O rei Lear

De William Shakespeare e Millôr Fernandes

Ao chegar à velhice, Lear, rei da Bretanha, se vê obrigado a dividir seu reino. A maior desgraça para um monarca atingira-o: para protegê-lo e garantir sua sucessão, nenhum filho varão, apenas três filhas mulheres, Goneril, Regana e Cordélia. As duas primeiras são casadas, respectivamente, com o Duque da Albânia e com o Duque da Cornualha, enquanto que Cordélia recusa-se a casar, para permanecer ao lado do pai. Mas o assédio de estranhos pelo reino não é o mal maior do qual padece o rei. A progressiva dificuldade de discernir as atitudes e os discursos daqueles que o cercam e o embotamente da percepção da sinceridade e da falsidade humana provam ser males fatais para o outrora grande monarca.

• Idioma: Português
• Editora: L&PM Editores
• Data de lançamento: 6 de jun. de 1997
• ISBN: 9788525423344

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, on England’s Avon River. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. The couple had three children—an older daughter Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son, died in childhood. The bulk of Shakespeare’s working life was spent in the theater world of London, where he established himself professionally by the early 1590s. He enjoyed success not only as a playwright and poet, but also as an actor and shareholder in an acting company. Although some think that sometime between 1610 and 1613 Shakespeare retired from the theater and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616, others believe that he may have continued to work in London until close to his death.

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ATO I

Cena I

(Salão nobre do palácio do Rei Lear. Entram Kent, Gloucester e Edmundo.)

Kent: Pensei que o Rei preferisse o Duque de Albânia ao Duque de Cornualha.

Gloucester: Também sempre pensamos assim, nós todos; mas agora, na partilha do reino, é impossível saber qual dos dois ele mais estima. A divisão está tão perfeita que aquele que escolher primeiro não terá maneira de escolher melhor.

Kent: Não é esse o seu filho, meu senhor?

Gloucester: A educação dele ficou aos meus cuidados. Já ruborizei tantas vezes ao ter de perfilhá-lo que não há mais nada no mundo que me ponha vermelho.

Kent: Eu não consigo conceber...

Gloucester: Pois a mãe do rapaz o conseguiu; e logo se pôs de ventre redondo e teve um filho no berço antes de ter um marido na cama. Sente o cheiro do pecado?

Kent: Que importa o pecado quando o fruto é tão belo?

Gloucester: Mas eu tenho outro filho, nos critérios da lei, meu senhor. Mais velho do que este um ano e pouco; mas nem por isso mais amado. Embora este patife tenha entrado no mundo de atrevido, sem ser solicitado, não foi um desprazer confeccioná-lo. Sua mãe era uma beleza, e o filho da mãe teve de ser reconhecido. Conhece este nobre fidalgo, caro Edmundo?

Edmundo: Não, meu senhor.

Gloucester: É o senhor conde de Kent. De agora em diante lembre-se dele como um meu honrado amigo.

Edmundo: Estou às ordens de Sua Senhoria.

Kent: Pretendo ser seu amigo e conhecê-lo melhor.

Edmundo: Senhor, me esforçarei por merecer.

Gloucester: Edmundo esteve fora nove anos e irá embora de novo dentro em breve. (Soam fanfarras.) É o Rei chegando. (Entra um servidor carregando uma coroa. Depois entram o Rei Lear, os duques de Cornualha e Albânia, com Goneril, Regana, Cordélia e o séquito.)

Lear: Gloucester, cuida dos senhores da França e da Borgonha.

Gloucester: Já vou, majestade. (Sai, com Edmundo.)

Lear: Enquanto isso revelaremos as nossas intenções mais reservadas. Dêem-me esse mapa aí. Saibam que dividimos em três o nosso reino. É nossa firme decisão diminuir o peso dos anos, livrando-nos de todos os encargos, negócios e tarefas, confiando-os a forças mais jovens, enquanto nós, liberados do fardo, caminharemos mais leves em direção à morte. Nosso filho da Cornualha, e tu, nosso não menos amado filho da Albânia; é chegada a hora de proclamar os vários dotes de nossas filhas a fim de evitar qualquer divergência no futuro. Os príncipes da França e da Borgonha, fortes rivais no amor de nossa filha mais moça, permaneceram longo tempo em nossa corte em vigília amorosa, e agora temos que lhes dar uma resposta. Digam-me, minhas filhas – já que pretendo abdicar de toda autoridade, posses de terras e funções do estado –, qual das três poderei afirmar que me tem mais amor, para que minha maior recompensa recaia onde se encontra o mérito natural. Goneril, minha filha mais velha, falará primeiro.

