cordelia) Everything is going to be alright now.
ALBANY: (stepping onto the scene)
REGAN: (dies from poisoning; off-stage of course because no one cares about women)
GONERIL: (kills herself; off-stage, that goes without saying)
CORDELIA: (gets fucking hanged; OFF-STAGE)
EDMUND: (gets killed off-stage)
LEAR: FML. (dies)
ALBANY:
EDGAR: Guess, I'll be King now.
ALBANY: The Quarto says I will be King.
EDGAR: Fuck the Quarto, the Folio is on my side.
ME: (as the curtains close)
May 26, 2017
In times of change, stress or general uneasiness, I find myself repeatedly quoting Shakespeare.
There is something soothing in the knowledge that he wrote all those unforgettable lines over 400 years ago and they still make so much sense - sometimes more sense than our most recent literary production. I know that I am in some kind of identity crisis when King Lear comes to my mind again, and I open the highly impractical "Collected Works of Shakespeare" and try to find Lear without completely breaking the suffering spine.
鈥淲ho is it that can tell me who I am?鈥�
That was the quote I had in my head, and I found it quickly enough following my post-it signs, but of course, Shakespeare being the magician that he is, he lures me into his world, and I find myself rereading major parts of the whole play. It does not necessarily make me forget my everyday worries, for Shakespeare is no escapism writer. Rather, I feel that my concerns and thoughts are given a wider, noble context, as they can be related to that master of words, plots, characters, everything human. Shakespeare does not give me answers, but he gives my questions validity.
"I am a man more sinned against than sinning" - who doesn't want to yell out those famous words of King Lear's every once in a while? And they might be true. But does that really excuse the sinning? I love the ambiguous world of Shakespeare, and King Lear has it all. Action, drama, feelings in the wrong and right places, politics, and common sense in unexpected situations. The long diatribe on man's blaming the stars for his viciousness is one of my favourites.
King Lear is as good as Shakespeare can be!
鈥淭his is the excellent foppery of the world, that,
when we are sick in fortune,--often the surfeit
of our own behavior,--we make guilty of our
disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars: as
if we were villains by necessity; fools by
heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves, and
treachers, by spherical predominance; drunkards,
liars, and adulterers, by an enforced obedience of
planetary influence; and all that we are evil in,
by a divine thrusting on: an admirable evasion
of whoremaster man, to lay his goatish
disposition to the charge of a star.鈥�
There is something soothing in the knowledge that he wrote all those unforgettable lines over 400 years ago and they still make so much sense - sometimes more sense than our most recent literary production. I know that I am in some kind of identity crisis when King Lear comes to my mind again, and I open the highly impractical "Collected Works of Shakespeare" and try to find Lear without completely breaking the suffering spine.
鈥淲ho is it that can tell me who I am?鈥�
That was the quote I had in my head, and I found it quickly enough following my post-it signs, but of course, Shakespeare being the magician that he is, he lures me into his world, and I find myself rereading major parts of the whole play. It does not necessarily make me forget my everyday worries, for Shakespeare is no escapism writer. Rather, I feel that my concerns and thoughts are given a wider, noble context, as they can be related to that master of words, plots, characters, everything human. Shakespeare does not give me answers, but he gives my questions validity.
"I am a man more sinned against than sinning" - who doesn't want to yell out those famous words of King Lear's every once in a while? And they might be true. But does that really excuse the sinning? I love the ambiguous world of Shakespeare, and King Lear has it all. Action, drama, feelings in the wrong and right places, politics, and common sense in unexpected situations. The long diatribe on man's blaming the stars for his viciousness is one of my favourites.
King Lear is as good as Shakespeare can be!
鈥淭his is the excellent foppery of the world, that,
when we are sick in fortune,--often the surfeit
of our own behavior,--we make guilty of our
disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars: as
if we were villains by necessity; fools by
heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves, and
treachers, by spherical predominance; drunkards,
liars, and adulterers, by an enforced obedience of
planetary influence; and all that we are evil in,
by a divine thrusting on: an admirable evasion
of whoremaster man, to lay his goatish
disposition to the charge of a star.鈥�
April 6, 2022
If I were to assign a Shakespearean tragedy to one of each of the thresh metal Big Four, I would do so thus:
- Anthrax would be Hamlet due to the many changes in personnel and the mixture of genres that they have done over time, sort of like how Hamlet has moments of indecision as to which direction to take.
- Megadeth would definitely be Othello with Dave Mustaine forever jealous of the enormous success of Metallica and yet still pursuing his own path. Plus Othello is the most musical of the four tragedies and arguably, Dave has the most musical (however annoying to me) voice of the group.
- Slayer would ressemble Macbeth in the dark, foreboding atmosphere in their music, the anger and rage at the universe best expressed on their masterpiece, God Hates Us All.
- King Lear would be be represented by Metallica in my opinion. James Hetfield is nearly as massive a personality as old Lear and certainly expresses a wide range of emotion and occasionally (see St Anger so surprising vulnerability). The raging storms in Lear reminded me of the songs on Ride the Lightning or And Justice For All in their intensity and ceaseless energy.
So, anyway, back to Lear...
I think, with The Tempest and Hamlet and maybe Macbeth, this is my favourite Shakespeare play. Grandiose, tragic with characters bigger than life, it demonstrates the Bard's absolute mastery of blank verse and extraordinary dialog. I am nearly breathless each time I finish Lear. I have, unfortunately, never seen it on stage but that is one on my bucket list!
There is so much depth here and so much at stake. The dividing of England by Lear to open the play was an immediate reminder to Jacobean audiences (those living under Elizabeth鈥檚 successor and therefore Shakespeare鈥檚 second royal sponsor, James I) recent unification of Scotland England and of the civil wars. The characters of Regan and Goneril and Edmund are all heinous and despicable, up there with Iago and the Joker (although Edmund sort of comes around at the very end). The faithfulness of Kent to Lear, the Oedipal fate of Gloucester, and the tragedy of Cordelia are so vivd.
But what takes this play to the rarefied atmosphere of the world鈥檚 greatest literature is the storm in Act III. As AC Bradley wrote in Shakespearean Tragedy in 1904, the storm and Lear become one and it is a terrifying and edifying thing to read that defies the imagination. That and the scenes between Lear and Cordelia. Wow.
Fino's Reviews of Shakespeare and Shakespearean Criticism
Comedies
The Comedy of Errors (1592-1593
The Taming of the Shrew (1593-1594)
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594-1595)
Love's Labour's Lost (1594-1595)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595-1596)
The Merchant of Venice (1596-1597)
Much Ado About Nothing (1598-1599)
As You Like It (1599-1600)
Twelfth Night (1599-1600)
The Merry Wives of Windsor (1600-1601)
All's Well That Ends Well (1602-1603)
Measure for Measure (1604-1605)
Cymbeline (1609-1610)
A Winter's Tale (1610-1611)
The Tempest (1611-1612)
Two Noble Kinsmen (1612-1613)
Histories
Henry VI Part I (1589-1590)
Henry VI Part II (1590-1591)
Henry VI Part III (1590-1591)
Richard III (1593-1594)
Richard II (1595-1596)
King John (1596-1597)
Edward III (1596-1597)
Henry IV Part I (1597-1598)
Henry IV Part II (1597-1598)
Henry V (1598-1599)
Henry VIII (1612-1612)
Tragedies
Titus Andronicus (1592-1593)
Romeo and Juliet (1594-1595)
Julius Caesar (1599-1600)
Hamlet (1600-1601)
Troilus and Cressida (1601-1602)
Othello (1604-1605)
King Lear (1605-1606)
Macbeth (1605-1606)
Anthony and Cleopatra (1606-1607)
Coriolanus (1607-1608)
Timon of Athens (1607-1608)
Pericles (1608-1609)
Shakespearean Criticism
The Wheel of Fire by Wilson Knight
A Natural Perspective by Northrop Frye
Shakespeare After All by Marjorie Garber
Shakespeare's Roman Plays and Their Background by M W MacCallum
Shakespearean Criticism 1919-1935 compiled by Anne Ridler
Shakespearean Tragedy by A.C. Bradley
Shakespeare's Sexual Comedy by Hugh M. Richmond
Shakespeare: The Comedies by R.P. Draper
Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics by Stephen Greenblatt
1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare by James Shapiro
Collections of Shakespeare
Venus and Adonis, the Rape of Lucrece and Other Poems
Shakespeare's Sonnets and a Lover's Complaint
The Complete Oxford Shakespeare
- Anthrax would be Hamlet due to the many changes in personnel and the mixture of genres that they have done over time, sort of like how Hamlet has moments of indecision as to which direction to take.
