King Lear

Based on the 1608 quarto of "King Lear", this commentary aims to help readers understand the language and dramaturgy of the play, in relation to the theatres in which it was performed.
Based on the 1608 quarto of "King Lear" (now recognized as the base text from which all others derive), this commentary aims to help readers understand the language and dramaturgy of the play, in relation to the theatres in which it was performed. "King Lear" - widely considered to be Shakespeare's most deeply moving, passionately expressed, and intellectually ambitious play, has almost always been edited from the revised version printed in the First Folio of 1623, with additions from the quarto of 1608. Acting on recent discoveries, the introduction suggests how the work grew slowly in Shakespeare's imagination, fed by years of reading, thinking, and experience as a practical dramatist. Analysis of the great range of literary and other sources from which he shaped the tragedy, and of its critical and theatrical history, indicates that the play felt as shocking and original to early audiences as it does now. Its challenges have often been evaded, notably in Nahum Tate's notorious adaptation The commentary to this edition offers detailed help in understanding the language and dramaturgy in relation to the theatres in which the play was first performed. Additional sections reprint t