Goneril: Senhor, eu o amo mais do que podem exprimir quaisquer discursos; mais que a luz dos meus olhos, do que o espaço e a liberdade, acima de tudo que pode ser avaliado – rico ou sublime; não menos do que a vida, com sua graça, beleza, honra e saúde; tanto quanto um filho jamais amou um pai ou um pai jamais se viu amado; um amor que torna a fala inútil e a palavra incapaz. Eu o amo além de todos os valores disso tudo.

Cordélia: (À parte.) E o que irá dizer Cordélia, agora? Ama; e cala.

Lear: De todos estes limites, incluindo o espaço desta linha a esta, florestas ensombradas e planícies cultivadas, os rios abundantes e as vastas pradarias, te faço aqui dona e senhora. Um direito perpétuo extensivo aos descendentes teus e da Albânia. Que diz nossa segunda filha, esposa de Cornualha, nossa amada Regana?

Regana: Eu sou feita do mesmo metal de minha irmã e julgo ter valor igual ao dela. Do fundo do coração acho que exprimiu também o meu amor, ao exprimir o dela; fica distante porém quando eu me declaro inimiga de quaisquer desses prazeres que os sentidos têm como supremos; só me sinto feliz em idolatrar Vossa Amada Alteza.

Cordélia: (À parte.) E então, pobre Cordélia? Mas, contudo, não sei; pois teu amor, tenho certeza, é mais profundo do que tua fala.

Lear: A ti, e aos que de ti descenderem, pertença para sempre este vasto terço de nosso belo reino, não menor em extensão, valor e encantos naturais do que o que foi dado a Goneril. Agora, nossa alegria, embora a última e mais moça, por cujo amor juvenil os vinhedos da França e os prados da Borgonha disputam apaixonados; que poderás tu dizer que mereça um terço mais opulento do que o delas duas? Fala.

Cordélia: Nada, meu senhor.

Lear: Nada?

Cordélia: Nada.

Lear: Nada virá do nada. Fala outra vez.

Cordélia: Infeliz de mim que não consigo trazer meu coração até minha boca. Amo Vossa Majestade como é meu dever, nem mais nem menos.

Lear: Vamos, vamos, Cordélia: corrige um pouco tua resposta, senão prejudicas tua herança.

Cordélia: Meu bom senhor, tu me geraste, me educaste, amaste. Retribuo cumprindo o meu dever de obedecer-te, honrar-te, e amar-te acima de todas as coisas. Mas para que minhas irmãs têm os maridos se afirmam que amam unicamente a ti? Creio que, ao me casar, o homem cuja mão receber minha honra deverá levar também metade do meu amor, dos meus deveres e cuidados. Jamais me casarei como minhas irmãs, para continuar a amar meu pai – unicamente.

Lear: Mas, teu coração está no que dizes?

Cordélia: Está, meu bom senhor.

Lear: Tão jovem e tão dura?

Cordélia: Tão jovem, meu senhor, e verdadeira.

Lear: Pois se assim é, assim seja: tua verdade será então teu dote. Pelo sagrado resplendor do sol, pelos mistérios de Hécata, deusa do céu e do inferno, pelo negror da noite, por todos os giros das esferas celestes por cujos eflúvios passamos a existir ou deixamos de ser, renego aqui todas as minhas obrigações de pai, parentesco e afinidade de sangue, e, de hoje em diante, e para todo o sempre, te considero estranha a meu coração e a mim mesmo. Ao bárbaro Cita, e ao Canibal que transforma os filhos em alimento para satisfazer o apetite, darei em meu peito acolhida, piedade e proteção igual a ti, que não és mais minha filha.