- Megadeth would definitely be Othello with Dave Mustaine forever jealous of the enormous success of Metallica and yet still pursuing his own path. Plus Othello is the most musical of the four tragedies and arguably, Dave has the most musical (however annoying to me) voice of the group.
- Slayer would ressemble Macbeth in the dark, foreboding atmosphere in their music, the anger and rage at the universe best expressed on their masterpiece, God Hates Us All.
- King Lear would be be represented by Metallica in my opinion. James Hetfield is nearly as massive a personality as old Lear and certainly expresses a wide range of emotion and occasionally (see St Anger so surprising vulnerability). The raging storms in Lear reminded me of the songs on Ride the Lightning or And Justice For All in their intensity and ceaseless energy.
So, anyway, back to Lear...
I think, with The Tempest and Hamlet and maybe Macbeth, this is my favourite Shakespeare play. Grandiose, tragic with characters bigger than life, it demonstrates the Bard's absolute mastery of blank verse and extraordinary dialog. I am nearly breathless each time I finish Lear. I have, unfortunately, never seen it on stage but that is one on my bucket list!
There is so much depth here and so much at stake. The dividing of England by Lear to open the play was an immediate reminder to Jacobean audiences (those living under Elizabeth鈥檚 successor and therefore Shakespeare鈥檚 second royal sponsor, James I) recent unification of Scotland England and of the civil wars. The characters of Regan and Goneril and Edmund are all heinous and despicable, up there with Iago and the Joker (although Edmund sort of comes around at the very end). The faithfulness of Kent to Lear, the Oedipal fate of Gloucester, and the tragedy of Cordelia are so vivd.
But what takes this play to the rarefied atmosphere of the world鈥檚 greatest literature is the storm in Act III. As AC Bradley wrote in Shakespearean Tragedy in 1904, the storm and Lear become one and it is a terrifying and edifying thing to read that defies the imagination. That and the scenes between Lear and Cordelia. Wow.
Fino's Reviews of Shakespeare and Shakespearean Criticism
Comedies
The Comedy of Errors (1592-1593
The Taming of the Shrew (1593-1594)
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594-1595)
Love's Labour's Lost (1594-1595)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595-1596)
The Merchant of Venice (1596-1597)
Much Ado About Nothing (1598-1599)
As You Like It (1599-1600)
Twelfth Night (1599-1600)
The Merry Wives of Windsor (1600-1601)
All's Well That Ends Well (1602-1603)
Measure for Measure (1604-1605)
Cymbeline (1609-1610)
A Winter's Tale (1610-1611)
The Tempest (1611-1612)
Two Noble Kinsmen (1612-1613)
Histories
Henry VI Part I (1589-1590)
Henry VI Part II (1590-1591)
Henry VI Part III (1590-1591)
Richard III (1593-1594)
Richard II (1595-1596)
King John (1596-1597)
Edward III (1596-1597)
Henry IV Part I (1597-1598)
Henry IV Part II (1597-1598)
Henry V (1598-1599)
Henry VIII (1612-1612)
Tragedies
Titus Andronicus (1592-1593)
Romeo and Juliet (1594-1595)
Julius Caesar (1599-1600)
Hamlet (1600-1601)
Troilus and Cressida (1601-1602)
Othello (1604-1605)
King Lear (1605-1606)
Macbeth (1605-1606)
Anthony and Cleopatra (1606-1607)
Coriolanus (1607-1608)
Timon of Athens (1607-1608)
Pericles (1608-1609)
Shakespearean Criticism
The Wheel of Fire by Wilson Knight
A Natural Perspective by Northrop Frye
Shakespeare After All by Marjorie Garber
Shakespeare's Roman Plays and Their Background by M W MacCallum
Shakespearean Criticism 1919-1935 compiled by Anne Ridler
Shakespearean Tragedy by A.C. Bradley
Shakespeare's Sexual Comedy by Hugh M. Richmond
Shakespeare: The Comedies by R.P. Draper
Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics by Stephen Greenblatt
1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare by James Shapiro
Collections of Shakespeare
Venus and Adonis, the Rape of Lucrece and Other Poems
Shakespeare's Sonnets and a Lover's Complaint
The Complete Oxford Shakespeare
August 26, 2024
[Read in Spanish] -- [Rese帽a en espa帽ol m谩s abajo]
It's an interesting play, but in my opinion quite confusing. Too many things happen and there are too many characters. I am sure this play is not known "just because", but I am sure that I am missing something deeper. I want to re-read it later again and maybe in that way I will be able to get it better.
I rate it with 3 stars and not 2 because it was interesting to me that Cordelia doesn't need to explain or fake her love to her father with too exaggerated scenes, since in my very humble opinion it is not necessary to express love to someone by literally "making a scene". That's not my cup of tea.
On the other hand, it is difficult for me to understand the way that Lear chose to give more land to his daughters. It's like saying "Show me how much you love me and I will give it to you". It's like if I don't say to my girlfriend that I love her every 2 hours, she will breakup with me. It doesn't make much sense to me.
And well, as in all the tragedies by the great Shakespeare, there is a lot of death and of course... tragedy. I hope I can understand and get it a bit more in the near future.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Es una obra interesante, pero a mi parecer bastante confusa. Pasan demasiadas cosas y hay bastantes personajes. Estoy seguro que esta obra no es famosa solo "porque s铆...", por lo que estoy seguro que me estoy perdiendo algo m谩s profundo. Quiero releerlo en un tiempo m谩s, y quiz谩s as铆 podr茅 entenderlo y absorberlo mejor.
Le pongo 3 estrellas (y no 2) porque encontr茅 interesante el hecho de que Cordelia no necesita declarar o falsificar su amor al padre con escenas ultra exageradas, ya que, obviamente, no se necesita hace un espect谩culo con palabras y gestos bonitos para demostrar amor a alguien. Al menos, eso no va conmigo en absoluto.
Por otro lado, me cuesta entender la forma en que Lear eligi贸 para dar m谩s tierras a sus hijas, es como decir "demu茅strame cu谩nto me amas para asegurarme de que as铆 sea y pueda heredarte". Es como si no le digo a mi novia que la amo cada 2 horas, ella terminar谩 conmigo.... no tiene mucho sentido.
Y bueno, como en todas las tragedias del gran Shakespeare, hay mucha muerte y obviamente... tragedia.
Espero entenderla y absorberla un poco m谩s y mejor en un futuro cercano.
It's an interesting play, but in my opinion quite confusing. Too many things happen and there are too many characters. I am sure this play is not known "just because", but I am sure that I am missing something deeper. I want to re-read it later again and maybe in that way I will be able to get it better.
I rate it with 3 stars and not 2 because it was interesting to me that Cordelia doesn't need to explain or fake her love to her father with too exaggerated scenes, since in my very humble opinion it is not necessary to express love to someone by literally "making a scene". That's not my cup of tea.
On the other hand, it is difficult for me to understand the way that Lear chose to give more land to his daughters. It's like saying "Show me how much you love me and I will give it to you". It's like if I don't say to my girlfriend that I love her every 2 hours, she will breakup with me. It doesn't make much sense to me.
And well, as in all the tragedies by the great Shakespeare, there is a lot of death and of course... tragedy. I hope I can understand and get it a bit more in the near future.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Es una obra interesante, pero a mi parecer bastante confusa. Pasan demasiadas cosas y hay bastantes personajes. Estoy seguro que esta obra no es famosa solo "porque s铆...", por lo que estoy seguro que me estoy perdiendo algo m谩s profundo. Quiero releerlo en un tiempo m谩s, y quiz谩s as铆 podr茅 entenderlo y absorberlo mejor.
Le pongo 3 estrellas (y no 2) porque encontr茅 interesante el hecho de que Cordelia no necesita declarar o falsificar su amor al padre con escenas ultra exageradas, ya que, obviamente, no se necesita hace un espect谩culo con palabras y gestos bonitos para demostrar amor a alguien. Al menos, eso no va conmigo en absoluto.
