Topic

King Lear

Not who you're looking for? Others named King Lear: 1971 film by Peter Brook · painting by Benjamin West · 2008 television film directed by Trevor Nunn · 1970 film score by Dmitri Shostakovich

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Overview

King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between his daughters Goneril and Regan. The King’s third daughter, Cordelia, is offered a third of his kingdom also. She refuses and is disowned by Lear. He becomes destitute and insane and a proscribed crux of political machinations. The first known performance of any version of Shakespeare's play was on Saint Stephen's Day in 1606. Modern editors derive their texts from three extant publications: the 1608 quarto (Q1), the 1619 quarto (Q2, unofficial and based on Q1), and the 1623 First Folio. The quarto versions differ significantly from the folio version. The play was often revised after the English Restoration for audiences who disliked its dark and depressing tone, but since the 19th century Shakespeare's original play has been regarded as one of his supreme achievements. Both the title role and the supporting roles have been coveted by accomplished actors, and the play has been widely adapted. In his A Defence of Poetry, Percy Bysshe Shelley called King Lear "the most perfect specimen of the dramatic art existing in the world", and the play is regularly cited as one of the greatest works of literature ever written. Characters

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“Nothing can come of nothing: speak again.”
— Lear, Scene I
“Tis the infirmity of his age: yet he hath ever but slenderly known himself.”
— Regan, Scene I
“Striving to better, oft we mar what's well.”
— Albany, Scene IV
“Is man no more than this? Consider him well. Thou owest the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the cat no perfume. Ha! here's three on 's are sophisticated; thou art the thing itself; unaccomodated man is no more but such a poor, bare, forked animal as thou art.”
— Lear, Scene IV
“A man may see how this world goes with no eyes. Look with thine ears: see how yond justice rails upon yon simple thief. Hark, in thine ear: change places; and, handy-dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief?”
— Lear, Scene VI
“The wheel is come full circle: I am here.”
— Edmund, Scene III

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

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Not who you're looking for? Others named King Lear: 1971 film by Peter Brook · painting by Benjamin West · 2008 television film directed by Trevor Nunn · 1970 film score by Dmitri Shostakovich

Overview

King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between his daughters Goneril and Regan. The King’s third daughter, Cordelia, is offered a third of his kingdom also. She refuses and is disowned by Lear. He becomes destitute and insane and a proscribed crux of political machinations. The first known performance of any version of Shakespeare's play was on Saint Stephen's Day in 1606. Modern editors derive their texts from three extant publications: the 1608 quarto (Q1), the 1619 quarto (Q2, unofficial and based on Q1), and the 1623 First Folio. The quarto versions differ significantly from the folio version. The play was often revised after the English Restoration for audiences who disliked its dark and depressing tone, but since the 19th century Shakespeare's original play has been regarded as one of his supreme achievements. Both the title role and the supporting roles have been coveted by accomplished actors, and the play has been widely adapted. In his A Defence of Poetry, Percy Bysshe Shelley called King Lear "the most perfect specimen of the dramatic art existing in the world", and the play is regularly cited as one of the greatest works of literature ever written. Characters

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“Nothing can come of nothing: speak again.”
— Lear, Scene I
“Tis the infirmity of his age: yet he hath ever but slenderly known himself.”
— Regan, Scene I
“Striving to better, oft we mar what's well.”
— Albany, Scene IV
“Is man no more than this? Consider him well. Thou owest the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the cat no perfume. Ha! here's three on 's are sophisticated; thou art the thing itself; unaccomodated man is no more but such a poor, bare, forked animal as thou art.”
— Lear, Scene IV
“A man may see how this world goes with no eyes. Look with thine ears: see how yond justice rails upon yon simple thief. Hark, in thine ear: change places; and, handy-dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief?”
— Lear, Scene VI
“The wheel is come full circle: I am here.”
— Edmund, Scene III

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.