Kent: Meu bom soberano...

Lear: Cala, Kent! Não te metas entre o dragão e sua fúria. Eu a amava demais, e pensava confiar o meu descanso aos seus ternos cuidados. Daqui! e sai da minha vista! Agora só me resta a paz do túmulo, agora, depois que retirei dela o coração de pai. Chamem o Rei da França! Ninguém se move? Chamem Borgonha! Cornualha e Albânia, juntem este terceiro dote aos dois anteriores. Que esse orgulho, que ela chama franqueza, case com ela. Transfiro aos dois, conjuntamente, o meu poder, soberania, e todos os grandes privilégios que compõem a realeza. Quanto a mim, ficarei apenas com uma escolta de cem homens, sustentada por ambos, e, em ciclos mensais, morarei com os dois, cada um a seu turno. Conservarei apenas o título real e todas as honras e prerrogativas a ele devidas. O poder, rendimentos e a disposição do resto lhes pertencem, amados filhos. Confirmando o que, entrego-lhes, para que a compartilhem, esta coroa.

Kent: Real Lear, a quem sempre honrei como meu soberano, amei como pai, segui como senhor e invoquei em minhas orações como meu protetor...

Lear: Meu arco está curvo e a corda tensa; cuidado com a flecha.

Kent: Prefiro que dispares, mesmo que a ponta aguda da flecha atinja o fundo do meu coração. Kent será rude enquanto Lear for louco. Que pretendes fazer, velho Rei? Julgas que o dever terá medo de falar quando o poder se curva à adulação? A honra tem de ser sincera quando a majestade se perde na loucura. Conserva o teu comando, considera e reflete, freia esse impulso hediondo. Respondo por minha opinião com a minha vida; tua filha mais moça não é a que te ama menos; não está vazio o coração cujo som, por isso mesmo, não ressoa.

Lear: Por tua vida, Kent, pára!

Kent: Nunca considerei minha vida senão como um peão para jogar contra teus inimigos; e não temo perdê-la quando está em jogo a tua segurança.

Lear: Fora da minha vista!

Kent: Vê melhor, Lear, e deixa que eu continue sendo o verdadeiro ponto de mira dos teus olhos.

Lear: Pois então, por Apolo...

Kent: Pois então, por Apolo! Ó Rei, tu invocas teus deuses em vão.

Lear: Ah, vassalo! Ah, traidor! (Leva a mão à

Avaliações de O rei Lear

[jfoster_sf · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

Classic Shakespeare tragedy.

[takeitorleaveit_1 · Nota: 3 de 5 estrelas]

another play. another dreary subject. another tragic ending.

[angelarenea-1 · Nota: 3 de 5 estrelas]

A fairly quick read. I didn't love it as much as I remember. Lear was way obsessed with 'nature' and the whole thing was so pompous. But not as bad as some of his other stuff.

[jwhenderson_1 · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

The division of the Kingdom begins the play with first, the Earls of Kent and Gloucester speculating on the basis for the division and second, the actual division by Lear based on professions of love requested from his three daughters. When this event goes not as planned the action of the play ensues and the reader is in for a wild ride, much as Lear himself.The play provides one of Shakespeare's most thoroughly evil characters in Edmund while much of the rest of the cast is aligned against each other with Lear the outcast suffering along with the Earl of Gloucester who is tricked by his bastard son Edmund into believing that his other son Edgar is plotting against him. While there are some lighter moments the play is generally very dark filled with the bitter results of Lear's poor decisions at the outset. Interestingly we do not get much of a back story and find, other than his age of four score years, little else to suggest why Lear would surrender his power and his Kingdom at the outset. The play is certainly powerful and maintains your interest through dramatic scenes, while it also provides for many questions - some of which remain unanswered.

[bookomaniac-1 · Nota: 4 de 5 estrelas]

Een van de krachtigste stukken van Shakespeare; een confrontatie van extremen.