Por otro lado, me cuesta entender la forma en que Lear eligi贸 para dar m谩s tierras a sus hijas, es como decir "demu茅strame cu谩nto me amas para asegurarme de que as铆 sea y pueda heredarte". Es como si no le digo a mi novia que la amo cada 2 horas, ella terminar谩 conmigo.... no tiene mucho sentido.
Y bueno, como en todas las tragedias del gran Shakespeare, hay mucha muerte y obviamente... tragedia.
Espero entenderla y absorberla un poco m谩s y mejor en un futuro cercano.
May 19, 2020
"Para llegar al fin, todos los medios son buenos."
El teatro, el drama, es un g茅nero que no acostumbro a leer muy a menudo, pero cada vez que me acerco a este tipo de cl谩sicos, lo hago a partir de William Shakespeare. S贸lo tengo cuatro libros del genial bardo, a saber y en orden de predilecci贸n: Macbeth, Hamlet, La Tempestad y este, que me ha agradado en buena manera. Los dos primeros que enumero siguen siendo mis predilectos, especialmente Macbeth, por ser la obra m谩s oscura y malvada de Shakespeare.
Respecto de El Rey Lear, y como en la mayor铆a de las tragedias shakesperianas, es ya cl谩sico en sus obras encontrarnos con un reguero de muertos, batallas, amores y odios y sobre todo un elemento que Shakespeare sol铆a manejar a la perfecci贸n: el de las traiciones. Y es en base a estas traiciones (las cuales, por otro lado, generan que ciertos personajes se mantengan fieles y leales al Rey, como es el caso de Kent y Gloucester), lo que mantienen al lector atento al desarrollo del drama.
Puedo percibir ciertos pasajes que me hicieron recordar a Edipo Rey, sobre todo en los personajes del viejo Gloucester y de Cordelia. En l铆neas generales ha logrado que me interesara en saber c贸mo terminaba esta tragedia aunque repito: no hay obra de Shakespeare que no me apasione tanto como la maravillosa Macbeth.
Cinco estrellas porque la obra de uno de los cinco escritores m谩s grandes de la historia como lo es Shakespeare no merece menor calificaci贸n.
El teatro, el drama, es un g茅nero que no acostumbro a leer muy a menudo, pero cada vez que me acerco a este tipo de cl谩sicos, lo hago a partir de William Shakespeare. S贸lo tengo cuatro libros del genial bardo, a saber y en orden de predilecci贸n: Macbeth, Hamlet, La Tempestad y este, que me ha agradado en buena manera. Los dos primeros que enumero siguen siendo mis predilectos, especialmente Macbeth, por ser la obra m谩s oscura y malvada de Shakespeare.
Respecto de El Rey Lear, y como en la mayor铆a de las tragedias shakesperianas, es ya cl谩sico en sus obras encontrarnos con un reguero de muertos, batallas, amores y odios y sobre todo un elemento que Shakespeare sol铆a manejar a la perfecci贸n: el de las traiciones. Y es en base a estas traiciones (las cuales, por otro lado, generan que ciertos personajes se mantengan fieles y leales al Rey, como es el caso de Kent y Gloucester), lo que mantienen al lector atento al desarrollo del drama.
Puedo percibir ciertos pasajes que me hicieron recordar a Edipo Rey, sobre todo en los personajes del viejo Gloucester y de Cordelia. En l铆neas generales ha logrado que me interesara en saber c贸mo terminaba esta tragedia aunque repito: no hay obra de Shakespeare que no me apasione tanto como la maravillosa Macbeth.
Cinco estrellas porque la obra de uno de los cinco escritores m谩s grandes de la historia como lo es Shakespeare no merece menor calificaci贸n.
April 1, 2016
This is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays.
In college honors English at U. Tennessee Knoxville, I stumbled into a dissertation about a comparison of epic and tragic, using as templates Lear and Milton's . In all of English class papers, there may never have been a more seasoned example of pure bull**** and left field logic. I think I got a B-, just because my instructor may have been worried about whether or not my meds had kicked in.
Still, in composing the literary testimony of my ignorance, I had to read Lear and have been hooked ever since, reading several times and seeing it performed whenever possible, most notably Ian McKellan's magnificent rendering. Edmund remains for me an archetypal villain who gives Darth Vader and Satan a run for their money and any list of greatest villains is, to me, incomplete without Gloucester's bastard.
In college honors English at U. Tennessee Knoxville, I stumbled into a dissertation about a comparison of epic and tragic, using as templates Lear and Milton's . In all of English class papers, there may never have been a more seasoned example of pure bull**** and left field logic. I think I got a B-, just because my instructor may have been worried about whether or not my meds had kicked in.
Still, in composing the literary testimony of my ignorance, I had to read Lear and have been hooked ever since, reading several times and seeing it performed whenever possible, most notably Ian McKellan's magnificent rendering. Edmund remains for me an archetypal villain who gives Darth Vader and Satan a run for their money and any list of greatest villains is, to me, incomplete without Gloucester's bastard.
May 16, 2020
Book Review
3 of 5 stars to , a tragic play by , published in 1603. I enjoyed the play and then watched a few film versions. My review will cover both the book and the film I saw -- with a bit of sarcasm and humor (just to be different than all the other ones! LOL)
Lear is an absolutely ridiculous character who belongs in the looney bin in my opinion. He has lost all control over his life, his family, and his kingdom. He is foolish, blind, and stubborn. When reading the play, I thought Lear was some old king who couldn鈥檛 take care of anything. He was just plain ineffective. After watching a few film versions, I whole heartedly agree. Lear is still a vain, crotchety old man. However, I did see some humor in him that I didn鈥檛 notice in the first reading of the play. He was definitely not likable on a first read; however, when I started to watch the video clips, I found myself saying that I could tolerate him. All of a sudden, I classified him as likable human. Even when you just want to kill him, he is still kind of funny and tolerable.
Lear was somewhat like a grandfather in my opinion. Not one of those everyday grandfathers though. He reminded me of the much older, funny grandfather who laughs at everything, but doesn鈥檛 realize what he鈥檚 doing. In fact, I actually thought of him as a Santa Claus figure. It sounds weird, but the looks automatically qualify him to be Santa Claus. His attitude could be a problem though. He might have been a really nice guy when he was younger and not so stubborn. As for Lear鈥檚 daughters... I see Lear鈥檚 daughters as all being from 25 to 40 - no more than that, though. Gonerill though did make Lear鈥檚 anger appear believable to me. I see how much she had to say and then I realize how he can be so upset with Cordelia鈥檚 response. Cordelia seems a little too weak to be his daughter. I picture her as being stronger and able to handle herself against him. It was hard to picture three daughters surrounding their old, aging father Lear. Having each daughter one by one go to their father to say how they loved him was powerful. I watched the characters grow and then leap off the page.
The play is a good one to read, to see the life of parents and children, royalty and order of succession. It's a great commentary on how we behave and treat our elders, especially both as parents and as humans. And on the flip side, you also see what happens when you make rash decisions, not realizing the impact down the line... and how much you want to fix them, but sometimes you cannot.
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on 欧宝娱乐, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at , where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
3 of 5 stars to , a tragic play by , published in 1603. I enjoyed the play and then watched a few film versions. My review will cover both the book and the film I saw -- with a bit of sarcasm and humor (just to be different than all the other ones! LOL)
Lear is an absolutely ridiculous character who belongs in the looney bin in my opinion. He has lost all control over his life, his family, and his kingdom. He is foolish, blind, and stubborn. When reading the play, I thought Lear was some old king who couldn鈥檛 take care of anything. He was just plain ineffective. After watching a few film versions, I whole heartedly agree. Lear is still a vain, crotchety old man. However, I did see some humor in him that I didn鈥檛 notice in the first reading of the play. He was definitely not likable on a first read; however, when I started to watch the video clips, I found myself saying that I could tolerate him. All of a sudden, I classified him as likable human. Even when you just want to kill him, he is still kind of funny and tolerable.
Lear was somewhat like a grandfather in my opinion. Not one of those everyday grandfathers though. He reminded me of the much older, funny grandfather who laughs at everything, but doesn鈥檛 realize what he鈥檚 doing. In fact, I actually thought of him as a Santa Claus figure. It sounds weird, but the looks automatically qualify him to be Santa Claus. His attitude could be a problem though. He might have been a really nice guy when he was younger and not so stubborn. As for Lear鈥檚 daughters... I see Lear鈥檚 daughters as all being from 25 to 40 - no more than that, though. Gonerill though did make Lear鈥檚 anger appear believable to me. I see how much she had to say and then I realize how he can be so upset with Cordelia鈥檚 response. Cordelia seems a little too weak to be his daughter. I picture her as being stronger and able to handle herself against him. It was hard to picture three daughters surrounding their old, aging father Lear. Having each daughter one by one go to their father to say how they loved him was powerful. I watched the characters grow and then leap off the page.
