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King Lear
King Lear, a tragedy by Shakespeare, dating from 1604–5, performed 1606. The quarto printed in 1608 (reprinted 1619) is now thought to have been badly printed from Shakespeare's original manuscript, and the text of the First folio (1623) appears to represent a revision from a few years earlier. The play's sources include a chronicle play, King Leir (perf. 1594, printed 1605), the chronicles of Holinshed, and the Mirror for Magistrates. The Gloucester sub-plot derives from Sidney's Arcadia.
Lear, king of Britain, a petulant and unwise old man, has three daughters: Goneril, wife of the duke of Albany; Regan, wife of the duke of Cornwall; and Cordelia, for whom the king of France and duke of Burgundy are suitors. Intending to divide his kingdom among his daughters according to their affection for him, he bids them say which loves him most. Goneril and Regan make profession of extreme affection, and each receives one-third of the kingdom. Cordelia, self-willed, and disgusted with their hollow flattery, says she loves him according to her duty, not more nor less. Infuriated with this reply, Lear divides her portion between his other daughters, with the condition that himself with 100 knights shall be maintained by each daughter in turn. Burgundy withdraws his suit for Cordelia, and the king of France accepts her without dowry. The earl of Kent, taking her part, is banished. Goneril and Regan reveal their heartless character by grudging their father the maintenance that he had stipulated for, and finally turning him out of doors in a storm. The earl of Gloucester shows pity for the old king, and is suspected of complicity with the French, who have landed in England. His eyes are put out by Cornwall, who receives a death-wound in the affray. Gloucester's son Edgar, who has been traduced to his father by his bastard brother Edmund, takes the disguise of a lunatic beggar, and tends his father till the latter's death. Lear, whom rage and ill-treatment have deprived of his wits, is conveyed to Dover by the faithful Kent in disguise, where Cordelia receives him. Meanwhile Goneril and Regan have both turned their affections to Edmund. Embittered by this rivalry, Goneril poisons Regan, and takes her own life. The English forces under Edmund and Albany defeat the French, and Lear and Cordelia are imprisoned; by Edmund's order Cordelia is hanged, and Lear dies from grief. The treachery of Edmund is proved by his brother Edgar. Albany, who has not abetted Goneril in her cruel treatment of Lear, takes over the kingdom. |
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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "King Lear." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "King Lear." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-KingLear.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "King Lear." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-KingLear.html |
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Lear, King
Lear, KingKing Lear, a legendary ruler of ancient Britain, is a tragic figure who loses his authority through his own foolishness. The aging king decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters and asks each of them to declare their love for him. King Lear's two oldest daughters, Regan and Goneril, flatter him with grand, but insincere, expressions of devotion. By contrast, Lear's youngest daughter, Cordelia, conveys only her natural, true love for her father. Angered by what he perceives as Cordelia's insufficient love, Lear splits the kingdom between Regan and Goneril. Their treachery, however, soon becomes clear as they strip their father of all his authority and possessions. Lear then realizes the sincerity of Cordelia's love. Fearing that she will reject him because of the way that he treated her earlier, he goes to her and finds that she welcomes him with generosity and compassion. medieval relating to the Middle Ages in Europe, a period from about a.d. 500 to 1500 One of the primary sources of King Lear's legend is the History of the Kings of Britain by the medieval English writer Geoffrey of Monmouth. In this version, Lear regains authority over his lands after joining Cordelia and her husband, although he dies a few years later. The legendary king is best known through William Shakespeare's play King Lear. In this version, Lear goes mad after he is humiliated by his two older daughters. When Cordelia learns of her father's condition, she raises an army to fight her sisters' forces. Cordelia's army is defeated, and she is imprisoned and hanged. King Lear dies soon thereafter of a broken heart over the death of his daughter. See also Celtic Mythology. |
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"Lear, King." Myths and Legends of the World. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Lear, King." Myths and Legends of the World. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3490900296.html "Lear, King." Myths and Legends of the World. 2001. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3490900296.html |
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King Lear
King Lear. Shakespeare's tragedy was first mounted in New York in 1754 and soon became a popular vehicle for all the great American tragedians. Junius Brutus Booth, himself a little mad, was a noteworthy interpreter as was Edwin Forrest. It was also a favorite role of Edwin Booth, though critics divided on the merits of his performance, which, especially in early years, seemed to have been copied from his father's. Modern revivals, including those featuring Louis Calhern, Orson Welles, Paul Scofield, James Earl Jones, Hal Holbrook, and F. Murray Abraham, have found surprisingly little favor at the box office.
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Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "King Lear." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "King Lear." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-KingLear.html Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "King Lear." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-KingLear.html |
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King Lear
King Lear. Mus. works inspired by Shakespeare's play (1606) incl.(1) ov. by Berlioz, Op.4, comp. 1831;(2) ov. and incid. mus. by Balakirev, 1859–61; (3) movements of incid. mus. by Debussy 1904;(4) opera by Reimann, 1978;(5) mus. by Shostakovich, comp. 1970, for Russ. film of Shakespeare's play in B. Pasternak's trans.
Various opera composers, incl. Verdi and Britten, have contemplated but abandoned King Lear projects. |
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "King Lear." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "King Lear." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-KingLear.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "King Lear." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-KingLear.html |
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Lear, King
Lear, King, see King Lear.
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Cite this article
MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Lear, King." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Lear, King." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-LearKing.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Lear, King." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-LearKing.html |
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King Lear
KING LEARSeeKOROL LIR |
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"King Lear." International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "King Lear." International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3406800480.html "King Lear." International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers. 2001. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3406800480.html |
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