[meditationesmartini · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

This is especially devastating because (sorry, Aristotle's Poetics, but indeed because) it departs from the conventions of good Greek tragedy. Nobody's led astray slickly by their tragic flaw;* Lear's ennobled by suffering perhaps but at the start he's no philosopher king (as I'd envisioned) but a belching, beer can crushing Dark Ages thug lord who definitely brings it on himself, but not in any exquisite "his virtue was his fall" way. Cordelia is, not an ungrateful, but an ungracious child whose tongue is a fat slab of ham and who can't even manage the basic level of social graces to not spark a family feud that leaves everyone killed (surely a low bar!!). Goneril and Regan are straight-up venial malice, Shakespeare's Pardoner and Summoner; Edmund, obviously, charismatic, but a baaaad man; and the default good guys, the ones with the chance to win the day and transform this blood-filled torture show into two hours' pleasing traffic of the stage, obviously fumble it bigly (Albany, unbrave and too subtle; Kent, brave and too unsubtle; Gloucester, a spineless joke; and what is Edgar doing out in that wilderness when he should be teaming up with Cordelia and Kent to plan an invasion that's a MacArthuresque comeback and not a disaster, to go down as the plucky band of good friends who renewed the social compact with their steel and founded a second Camelot, a new England). They're not all monsters, and there are frequent glimmers of greatness, but they fuck it all up; in other words, they're us.And then Lear's madness has much too much of, like, an MRA drum circle meeting, with the Fool and Kent and Edgar/John o'Bedlam (that's a name, that) farting around the wastes going "Fuckin' bitches, can't live with em, can't smack em one like they deserve" (though of course this is a Shakespearean tragedy, so everyone pretty much gonna get smacked one sooner or later). Not tragic flaws, in other words, but just flaws, with only glimmers of the good, and all the more devastating for that because all the more real. It's haaard to keep it together for a whole lifetime and not degenerate into a sad caricature of you at your best, or you as you could have been, and I wonder how many families start out full of love and functional relations and wind up kind of hating each other in a low key way just because of the accretion of mental abrasions plus the occasional big wound and because life is long.This seems like a family that just got tired of not hating each other, standing in for a social order that's gotten tired of basically working from day to day, and everyone's just itching to flip the table and ruin Thanksgiving. I have little faith, post-play, that Edgar or Albany in charge will salvage the day--historically, of course, their analogues did not--and it's gonna be a long hard road to a fresh start (we don't of course try to find one such in the actual history--I mean, 1066?--pretty sure fresh starts don't happen in actual history--but I trust the general point is clear). This seems like the most plausible/least arbitrary of Shakespeare's tragedies, I am saying here, and thus also the most desolate, and one with lessons for any family (cf., say, Hamlet, with its very important lessons for families where the mother kills the dad and marries his brother and the dad's ghost comes back to tell the son to kill his uncle, a niche market to say the least), and one that I'll revisit again and again.*Side note, my friend Dan calls me "My favourite Hamartian," and I'm recording that here because we may grow apart and I may forget that but I never want to forget really and so, hope to find it here once more

[karl6steel · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

Teaching it for the second time. The Folger edition is okay, but it badly needs to be updated; and the illustrations in the facing page are, to my mind, badly chosen, unless they're meant only to promote the grandeur of the Folger library. I think they would have done much better to provide photos of scenes taken from various productions/films/adaptations of Lear; no doubt the students would pay more attention to such things, to say nothing of nonexpert instructors like me.

Oh, the play: certainly very good at cutting the legs out from under the notion that suffering can be redemptive. Lear discovers compassion and love, Gloucester grows up, but what do they get? Death. And what are we left with? The two appalling milquetoast prigs, Albany and Edgar,* perhaps the two characters in Lear who understand least well what the whole thing is about. At least Kent has the grace to go off and wait to die.

* Hilarious: I just googled these names and the second hit is some plagiarism mill that's selling an essay that reads "Albany and Edgar both possess honest and kind characters." You have got to be kidding me! Please, please, please let someone try to get this paper past me. How stupid or desperate would someone have to be to pay for a paper that's, at best, a B-?

[alcracka · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

My absolute favorite Shakespeare play. Extra love for the fact that this came up when I searched for Stephen King.