The play is a good one to read, to see the life of parents and children, royalty and order of succession. It's a great commentary on how we behave and treat our elders, especially both as parents and as humans. And on the flip side, you also see what happens when you make rash decisions, not realizing the impact down the line... and how much you want to fix them, but sometimes you cannot.
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on 欧宝娱乐, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at , where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
October 8, 2017
As one who is always looking for books by authors from around the globe and seeking out hidden gems, books that have been defined as classics, especially by western authors, are usually the ones that get short changed. With three days offline and ample time to read, I thought it was high time that I read a Shakespearean play, having not read one since last year. In school, students are generally asked to read one Shakespeare a year, yet by scheduling quirks, I ended up reading twice and and not at all. I finally got around to reading Macbeth last year, only because a contemporary book piqued my interest in it. I have been meaning to read Pulitzer winning for some time now and used this similar impetus to finally read King Lear.
Tomes have been written on Shakespeare, his life, theater, inspiration for his plays, and the plays themselves. What I did find interesting about the background information on Lear is that it had been written toward the end of the Bard's life and focused on an aging hero who was met with age discrimination both from his family and outsiders. I have read a number of books this year about how age is only a number and that just because one is old it does not mean that the person is feeble minded or slowing down. Unfortunately, in the case of Lear, his daughters view him as near death, and are eager to swoop down and claim their inheritance from him. Perhaps they had enjoyed a better relationship with their long deceased mother or perhaps they were just greedy, but Lear's children's treatment of him shows to me nothing short of viewing the elderly as infantile and near death. As a result, many critics have said that Shakespeare's writing about the aging process has made Lear his most tragic tragedy. While not as thrilling to me as some of the other plays I have read, I am apt to agree with the more studied critics.
Perhaps I did not find myself enjoying this play as much as other Shakespearean plays that I have read because I did not find one character to sympathize with at all. The three daughters Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia were all out for personal gain, and two of the three plotted on Lear's life. Meanwhile, Cordelia, the most beloved by Lear, denounced him, only to repent toward the play's end when it appeared that Lear was at a near dementia like state and Cordelia herself might have been beyond atonement regardless of her intentions. Goneril and Regan engaged in a love triangle with Edmund the Duke of Gloucester, and I found Goneril's actions especially to be hideous, as she still was married at the time to a devoted husband. What I found the most interesting in these characters' portrayals is that in other plays I have found that Shakespeare to have written strong female characters from Portia to the downright domineering Lady Macbeth. At least Portia was likeable to an extent. The sisters here chose poor behavior that left me disgusted with their actions.
What I did find accessible in King Lear was Shakespeare's language that has endured for five centuries. Having read as much as I do, I did not find myself looking at the Folger produced side by side dictionary as much as I had in the past. This resource is wonderful for a high school student reading the play for the first time, and I laud the Folger library for producing stellar editions of all of the Bard's works. Lear's and Edmund's soliloquies were moving and the character of Lear's Fool provided comic relief for this tragic writing. In addition to injecting laughs into this otherwise upsetting premise of a setting, the Fool clearly appeared out of his element in the events in this play, making him the only character I almost sympathized with. His aloofness contrasted with Lear's dementia and made for the blind leading the blind and shows how both comic relief and the depiction of the elderly has changed since Shakespeare's time.
King Lear is indeed a tragedy for the ages. While I am pleasantly surprised that I have found Shakespeare's language more accessible as time goes by, I was not enamored with any of the characters in this play. Perhaps it was the depiction of women or perhaps the depiction of the elderly, but King Lear did not move me as much as other Shakespearean works have. Because of these issues in Shakespeare's work; however, King Lear has endured for as long as his other plays have and, because of the wealth of criticism available, is sure to generate lively discussions in other groups. As my quest to uncover hidden gems is ever present, it may be awhile before I read another of Shakespeare's works. In the meanwhile, I can appreciate the Bard for his mastery of the English language.
3.5 stars
Tomes have been written on Shakespeare, his life, theater, inspiration for his plays, and the plays themselves. What I did find interesting about the background information on Lear is that it had been written toward the end of the Bard's life and focused on an aging hero who was met with age discrimination both from his family and outsiders. I have read a number of books this year about how age is only a number and that just because one is old it does not mean that the person is feeble minded or slowing down. Unfortunately, in the case of Lear, his daughters view him as near death, and are eager to swoop down and claim their inheritance from him. Perhaps they had enjoyed a better relationship with their long deceased mother or perhaps they were just greedy, but Lear's children's treatment of him shows to me nothing short of viewing the elderly as infantile and near death. As a result, many critics have said that Shakespeare's writing about the aging process has made Lear his most tragic tragedy. While not as thrilling to me as some of the other plays I have read, I am apt to agree with the more studied critics.
Perhaps I did not find myself enjoying this play as much as other Shakespearean plays that I have read because I did not find one character to sympathize with at all. The three daughters Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia were all out for personal gain, and two of the three plotted on Lear's life. Meanwhile, Cordelia, the most beloved by Lear, denounced him, only to repent toward the play's end when it appeared that Lear was at a near dementia like state and Cordelia herself might have been beyond atonement regardless of her intentions. Goneril and Regan engaged in a love triangle with Edmund the Duke of Gloucester, and I found Goneril's actions especially to be hideous, as she still was married at the time to a devoted husband. What I found the most interesting in these characters' portrayals is that in other plays I have found that Shakespeare to have written strong female characters from Portia to the downright domineering Lady Macbeth. At least Portia was likeable to an extent. The sisters here chose poor behavior that left me disgusted with their actions.
What I did find accessible in King Lear was Shakespeare's language that has endured for five centuries. Having read as much as I do, I did not find myself looking at the Folger produced side by side dictionary as much as I had in the past. This resource is wonderful for a high school student reading the play for the first time, and I laud the Folger library for producing stellar editions of all of the Bard's works. Lear's and Edmund's soliloquies were moving and the character of Lear's Fool provided comic relief for this tragic writing. In addition to injecting laughs into this otherwise upsetting premise of a setting, the Fool clearly appeared out of his element in the events in this play, making him the only character I almost sympathized with. His aloofness contrasted with Lear's dementia and made for the blind leading the blind and shows how both comic relief and the depiction of the elderly has changed since Shakespeare's time.
King Lear is indeed a tragedy for the ages. While I am pleasantly surprised that I have found Shakespeare's language more accessible as time goes by, I was not enamored with any of the characters in this play. Perhaps it was the depiction of women or perhaps the depiction of the elderly, but King Lear did not move me as much as other Shakespearean works have. Because of these issues in Shakespeare's work; however, King Lear has endured for as long as his other plays have and, because of the wealth of criticism available, is sure to generate lively discussions in other groups. As my quest to uncover hidden gems is ever present, it may be awhile before I read another of Shakespeare's works. In the meanwhile, I can appreciate the Bard for his mastery of the English language.
3.5 stars
February 8, 2014
A Fairy Tale I Give Thee, A 鈥楾rue Chronicle History鈥�
[Dramatis Person忙:
The Bard, as Himself
World, as Itself
You, as Fool, in the Bard鈥檚 service
Kings, Daughters, Sons, Knights, Fools, Gentlemen, Soldiers, Attendants, Messengers, Servants.]
Act 1.1
Sennet. Enter [The Bard, You]
Bard:
Hark, A Fairy Tale I Give Thee, Fit for Today鈥檚 Times!
I have in my time, written many plays - tragedies, comedies, all - but reader beware: this might be my darkest vision yet.
I will exalt you; and in death鈥檚 throngs.
Have you heard of Cinderella, of King Leir, of Arcadia鈥檚 Kings, and all such happy and sad tales of old? Have you laughed with relief at their ends?
Well, let me show the real end of tales.
Have you hated the Villains and prayed for the Heroes? Let me show you how, each to himself and to the other, they only plough despair on themselves! Let me show you of good and evil and the intermingled confusion of their origins. Let me show you the face of the Gods, mocking and crying, the mad Gods that rule us.
