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King Lear by William Shakespeare


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King Lear by William Shakespeare

 

The 'blurb'

An ageing king makes a capricious decision to divide his realm among his three daughters according to the love they express for him. When the youngest daughter refuses to take part in this charade, she is banished, leaving the king dependent on her manipulative and untrustworthy sisters. In the scheming and recriminations that follow, not only does the king's own sanity crumble, but the stability of the realm itself is also threatened. (From the Penguin version)

 

Another Shakespeare under my belt, and like the others I've read, this one didn't disappoint! I find it so hard to believe that just five years ago I was dreading studying him at college and was convinced that a) it would be impossible to understand, and :D I'd hate it. Oh, how wrong I was!!

 

Cordelia is banished for refusing to flatter her father, and after the Earl of Kent criticises Lear for this action, he is quickly banished too. Lear announces that he will live alternatively with Gonerill and Regan, but the two sisters quickly show their true colours and greed takes over as they divest Lear of his staff and authority.

 

Realising too late that he has made a terrible mistake, Lear leaves and goes off into the night with his fool and with the disguised Kent, and slowly descends into madness as he realises the terrible mistake he's made!

 

A major sub-plot takes place involving the Earl of Gloucester and his two sons, one of whom is illegitimate. The two plots eventually come together to a tragic ending.

 

I watched the 1976 Patrick Magee version this morning - it sounded like Magee modelled himself on Winston Churchill, and obviously it looked rather dated, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

 

I'm going to see an open air production of this on Thursday (I can't wait). I'll be interested to see how they deal with

the cutting out of poor Gloucester's eyes!

 

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One of my favourite of Billie's, this 'un :D so much so that, mad as I am, I chose to do a scholarly edition of the last 60 lines for a 'Working with Early Modern Texts' essay last year. Not one of the easiest plays IMHO - so you can be proud of yourself, Janet :D - but definitely one of the most rewarding.

 

I remember our Global/Local Shakespeares professor showed us the RSC version with Ian McKellen at the end of the term, it's funny 'cos she intended to demonstrate just how dogmatic the RSC is when compared to funky interpretations influenced by postcolonial theory... except, the postcolonial interpretations had been all funkily dire and we ended up almost crying with joy upon hearing McKellen's majestic voice speaking the lines properly :D.

 

Have a nice theatre trip, do let us know whether it was any good :)!

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Not one of the easiest plays IMHO - so you can be proud of yourself, Janet :D - but definitely one of the most rewarding.

Thanks, Giulia. hug.gif

 

Have a nice theatre trip, do let us know whether it was any good :D!

I will! :)

 

It's an amateur production and we know a couple of the cast (Cordelia and Lear!). The did Du Maurier's Rebecca last year (my son played Robert the butler and my hubby had a non-speaking role) and it was excellent, so I have high hopes. :D

 

It's outside a manor house with tiered, covered seating in case it rains, but the forecast is fabulous. I'm really excited!

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I tried reading this one and couldn't get through it. It seems a lot of you enjoyed it, though, so I'm willing to give it another try. :D

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Admittedly, it's not the quickest starter and some bits (particularly the dialogue of the Fool, Edgar as Poor Tom and Lear's ramblings right before the end) are quite difficult to understand; this isn't one I fell in love with overnight like I did with Antony and Cleopatra, which I read in three hours flat barely glancing at the notes.

 

BUT, there's so much of worth in this play for those willing to soldier on! Elements such the touchingly misplaced fatherly affection of Lear & Gloucester and Edmund's superb villainy - he's an even better baddie than Iago, in my opinion, his 'Why b*stard, wherefore base?' speech is pure genius - alone justifying getting to the end with tears streaming down one's face *sob*.

 

ETA: Andrea, I heartily recommend the RSC DVD to you. Ian McKellen can bring the instructions for changing a flat tire to life (and here, from 2.10' onwards, is

to back up this claim), so just imagine what he can do to Shakespeare! Edited by BookJumper
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I disliked it mainly because i despised Lear so much, his foolishness & vanity i found hard to stomach, his descent into madness tiresome. Although Goneril & Regan are almost like pantomime baddies i found them the most interesting characters in the whole play. Othello is one of my favourites because even though like Lear he is flawed you have sympathy for him , i'm sure most people have experienced jealously & insecurity at some point in their lives. So i guess what i'm saying is whereas i could sympathise with Othello I could find nothing in my heart but contempt for Lear.

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I'm going to see this in August at the RSC with the guy in my avatar playing Lear. Really excited! I've seen the McKellan dvd and that was pretty fantastic, but there is nothing like seeing it live. I will be reading it after I've been to see it.

 

My favourite Shakespeare play is Richard II, which I've seen twice now- Kevin Spacey at the Old Vic, and as part of the Histories cycle at the RSC two years ago. The RSC one is the best thing I've ever seen on stage!!!

 

I love Shakespeare!

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ETA: Andrea, I heartily recommend the RSC DVD to you. Ian McKellen can bring the instructions for changing a flat tire to life (and here, from 2.10' onwards, is

to back up this claim), so just imagine what he can do to Shakespeare!

 

Lol Giulia, that clip is brilliant! And thanks for the recommendation. I will definitely be looking for that DVD!

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Kidsmum - it's fascinating how the same words can arouse such different feelings in people :roll:! Although I'm both jealous and insecure, I've never sympathised with Othello (that saint of his wife never gave him a reason to doubt her, so it was his own fault he allowed Iago's words to get to him, IMHO), whereas I never fail to cry at Lear loss of daughters, status and sanity, selfishly obtuse though he can be.

 

Fruska - you love Shakespeare? Looks like we have something in common, then :irked:!

 

Lol Giulia, that clip is brilliant! And thanks for the recommendation. I will definitely be looking for that DVD!
Hehe :D isn't Sir Ian marvellous *builds shrine*?
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Have a nice theatre trip, do let us know whether it was any good :D!

That sounds lovely Janet! I hope you enjoy it.
Oh lovely. I love open air Shakespeare productions in the summer :irked:

It was brilliant!! They were on stage for about 2 hours, 45 minutes in total but it went really quickly. I loved it! :roll:

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  • 4 months later...

Kind of liked Shakespeare while at school, but totally fell in love with it when I went to see RSC's Histories Cycle, which was the most amazing thing I've ever seen on stage.

 

Recently seen Lear and that is now fighting Richard II to be my favourite Shakespeare!! Kent's very last line really brought a lump to my throat!

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