[kant1066 · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

I don’t really know what to say about King Lear, or anything by Shakespeare, really. A summary would be redundant and out of place. So would gushing about the stunning beauty of the poetry, or how this is some of the greatest writing in the history of the English language, or any language.Only one thing comes to mind when I think of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. Think what you will of Harold Bloom (and there are certainly many opinions about him), I always think, more than anything else, of the title of his book of essays on the plays: “Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human.” Is the title a typically hyperbolic publishing stunt? The more I read and re-read the plays, the less I’m starting to think so. Words simply fail me. They really do. The wonderful things about Modern Library/RSC edition are the introduction, critically informed notes on the text, folio notes, and a sizeable section on historically important performances of “King Lear.” These do a superb job of contextualizing the play, especially in how it performed on stage.

[shanaqui_1 · Nota: 4 de 5 estrelas]

Fourth book of the readathon. Read in snatches during a car journey and between acts in a concert! Which is probably not the best way to experience Shakespeare, laying aside the issue that I think the best way to experience it is by watching it, but I enjoyed it. I've always rather liked Cordelia, with her steadfast truthfulness, and I do remember some very vivid mental images regarding eyes being put out when, at the age of nine, I read a children's version of the story.

And of course, Shakespeare's use of language, his sense of timing, his grasp of what will look good on stage -- that's as expected: he was a master.

[jpsnow · Nota: 3 de 5 estrelas]

Compare to his other masterpieces, this was for me too wide in character and at the same time lacking the intimacy of baseline human feelings or experience. "Thy truth be thy dower."

[dirkjohnson_1 · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

I'm somewhat biased: Lear is my favorite play written since the time of Euripides (who wrote later than my absolute favorites Aeschylus and Sophocles).The cast and execution of the Naxos audiobook are also excellent. I would list the cast, but the combination of blurred lines between book and performance and my own laziness and busy schedule prohibit me.

[othemts · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

This is my favorite Shakespeare tragedy. The plot, language, and characterization show the dramatist at his mature best.

[worldincolour · Nota: 3 de 5 estrelas]

There is an abundance of reviews, essays, opinions and prejudicial comments available when talking about Shakespeare. It would seem that the man was incapable of jotting down a bad sentence, let alone a bad story, at least, that's the veil they hand you when calling Shakespeare, morbidly referred to as 'Willy' by those who know the first three lines of Hamlet's 'to be or not to be'-speech, 'the greatest writer of all time'.

In this review, I shall not beshame my opinion by calling anyone Willy, Shakey, Quilly or by using the word 'Shakespearean'. 'King Lear' is not the strongest play in the exuberant repertoire of Shakespeare. It is, however, one of the more reader-friendly ones, which means you don't need a detailed map of familial relations to follow the plot. The story of King Lear relies heavily on stories that already existed at the time, but had only served as traditional folk tales or as long forgotten myths. For those who are oblivious to the plot - King Lear wants to divide his kingdom between his three daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. Whereas Goneril and Regan go out of their proverbial ways to flatter their father, Cordelia remains reticent (but honest). Which, of course, is not much appreciated. What follows resembles the story of Oedipus, that other Blind King who slowly wandered into his own destruction. Gloucester, one of the side characters, actually does lose his eyes.

'King Lear', in the end, is a reflection on power and what one will do to achieve it. Even though it might be a bit stale nowadays, it still holds true to its message, and for those who enjoy Shakespeare's husky metaphor, this play will provide you with all the ammunition needed.

[bradgers-1 · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

When people want to rank Shakespeare's plays, usually Hamlet comes out as number one. This, in my experience, is the only other of his plays that I have seen mentioned as his greatest. If I were to rank his plays solely based upon their impact upon the world, I would probably agree with the usual placement of Hamlet as number one. However, were I to rank them based upon their impact on me, Lear gets the nod. Lear accurately and horrifyingly portrays the primal nature of man like few other works of literature; the only other to come to my mind is Lord of the Flies. Yet it's more than that; Lord of the Flies can afford to ignore the effects of sexual attraction and familial ties upon our nature, but Lear (the work, not the character) meets these head-on and uses them to devastating effect. This play alone would guarantee Shakespeare a place as one of the greatest English authors. With the rest of his body of work, there's no question that he is the greatest.