Note now my words well, and note the tales I tell. You have heard them before, so note most where I differ!
Note how it is Leir and his daughters, who are mixed with the Paphlagonian King of Sidney鈥檚 Arcadia. Pay your most special heed to those special introductions of mine: to the Storm and to the Madness; to the Fool and to poor Tom; to the faithful and noble servant and to the slimy one; and most of all to the Protean one.
See all this in me, be not blind!
See also what I leave out, see the plot tightened and stripped off base plottings and machinations, and the happy endings! See my sources condensed and expanded and kneaded into a potent brew for your vision鈥檚 improvement.
But most important of all, see the mixing of the tales: all themes from all stories pour into my cup, I raise them from mere tales to be an epic, to cosmic proportions. Watch on, as Leir鈥檚 small world becomes my Lear鈥檚 world - and then becomes the world entire. Is it clear to you that my Lear鈥檚 fate may indeed be the fate of any man, of Yours? Never mind, it is a mystery you can fathom not!
[Aside] Alack, the future shall find this impossible to bear, and just as I mutilate the happy myths, my sad tragedy too shall be undone so, by Nates and nit-wits! Actors and audiences will then prefer this mutant version of my play. Oh, how then its happy ending will comfort them, for a century and a half! Not for much longer - You will be back to me. Comforting endings, all fictions, are only there to mock, as ever.
Finally see the ending I have stored specially for you, see how I have left no consolations for you. See how I raise your hopes at every turn and shatter them like boys playing with insects. See through these windows I make for you, before you erect your mirrors all over again.
You must see that beyond the apparent 鈥榳orst鈥� that I let you imagine, there is a worse suffering, and when it comes in with a rush, it will be a mere image of that horror, not the thing itself. Ha! and yet, it will be more appalling than anything you could expect, than the very worst nightmares this stage can conjure!
See! See if for a moment, before you leave me and slip back into cozy habits again, into your own blindness of self-absorption.
Alack, it is for me to shatter your expectations, for only in the cracking of the mirror can you see through that window-that-was and into the truth beyond. Let me be your guest and enter your very homes and crack all the mirrors fixed where windows ought be, and let in the world, full wild and gorgeous!
A difficult play to stage my hands said to me! Indeed, I meant it to be thus and naught else - 鈥榦nly the imagination can encompass it鈥� (which might serve quite well in a day when reading supplants all staging in reach) but stage it I shall, watch it you shall, break the mirrors I shall, and rush in the World shall.
Flourish. Exeunt [The Bard, and Attendants]
Enter [World] [You remain on stage]
[ Inspired by: Kermode ]
August 25, 2017
Honestly didn't enjoy this as much as I had expected to. I think my expectations were too high. But, it was still an enjoyable play!
December 1, 2019
My first time reading Lear, and like all the other plays I've read this year I just assumed I would steam through it, getting the gist and some sense of the pace, and language and humor...you know, just enjoying it. Lear is not friendly this approach. It's long, worded for effect and meter, which means the sentences are complex and difficult follow; and it's really busy. Lots of stuff happens constantly. Each act felt like it had enough plot to be a whole play, and at least one scene felt that way (Act 4, scene 6). All I knew of the play before pretty much happens in Act I.
Lear is the play where the old king gives his kingdom away to his daughters while he's still alive, while fully intending to still live out his life as a king. He demands words of affection before dividing the land among his three daughters, but one daughter, Cordellia, finds words inadequate. That's a no go, and Lear makes the mistake of banishing her and giving her inheritance to his other two more calculating daughters. And there is the Glouchester's parallel story where illegitimate son Edwin tries to hoodwink legitimate son Edgar out of his inheritance...and the clever boy has other grand schemes too. Alas, things don't go as anyone intends, and resulting in a lot of anger, wars, killings, eyes getting gouged out and smashed on the stage, loyal servants and subjects of various levels playing various key roles, a moment at the maybe only metaphorical edge of the White Cliffs of Dover, and a very dark and not funny but actually really funny fool. Life lessons are learned, the arrogant are bitterly enlightened and humbled, but only a few are left standing.
It's all exhausting, but also really fascinating and there are many levels, some of them deeply psychological. My edition included a bibliography with an actual summary of all the key points in each work cited(!!). That was pretty cool and gave me insights like this, from 's 鈥�King Lear and the Psychology of Dying.鈥� (Shakespeare Quarterly 33 (1982): 449鈥�60).
"Structuring her analysis of the play around the tenets of 鈥檚 influential (1969), which outlined five stages in the dying process鈥攄enial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance鈥擲nyder locates naturalistic and symbolic correspondences to these stages in Lear鈥檚 and Gloucester鈥檚 loss of power (鈥� which is . . . what dying is about鈥�)"Shakespeare doesn't need a recommendation, at least this one certainly doesn't. I think we all know of it. But this one does need some further re-reading and exploration.
-----------------------------------------------
58. King Lear (Folger Shakespeare Library) by William Shakespeare
editors: Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine (also has an essay by Susan Snyder)
originally performed: 1605 or 1606 (this edition is 2015)
format: 349 page Kindle ebook
acquired: October 26
read: Oct 26 鈥� Nov 21
time reading: 14 hr 56 min, 2.6 min/page
rating: 5
March 30, 2025
After avoiding reading Shakespearean tragedies for years, I finally picked up King Lear. My aversion for Shakespearean tragedies dates from the time I watched a performance of Julius Caesar when I was about eight years old. The shock at seeing so much violence can have a negative impact on a child's mind. I think that's what happened to me. I was too afraid to read or watch Shakespeare's tragedies thereafter. Only more than thirty years later that I have plucked up my courage to read them.
King Lear is a tragedy that is set forth by Lear's vanity and inability to discern deception and flattery. When powerful men are dictated by vanity and passion, they often end up marking their own doom. This is what happens to King Lear. The tragedy of King Lear doesn't end there. Lear's youngest and dearest daughter, Cordelia, also pays a dear price for his foolish pride. Cordelia is an example that innocence and good always become victims and not winners. Sadly, this is true too.
I don't claim to have had an easy time reading the play. I was indignant on behalf of the innocents. I was of course happy to see the villains receiving their just desserts, but my heart bled for Cordelia and Lear. Overall however, even with my mixed and conflicting emotions, I enjoyed the play.
Reading King Lear eased my doubts as to how I'd respond to the Shakespearean tragedies. I now know I'm able to appreciate them even when I don't enjoy them. Still, my heart warns me to tread my step carefully.
King Lear is a tragedy that is set forth by Lear's vanity and inability to discern deception and flattery. When powerful men are dictated by vanity and passion, they often end up marking their own doom. This is what happens to King Lear. The tragedy of King Lear doesn't end there. Lear's youngest and dearest daughter, Cordelia, also pays a dear price for his foolish pride. Cordelia is an example that innocence and good always become victims and not winners. Sadly, this is true too.
I don't claim to have had an easy time reading the play. I was indignant on behalf of the innocents. I was of course happy to see the villains receiving their just desserts, but my heart bled for Cordelia and Lear. Overall however, even with my mixed and conflicting emotions, I enjoyed the play.
Reading King Lear eased my doubts as to how I'd respond to the Shakespearean tragedies. I now know I'm able to appreciate them even when I don't enjoy them. Still, my heart warns me to tread my step carefully.
November 12, 2018
Here is Shakespeare's biggest bummer in a long career of bummers. Remember that catch phrase kids thought was clever in like 7th grade as they were discovering the joys of nihilism: "Life sucks, then you die"? That's the actual and entire message of King Lear. "Nothing will come of nothing," rages the doddering King, and there is nothing, and nothing comes of it.
And along the way, don't forget, we get maybe Shakespeare's most disturbing scene, the outing of the vile jelly, Marlovian in its gruesomeness.
Shakespeare liked the word "nothing", only partly because it's vaginas. He has some dark fun with it in Lear - check him out as he offers the disinherited Cordelia to Burgundy in marriage:
Stephen Greenblatt's Will in the World points out that Shakespeare has this weird tendency to excise the motive from his plots, which is part of what makes them so endlessly interesting and open to interpretation. Shakespeare's has Iago acting out of jealousy, because he has a crush on Desdemona. But Shakespeare more or less chops that out; Iago's motives are left murky. "Demand me nothing. What you know, you know," he says as he leaves the stage, and there's that word again.