[neurodrew · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

King LearWilliam ShakespeareThursday, March 27, 2014 In my Shakespeare class, senior year of college, the professor thought this was the play central to understanding Shakespeare. The tale is familiar; Lear gives up his Kingdom to avoid the cares of ruling, dividing it among his daughters. Cordelia, the most honest, points out that she owes him a duty but also owes her fiancé, the King of France, love and affection. Lear casts her out, because she is not as effusive as her sisters, Regan and Goneril. Goneril, hosts the King first, instructs her servants to ignore his knights, and when he goes to Regan, she sends a letter to ensure he is cast out there as well. Lear goes mad in a storm, succored by Kent, a loyal knight whose advice was unwelcome in the initial scene, and by Edgar, the son of the Earl of Gloucester, who has been usurped by the machinations of Edmund, a bastard son, and who is the lover of Regan and Goneril. Cordelia brings an army to rescue Lear, but is defeated, and in the schemes of Edmund is killed in captivity. Regan dies, poisoned by Goneril jealous of Edmund, Goneril dies by suicide after Edmund is killed by Edgar, Gloucester dies after a blinding, and Lear dies of heart attack. Lear's speeches while mad are the essence of the mature understanding of the human situation "Striving to better, oft' we mar what's well""Let me kiss your hand!" Lear, in response "Let me wipe it first, it smells of mortality"Leather bound, Franklin Library, Tragedies of Shakespeare ($34.60 4/28/2012)

[jmcgarry2011 · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

Excellent work. I saw this performed at the Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, MN. Very powerful performance. I liked this edition in particular because it explained the nuances of the language right next to the original text. That plus the performance made this easier to understand.

[ron_peters-1 · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

I enjoy the Folger editions of Shakespeare - to each his own in this matter. Some find Lear to be overblown, I am tremendously moved by it, and haunted by the image of the old man howling across the barren heaths with his dead daughter in his arms. 'I am bound upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears Do scald like molten lead.' Lear 4.7.52-54

[leslie398 · Nota: 4 de 5 estrelas]

Thoughts on the play: -A classic tragedy in which almost everyone dies at the end. -I really didn't have much sympathy for Lear. He acted incredibly foolishly, not just once in turning his back on Cordelia, but many times. -At first, Goneral seemed to be acting reasonably. If Lear had restrained his knights, much of the tragedy would have been lessened. (This was one of the foolish actions of Lear's I mentioned above.) However, as the plot moves on, she is revealed as being more and more terrible. -Edmund struck me as the villain, and he also acted as a catalyst for villainy. So I found the scene at near the end after he & Edgar had dueled a bit hard to believe - after everything, Edgar just forgives him!?! -I was shocked when Cornwall plucks out Gloucester's eyes. I didn't know that was going to happen! Gloucester struck me as the true tragic hero, rather than Lear. Both of them cast off deserving children, but Gloucester realized his error and suffered for it. It wasn't clear to me that Lear recognized his own faults the way Gloucester did.

[alanwpowers · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

Maybe the fifteenth time I've read Lear (this time in the tiny red-leather RSC edition). Always impressed, especially with the curses and curse-like screeds. I can't stand Lear onstage, particularly the blinding of Gloster (so spelled in this edition). How sharper than a serpants teeth it is / to have a thankless child--though having a thankless parent like Lear, Act I Sc I, ain't so great either. I do love the Russian film Lear with music by Shostakovich, and the King's grand route through his bestiary of hawks and eagles.I suppose this is Shakespeare's great (that's redundant, since "Sh" is mostly "great") assessment of homelessness. The undeservingly roofless. it is also his only play on retirement, which he recommends against. Or perhaps Lear should have had a condo in Florida? Of course, his hundred knights, a problem for the condominium board, as it was for his daughters. And Shakespeare, who says in a sonnet he was "lame by fortune's despite" also addresses the handicapped here, recommending tripping blind persons to cheer them up.Of course, Lear has his personal Letterman-Colbert, the Fool, so he doesn't need a TV in the electrical storm on the heath. That's fortunate, because it would have been dangerous to turn on a TV with all that lightening. The play seems also to recommend serious disguises like Kent's dialects and Edgar's mud. Next time I go to a party I'll think about some mud, which reduces Edgar's likelihood of being killed by his former friends.And finally, the play touches on senility, where Lear cannot be sure at first Cordelia is his daughter.I'm not sure, but the author may be recommending senility as a palliative to tragedy--and to aging. A friend of mine once put it, "Who's to say the senile's not having the time of his life?"