And Shakespeare mucks with his source again in Lear. His (this is an oft-told tale) has Lear staging the whole "Who loves me?" thing so as to get Cordelia to marry who he wants. (It sortof makes sense in context.) Shakespeare once again trims it out; in his version, the game seems like no more than an old asshole who likes to be flattered. He changes the ending, too, which is happy in most of the sources. His Lear starts and ends in chaos and meaningless tragedy: nothing from nothing.
Lear isn't perfect. That fake suicide scene has never worked for me, and the mock trial doesn't really either, and frankly there's less in the way of glorious wordplay than there is in Hamlet or Tempest, and the parallel plots work together but also make it seem less focused than Macbeth or Othello. But it's a storm of nihilism, a dark night of literature, a virtuoso depiction of despair without glimmer. As an exploration of the emptiest corners of the world, the bleak and barren heath of your soul...nothing beats it.
And along the way, don't forget, we get maybe Shakespeare's most disturbing scene, the outing of the vile jelly, Marlovian in its gruesomeness.
Shakespeare liked the word "nothing", only partly because it's vaginas. He has some dark fun with it in Lear - check him out as he offers the disinherited Cordelia to Burgundy in marriage:
If aught within that little seeming substance,Burgundy's like nah, I'm good. But this play is about something less pleasant than vaginas: it's about the real nothing, entropy, death.
Or all of it, with our displeasure pieced,
And nothing more, may fitly like your grace,
She's there, and she is yours.
Stephen Greenblatt's Will in the World points out that Shakespeare has this weird tendency to excise the motive from his plots, which is part of what makes them so endlessly interesting and open to interpretation. Shakespeare's has Iago acting out of jealousy, because he has a crush on Desdemona. But Shakespeare more or less chops that out; Iago's motives are left murky. "Demand me nothing. What you know, you know," he says as he leaves the stage, and there's that word again.
And Shakespeare mucks with his source again in Lear. His (this is an oft-told tale) has Lear staging the whole "Who loves me?" thing so as to get Cordelia to marry who he wants. (It sortof makes sense in context.) Shakespeare once again trims it out; in his version, the game seems like no more than an old asshole who likes to be flattered. He changes the ending, too, which is happy in most of the sources. His Lear starts and ends in chaos and meaningless tragedy: nothing from nothing.
Lear isn't perfect. That fake suicide scene has never worked for me, and the mock trial doesn't really either, and frankly there's less in the way of glorious wordplay than there is in Hamlet or Tempest, and the parallel plots work together but also make it seem less focused than Macbeth or Othello. But it's a storm of nihilism, a dark night of literature, a virtuoso depiction of despair without glimmer. As an exploration of the emptiest corners of the world, the bleak and barren heath of your soul...nothing beats it.
March 2, 2022
Empec茅 a leer este cl谩sico un poco por casualidad, ya que Shakespeare siempre me da algo de pereza. La raz贸n fue la lectura de Heredar谩s la tierra de Jane Smiley, en la que la autora pretende hacer una revisi贸n feminista de King Lear, tal como explica en esta entrevista:
Es una tendencia entre los escritores actuales, volver la vista a la obra de Shakespeare, ya que como dice la autora: 鈥楽hakespeare es el principio de la era moderna, 茅l la define. Y ahora que termina muchos lo buscan para ser conscientes de qui茅nes son y tratar de imaginar el porvenir.鈥�
Pues empec茅 a leer King Lear como una especie de deber cultural, pero a las pocas p谩ginas, la manera en que Gloster habla de su hijo bastardo Edmund, me despert贸 de golpe:
Aunque este brib贸n vino al mundo inoportuna y lascivamente antes de que fuera llamado, hay que decir que fue su madre gentil, hice mucho ejercicio al engendrarlo y el hijo de puta merece ser reconocido.
Pero, William, t铆o!! A las tres p谩ginas ya me ten铆a enganchada, los personajes saltaban fuera del Kindle y me agarraban por el cuello, violencia, sexo, tragedia鈥� en fin, Shakespeare en estado puro.
El argumento es bien conocido: un rey decide repartir su reino entre sus tres hijas, para que ellas con sus maridos carguen con las responsabilidades de gobierno y le proporcionen una vida c贸moda en su vejez. Goneril y Regan, las dos mayores, le halagan hip贸critamente hasta que consiguen el poder y despu茅s le vuelven la espalda. En cambio, la hija peque帽a, Cordelia, es el s铆mbolo del amor filial puro, que se conoce por los actos y no por las palabras.
Pues junto con esto, hay destierros, reconciliaciones, disfraces, bufones, canciones, amores il铆citos, mutilaciones crueles, guerra鈥� Tengo que decir que en algunas partes me he perdido un poco con tantas idas y venidas, es teatro y por tanto mejor visto que le铆do. Pero ha sido una experiencia impresionante, junto con La tempestad, que le铆 no hace mucho 鈥� tambi茅n a ra铆z de otra lectura contempor谩nea. Y me propongo por en茅sima vez ir leyendo todas las obras 鈥� o al menos las principales 鈥� de Shakespeare, ya que es la 煤nica manera de entender la literatura posterior.
Ah! Y mejor en una edici贸n biling眉e para disfrutar plenamente de fragmentos como:
Sunshine and rain at once, her smiles and tears were like a better way.
Como lluvia con sol, as铆 eran sus sonrisas y l谩grimas, a煤n m谩s hermosas.
Es una tendencia entre los escritores actuales, volver la vista a la obra de Shakespeare, ya que como dice la autora: 鈥楽hakespeare es el principio de la era moderna, 茅l la define. Y ahora que termina muchos lo buscan para ser conscientes de qui茅nes son y tratar de imaginar el porvenir.鈥�
Pues empec茅 a leer King Lear como una especie de deber cultural, pero a las pocas p谩ginas, la manera en que Gloster habla de su hijo bastardo Edmund, me despert贸 de golpe:
Aunque este brib贸n vino al mundo inoportuna y lascivamente antes de que fuera llamado, hay que decir que fue su madre gentil, hice mucho ejercicio al engendrarlo y el hijo de puta merece ser reconocido.
Pero, William, t铆o!! A las tres p谩ginas ya me ten铆a enganchada, los personajes saltaban fuera del Kindle y me agarraban por el cuello, violencia, sexo, tragedia鈥� en fin, Shakespeare en estado puro.
El argumento es bien conocido: un rey decide repartir su reino entre sus tres hijas, para que ellas con sus maridos carguen con las responsabilidades de gobierno y le proporcionen una vida c贸moda en su vejez. Goneril y Regan, las dos mayores, le halagan hip贸critamente hasta que consiguen el poder y despu茅s le vuelven la espalda. En cambio, la hija peque帽a, Cordelia, es el s铆mbolo del amor filial puro, que se conoce por los actos y no por las palabras.
Pues junto con esto, hay destierros, reconciliaciones, disfraces, bufones, canciones, amores il铆citos, mutilaciones crueles, guerra鈥� Tengo que decir que en algunas partes me he perdido un poco con tantas idas y venidas, es teatro y por tanto mejor visto que le铆do. Pero ha sido una experiencia impresionante, junto con La tempestad, que le铆 no hace mucho 鈥� tambi茅n a ra铆z de otra lectura contempor谩nea. Y me propongo por en茅sima vez ir leyendo todas las obras 鈥� o al menos las principales 鈥� de Shakespeare, ya que es la 煤nica manera de entender la literatura posterior.
Ah! Y mejor en una edici贸n biling眉e para disfrutar plenamente de fragmentos como:
Sunshine and rain at once, her smiles and tears were like a better way.
Como lluvia con sol, as铆 eran sus sonrisas y l谩grimas, a煤n m谩s hermosas.
July 28, 2021
The grand works of Shakespeare are, in part, natural think pieces. Watching Shakespeare or reading him will not take long. The story is entertaining enough to leave it at that, if you should so choose (although I must admit: as the years go by since I have read and watched Romeo and Juliet, I cannot help but look back on it as unbearably boring). This person has designs, this person dies, this person ends up with this person, this title, this land, etc. Comedy, tragedy, romance, history, all of it is there. But let your entertainment impulse down for just a second and you will start to see revelations and questions come up out of nowhere. King Lear is no different, of course.
I have had a good amount of experience with Shakespeare鈥檚 2-3 most 鈥渒nown鈥� plays, as far as high school education is concerned. Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet. The problem with these teachings, however, have always been a lack of enthusiasm on the part of the teacher. The first and the third were ruined by soporific, monotonous rants by underpaid teachers who would have rather taken part in quite literally anything else. The Scottish play was lucky, as it was taught to me by one of the most formative teachers in my academic career. God bless his love for the subject, that which truly makes all the difference. My overall point is this: there is often a lack of logic behind why students need to read and discuss these plays. Why is this crucial? What does it teach me? I remember discussing the importance of Shakespeare with a poor, sad, lost soul who was looking to get her MA in drama/theatre. She refused to read any Shakespeare out of hand. She had not read or watched a single one. Why? Because he was a 鈥淒ead White Man鈥� TM, and she just knew that he would not have much to contribute to her life today. I don鈥檛 blame her or her logic for reaching this conclusion and refusing to acknowledge the single most important figure in her field, perhaps even across all literature. I blame the false and empty reverence that follows the introduction of these plays by teachers who themselves had a selection of 5-10 鈥淪hakespeares鈥� drilled into them senselessly. The cycle continues. The Wheel of Fortune continues to turn.
I am at a new beginning of my studies of Shakespeare. This time, the introductions are done in an autodidactic manner. Enthusiasm, as I mention, is key. As a beginner, if it is enthusiasm I seek, I don鈥檛 have to look much further than Harold Bloom. I have been reading his essays on Shakespeare on and off for quite some time now, and while he often waves away perfectly valid challenges to the works of Shakespeare with non arguments and non sequiturs, he does give me crucial background and interesting comparisons that I may otherwise never have had the chance to entertain. His writings on King Lear helped me sound out the revelations and questions that I mentioned, and so credit has to be given. Here are some of my thoughts and if spoilers matter to you for Shakespeare, here is a warning :
- I don鈥檛 know why it doesn鈥檛 sit well with me that Edgar saw his father, blind, struggling, searching, and decided that it was best to continue the pantomime of Tom O鈥橞edlam. I don鈥檛 have an adequate answer for why Edgar鈥檚 obvious and overwhelming love for the father did not pour out in a stream of sympathies for Gloucester. Instead, he later revealed his identity to Gloucester off-stage (post many conversations and a suicide-attempt by his father), and this ended up being all for naught. I suppose naught is a recurring theme in the play. Why the self-restraint?
- We seem to have either an excess of love or excess of hate. The excess of love can be superficial, in the cases of Goneril and Regan, or pure and unyielding in the face of wrath, like that of Cordelia. Lear himself has an excessive need for love, a bottomless pit that cannot be filled. Hate is also strong, concentrated in the strange character of Edmund. He is evil! What drives him but a will toward destruction of all?
- The juxtaposition of the Fool and Lear is a touch of genius by Shakespeare, as Lear has already proven that he is more than capable of banishing anyone that does not bow down to his needs and requests. A designated court jester, however, is seemingly safe from his fury. He is the one that speaks all of the wisdom in this play, there with almost no will but to drive Lear further into insanity. I think Gloucester鈥檚 famous quote applies here as well: 鈥淭is the times鈥� plague, when madmen lead the blind.鈥�
- The most surreal scene of the play for me is the meeting of the mad Lear and the blind Gloucester. What a climax. Lear rants about scorn and hatred for the necessity of sexual reproduction and his fear of the feminine in humanity and nature, a scene that holds so much gravity and threatens to come loose at every line.
It is a testament to how beautiful and human this work is that the characters are not far-fetched. We can see ourselves in Lear, if we allow ourselves to think of when the road of ambition may come to an end. We can see ourselves in Gloucester and Kent, punished for doing right. We can see ourselves in Cordelia, whose intimations and hints at purity are misread and turned against her as weapons. And of course, we all know a few Gonerils, Regans, and Edmunds. Not reading Shakespeare is truly a miss, and I believe that we owe it to ourselves to ensure we do so, if no more than even once in our lives. After all, 鈥渘othing will come of nothing鈥�.
I have had a good amount of experience with Shakespeare鈥檚 2-3 most 鈥渒nown鈥� plays, as far as high school education is concerned. Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet. The problem with these teachings, however, have always been a lack of enthusiasm on the part of the teacher. The first and the third were ruined by soporific, monotonous rants by underpaid teachers who would have rather taken part in quite literally anything else. The Scottish play was lucky, as it was taught to me by one of the most formative teachers in my academic career. God bless his love for the subject, that which truly makes all the difference. My overall point is this: there is often a lack of logic behind why students need to read and discuss these plays. Why is this crucial? What does it teach me? I remember discussing the importance of Shakespeare with a poor, sad, lost soul who was looking to get her MA in drama/theatre. She refused to read any Shakespeare out of hand. She had not read or watched a single one. Why? Because he was a 鈥淒ead White Man鈥� TM, and she just knew that he would not have much to contribute to her life today. I don鈥檛 blame her or her logic for reaching this conclusion and refusing to acknowledge the single most important figure in her field, perhaps even across all literature. I blame the false and empty reverence that follows the introduction of these plays by teachers who themselves had a selection of 5-10 鈥淪hakespeares鈥� drilled into them senselessly. The cycle continues. The Wheel of Fortune continues to turn.
I am at a new beginning of my studies of Shakespeare. This time, the introductions are done in an autodidactic manner. Enthusiasm, as I mention, is key. As a beginner, if it is enthusiasm I seek, I don鈥檛 have to look much further than Harold Bloom. I have been reading his essays on Shakespeare on and off for quite some time now, and while he often waves away perfectly valid challenges to the works of Shakespeare with non arguments and non sequiturs, he does give me crucial background and interesting comparisons that I may otherwise never have had the chance to entertain. His writings on King Lear helped me sound out the revelations and questions that I mentioned, and so credit has to be given. Here are some of my thoughts and if spoilers matter to you for Shakespeare, here is a warning :
- I don鈥檛 know why it doesn鈥檛 sit well with me that Edgar saw his father, blind, struggling, searching, and decided that it was best to continue the pantomime of Tom O鈥橞edlam. I don鈥檛 have an adequate answer for why Edgar鈥檚 obvious and overwhelming love for the father did not pour out in a stream of sympathies for Gloucester. Instead, he later revealed his identity to Gloucester off-stage (post many conversations and a suicide-attempt by his father), and this ended up being all for naught. I suppose naught is a recurring theme in the play. Why the self-restraint?
- We seem to have either an excess of love or excess of hate. The excess of love can be superficial, in the cases of Goneril and Regan, or pure and unyielding in the face of wrath, like that of Cordelia. Lear himself has an excessive need for love, a bottomless pit that cannot be filled. Hate is also strong, concentrated in the strange character of Edmund. He is evil! What drives him but a will toward destruction of all?
- The juxtaposition of the Fool and Lear is a touch of genius by Shakespeare, as Lear has already proven that he is more than capable of banishing anyone that does not bow down to his needs and requests. A designated court jester, however, is seemingly safe from his fury. He is the one that speaks all of the wisdom in this play, there with almost no will but to drive Lear further into insanity. I think Gloucester鈥檚 famous quote applies here as well: 鈥淭is the times鈥� plague, when madmen lead the blind.鈥�
- The most surreal scene of the play for me is the meeting of the mad Lear and the blind Gloucester. What a climax. Lear rants about scorn and hatred for the necessity of sexual reproduction and his fear of the feminine in humanity and nature, a scene that holds so much gravity and threatens to come loose at every line.
It is a testament to how beautiful and human this work is that the characters are not far-fetched. We can see ourselves in Lear, if we allow ourselves to think of when the road of ambition may come to an end. We can see ourselves in Gloucester and Kent, punished for doing right. We can see ourselves in Cordelia, whose intimations and hints at purity are misread and turned against her as weapons. And of course, we all know a few Gonerils, Regans, and Edmunds. Not reading Shakespeare is truly a miss, and I believe that we owe it to ourselves to ensure we do so, if no more than even once in our lives. After all, 鈥渘othing will come of nothing鈥�.
April 5, 2009
This is where Shakespeare takes off the gloves. He brings us right to the edge of the abyss, then kicks us over that edge. King Lear is the most devastating by far of the Shakespeare tragedies -- this is a play which leaves the reader shattered as the curtain falls.