[eustaciatan · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

There's probably nothing more I can say about this book, since it's been studied for a long time. But although this was a school book, for my Independent Oral Commentary, I really grew to love this book. Shakespeare's mastery of the English language is obvious here. From the truncated but meaningful dialogue, with the most famous probably being "Nothing my Lord". These three words manage to express love, and I have the utmost respect for Shakespeare for writing this. Even after our IOC, we are still influenced by this wonderful play. One friend proceeded to enact the storm scene in the rain (from sheer joy), and this was one of the most quoted books in our inscriptions to our Teacher on Teacher's Day. I could go on and on, but "no, let me shun that. That way madness lies" (Too much of a good thing can be bad after all)

[kettle666 · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

The writer I feel most in awe of, by a mile, is Shakespeare. I'm not going to say anything much about him because it's all been said, so I'll just say he's the boss, and the play that most shocks and thrills and saddens me is King Lear. But I could almost have said exactly the same about most of the plays he wrote. Every time I experience him in performance I feel overwhelmed by his brilliance, and I just have to shut up before I get too sycophantic.

[thatsfresh_1 · Nota: 3 de 5 estrelas]

Another great tragic tale as told my Shakespeare. Like all his plays, you're able to dig deep into this story and draw out tons of stories, themes and hidden meanings out of all its layers. An enjoyable read for any Shakespeare enthusiast.

[briandewey · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

Shakespeare, William. King Lear. University of Virginia Electronic Text Center, 15XX. This is my favorite Shakespeare play. I don't know if I would have re-read it now if I hadn't had a copy on my iPaq and needed something to read at night without disturbing Molly and Tony on our trip to Madrid. I like Lear for its apocalyptic vision and because I think the transition from one generation to the next is an interesting topic. The paper I wrote on this play in college, which compares Edgar to the Fool, is one of my favorites.

[therebelprince · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

A very enjoyable edition. Unlike most of the Arden editions, Foakes comes across more as an educator than an academic-among-friends. This does mean occasionally that he'll cover ground most professional-level readers already understand, but it makes this a really well-rounded introduction to the play.

The decision here is to incorporate both Quarto and Folio texts in one, with the differences clearly delineated. It's probably the best possible option for this play, and well done.

[deckla_1 · Nota: 3 de 5 estrelas]

The illustrations are unremarkable.

[scott_hercher · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

At the risk of sounding flippant, I realized that there are two productions of King Lear that need to be done: one set in the Klingon Empire, and the other performed by Monty Python. Go ahead, I dare you, read Poor Tom's lines like Eric Idle and try not to laugh!

[jaelmore · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

If I could only recommend one Shakespeare Play it would be King Lear.

[cheme2005 · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

This is my favorite of all of Shakespeare's works. Blood, death, and treachery. Who could ask for more!

[m2gilbert · Nota: 5 de 5 estrelas]

The proud King Lear disowns his most dutiful daughter and is consequently betrayed by his other two. A bastard son betrays both his brother and father out of jealousy and malice. I think it is the saddest of his tragedies, and it moves very quickly to me (though not as quickly as Macbeth). It is also really one of the most profound expressions of human suffering ever written in the English language. The play sees deeply into the soul, and so I would often linger a bit on a line or speech with a quiet awe. The actions pierce its characters with a sad, penetrating irony. The eyes will eventually see in their blindness. The heart bleeds and the storm rages. It is depressing, yes. But in all, as depraved as its villains are, I also read in King Lear what is very beautiful about humanity and kinship, however frail it may appear teetering on the edge of a cliff: compassion, loyalty, charity, and mercy.