The play has a kind of primal power, which I find hard to explain. The plot is fairly typically Shakespeare, perhaps a little more complicated than usual, mixing elements taken from legend and from the historical record. At the outset, Lear is a narcissistic, bullying despot. His two older daughters, Regan and Goneril, are a couple of bad seed cougars, both of whom lust after Edmund, an equally amoral hyena. Their goody-two-shoes sister Cordelia behaves with such one-note pointless stubbornness, it almost seems like she's not playing with a full deck. Over in the Gloucester household, Edmund (the bastard hyena) is plotting against both his brother Edgar and his father. Lear鈥檚 court is filled with lickspittle sycophants. Only two people have the guts to speak truth to power, and one of them wears the costume of a Fool. There's a nasty storm brewing on the heath.
Fasten your seatbelts - it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Characters in 鈥淜ing Lear鈥� pay dearly for their weaknesses. Gloucester is blinded in order that he might see, but is denied any lasting happiness; after reconciling with Edgar, he dies. Lear will be driven insane before he finally learns to empathize with the poor and the meek. We watch him return from the brink of madness only to discover that鈥檚 not enough. Before the curtain falls, Shakespeare gives us what is arguably the most brutal scene in his entire work.
Enter Lear with Cordelia (dead) in his arms 鈥�
Howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stone!
Had I your tongues and eyes, I鈥檇 use them so
That heavens vault should crack. She鈥檚 gone forever.
Even if, like me, you find Cordelia a saccharine, two-dimensional character*, this scene is shattering. Two pages later, after learning that his fool has hanged himself, Lear dies, broken-hearted. Edgar, Kent and Albany 鈥� literally the only characters still standing 鈥� are left to bury the dead and move on, as best they can.
Why do I find this the most affecting of Shakespeare鈥檚 plays? (I鈥檝e seen seven different stage productions**, and two on TV, and it only gets more powerful upon repeated exposure.) I can鈥檛 really pin it down 鈥� it鈥檚 a combination of various elements. The characters are idiosyncratic, fully realised, and their behavior is highly relatable, so the play is convincing at the level of the individual protagonists. But the fable-like nature of the opening scene also confers a kind of universal quality to its message, and the themes explored within the play 鈥� abuse of power, relationships within families, responsibilities of parents and children, the breakdown of the natural order and its consequences, the human capacity for enormous cruelty 鈥� are no less relevant today than in Shakespeare鈥檚 time. The skillfully constructed parallel plotting of the Lear and Gloucester arcs adds to the power of the story, the breakdown in natural human behavior is further accentuated by the raw fury of the elements during the storm scenes, where Nature echoes Lear鈥檚 fury.
Ultimately, there鈥檚 no getting away from the uncompromising bleakness of the play鈥檚 message. In Gloucester鈥檚 words 鈥� 鈥渁s flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods; they kill us for their sport鈥�. The nihilism of 鈥淜ing Lear鈥� has always disturbed audiences, and it was common during the 18th and 19th centuries to stage an altered version, in which Cordelia was allowed to live, implying a more upbeat view of human nature. But, given what the events of the last century demonstrate about mankind鈥檚 vicious capacity for self-destruction, one has to think that Shakespeare got it right first time. As usual.
*: the character that Cordelia most reminds me of is the slave-girl, Liu, in Puccini鈥檚 鈥淭urandot鈥�. Neither is realised in any great depth, but each serves an important function in the way that their death effects a crucial change in one of the other protagonists.
**: including one particularly memorable performance in M枚nchen-Gladbach, Germany, where Regan and Goneril were decked out like biker chicks and roared on stage riding what appeared to be Harleys.
The play has a kind of primal power, which I find hard to explain. The plot is fairly typically Shakespeare, perhaps a little more complicated than usual, mixing elements taken from legend and from the historical record. At the outset, Lear is a narcissistic, bullying despot. His two older daughters, Regan and Goneril, are a couple of bad seed cougars, both of whom lust after Edmund, an equally amoral hyena. Their goody-two-shoes sister Cordelia behaves with such one-note pointless stubbornness, it almost seems like she's not playing with a full deck. Over in the Gloucester household, Edmund (the bastard hyena) is plotting against both his brother Edgar and his father. Lear鈥檚 court is filled with lickspittle sycophants. Only two people have the guts to speak truth to power, and one of them wears the costume of a Fool. There's a nasty storm brewing on the heath.
Fasten your seatbelts - it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Characters in 鈥淜ing Lear鈥� pay dearly for their weaknesses. Gloucester is blinded in order that he might see, but is denied any lasting happiness; after reconciling with Edgar, he dies. Lear will be driven insane before he finally learns to empathize with the poor and the meek. We watch him return from the brink of madness only to discover that鈥檚 not enough. Before the curtain falls, Shakespeare gives us what is arguably the most brutal scene in his entire work.
Enter Lear with Cordelia (dead) in his arms 鈥�
Howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stone!
Had I your tongues and eyes, I鈥檇 use them so
That heavens vault should crack. She鈥檚 gone forever.
Even if, like me, you find Cordelia a saccharine, two-dimensional character*, this scene is shattering. Two pages later, after learning that his fool has hanged himself, Lear dies, broken-hearted. Edgar, Kent and Albany 鈥� literally the only characters still standing 鈥� are left to bury the dead and move on, as best they can.
Why do I find this the most affecting of Shakespeare鈥檚 plays? (I鈥檝e seen seven different stage productions**, and two on TV, and it only gets more powerful upon repeated exposure.) I can鈥檛 really pin it down 鈥� it鈥檚 a combination of various elements. The characters are idiosyncratic, fully realised, and their behavior is highly relatable, so the play is convincing at the level of the individual protagonists. But the fable-like nature of the opening scene also confers a kind of universal quality to its message, and the themes explored within the play 鈥� abuse of power, relationships within families, responsibilities of parents and children, the breakdown of the natural order and its consequences, the human capacity for enormous cruelty 鈥� are no less relevant today than in Shakespeare鈥檚 time. The skillfully constructed parallel plotting of the Lear and Gloucester arcs adds to the power of the story, the breakdown in natural human behavior is further accentuated by the raw fury of the elements during the storm scenes, where Nature echoes Lear鈥檚 fury.
Ultimately, there鈥檚 no getting away from the uncompromising bleakness of the play鈥檚 message. In Gloucester鈥檚 words 鈥� 鈥渁s flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods; they kill us for their sport鈥�. The nihilism of 鈥淜ing Lear鈥� has always disturbed audiences, and it was common during the 18th and 19th centuries to stage an altered version, in which Cordelia was allowed to live, implying a more upbeat view of human nature. But, given what the events of the last century demonstrate about mankind鈥檚 vicious capacity for self-destruction, one has to think that Shakespeare got it right first time. As usual.
*: the character that Cordelia most reminds me of is the slave-girl, Liu, in Puccini鈥檚 鈥淭urandot鈥�. Neither is realised in any great depth, but each serves an important function in the way that their death effects a crucial change in one of the other protagonists.
**: including one particularly memorable performance in M枚nchen-Gladbach, Germany, where Regan and Goneril were decked out like biker chicks and roared on stage riding what appeared to be Harleys.
October 29, 2014
His greatest work, in my opinion, which makes it one of the greatest works of art our species has produced. Its greatness lies not just in its language or in its analysis of power, but in the extraordinary structure of it, and its complete refusal to follow the usual dramatic arcs. How shocking must it have been for a Jacobean audience to see a god-chosen king reduced to scrabbling around in a hovel?
The heartbreaking irreversibility of mortality. Age and loss. The stripping away of self. Love. Torture and state-sponsored brutality. An unjust God, if he (or they) are even there. Family. Remembering and recognizing those suffering and impoverished, those without our luck or the gifts given to us by our birth.
2109 fellow Goodreaders gave it 1 star. Many call it boring. Some even say it is predictable and has no moral lesson. That these people have the right to vote and to procreate is frightening to me.
The heartbreaking irreversibility of mortality. Age and loss. The stripping away of self. Love. Torture and state-sponsored brutality. An unjust God, if he (or they) are even there. Family. Remembering and recognizing those suffering and impoverished, those without our luck or the gifts given to us by our birth.
2109 fellow Goodreaders gave it 1 star. Many call it boring. Some even say it is predictable and has no moral lesson. That these people have the right to vote and to procreate is frightening to me.
January 19, 2025
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