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King Lear (The New Folger Library Shakespeare)
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$ 4.97
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$ 5.99 |
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$ 1.02 (17%) |
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| Item Number |
597778 |
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Item Description...
Overview
The tragic drama of an old king's foolishness is accompanied by material on Shakespeare's language, life, and theater, notes, and an essay.
Publishers Description
Folger Shakespeare Library The world's leading center for Shakespeare studies Each edition includes: • Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play • Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play • Scene-by-scene plot summaries • A key to famous lines and phrases • An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language • An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play • Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books Essay by Susan Snyder The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs.
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Item Specifications...
Pages 384
Dimensions: Length: 1" Width: 4.25" Height: 6.75"
Weight: 0.4 lbs.
Binding Softcover
Release Date Jan 1, 2004
Publisher Simon & Schuster
ISBN 074348276X
EAN 9780743482769
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Availability 123 units.
Availability accurate as of May 26, 2012 10:50.
Usually ships within one to two business days from Commerce GA.
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Reviews - What do our customers think?
 | A symhony that "royaly" fell apart Apr 11, 2010 |
When I expressed my distaste of the book, my teacher was quick to comment that my generation can't fully grasp the emotional value of the book. Frankly, I don't think that was the problem. Shakespeare is indeed a master and I, like many, am blown away by his works. His taste for language is extremely high class and I can only marvel at how well he rights. He's truly a conductor with words and if I were to rate the book simply based on the writing, I would give it a five. Sadly, the plot has a hard time keeping up with the orchestra of words. It is clear from the language that the book was meant to make the reader emotional; unfortunately, it didn't quite get there. "Break heart I prithee break." This was one of the most heart wrenching moments of the book but by the time I reached this level, I was too unsatisfied to have any feeling for the tragedy. The book simply overplayed the angst. There were numerous character deaths to the point I had to question the relevance of some of them; especially in the case of Regan and Goneril. They are first hand examples of human selfishness and greed and don't hesitate to turn against each other in the name of power. Goneril ends up killing her sister in this heated rivalry in order to gain the upper hand. However, after she kills her sister she experiences this epiphanic moment where she feels distraught for her sisters death, she follows her sister to heaven-or hell if you prefer. At his point, is when Shakespeare's concerto started to sound off beat. Frankly, the story started to lose its sense of realism. I simply could not buy that Goneril would suddenly start feeling guilty. Through out the whole story, she's so apathetic it's almost stifling and all of a sudden, she starts seeming humane? Just didn't but that. There are a lot more examples I could use, but perhaps this was the one that irritated me the most.
The story overall was just unsatisfactory. At times it seemed idealistic and illogical. One of the things that really bugged me was the trigger of the story. The plot is set off by a ridiculous misunderstanding that I doubt any parent would make. It begins with Lear asking his daughters how much they love him. Clearly, he is either one insecure man or just simply strange. You would expect a fifty + year old man who's probably lived with his daughter for over 20+ years would know how much they love him, but clearly he doesn't. He must have been too busy running the country to notice.
My overall feeling: Mediocre plot, over-played angst and at times even irritating.
| | |  | Lugubrious tragedy. . . . Mar 8, 2010 |
King Lear is one of the bloodiest plays in Shakespeare's body of work. And it is a harrowing play. Not just death, but cruelty and brutality reign. Lear, as father, makes an ill-conceived choice in rewarding his three daughters--Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia.
This sets in motion Lear's downward spiral and begets conspiracies, betrayals, and murder. By the play's end, several leading characters have died. And, by that time, Lear has come to understand the folly of his choices regarding his daughters. By then, too late. . . .
A powerful and dark tragedy. . . . | | | | Adequate, but not inviting May 18, 2009 |
The Folger Shakespeare Library editions of all of Shakespeare's plays are excellent for use in the classroom. The notes are very illuminating, and there is much scholarship invested in being true to the original text. However, this printing of the play is too small. The pages are essentially 4 x 6 index cards (truly 4 x 6 1/2). The font is too tiny to encourage students to engage the text with confidence.
If you are already familiar with the play, this printing will suffice for reference. If you are new to the play, look for a larger book with larger font and margin space for notes. | | | | tragic,ironic,extreme... Oct 10, 2008 |
| Such extremes of emotional manipulation as are encountered in King Lear would antagonize me if I encountered them in an ordinary work of fiction or a film. There is such a degree of unreasonable pettiness in King Lear's attitude; there is so much gratuitous malice in the evil designs of the older daughters and the Duke of Cornwall;such despicable treachery on the part of Edmund,etc.,etc,. Obviously the play transcends melodrama through Shakespeare's marvelous use of language. Instead of seeming two-dimensional, the characters take on a larger-than-life aspect through their undiluted manifestation of such strong emotions. The dramatic devices might seem a little contrived but the dialogue and those periodic observations made about life,it seems to me, are what this play is really about. The ironic penetrating mockeries of the Fool and the tragic blend of madness and wisdom in the later Lear were, I thought very important elements which contributed in making the play a masterpiece. I don't pretend to be an authority on Shakespeare; these are just the opinions of an admirer. The Folger edition was very helpful to me in getting the meaning from old words and words whose meanings have changed. | | |  | FOLGER Shakespeare Library Edition of the Tragedy of King Lear BETTER THAN EXPECTED! Oct 2, 2008 |
I have reviewed several current editions of King Lear and other Shakespearean plays, and was somewhat disappointed in the Folger edition of King Richard III. Nevertheless, the Folger Shakespeare Library edition of King Lear appears to be both accessible and scholarly, with solid reasoning behind its balance of the First Quarto with the First Folio versions of this intense and telling tragedy which we do well to revisit now.
My first love will always be Prof. Tucker Brook's redaction in the The Tragedy Of King Lear (The Yale Shakespeare) which against the academic preferences of the time chose the First Quarto over the First Folio. The reasons given by the Late Prof. are compelling, and brought about a generation of conflated editions which combined the two versions. The Quarto came first in publication, of course, and is longer; the Folio is later and does not contain several lines present in the Quarto (I believe about three hundred) yet introduces several (perhaps one hundred) of its own.
And so we have a generation of productions which sought to combine the two. For instance we have an early recording of Paul Scofield as the King using a conflated edition and a later recording from his eighties in which only the Folio is used: King Lear (Naxos AudioBooks), following as it states the The Tragedy of King Lear (The New Cambridge Shakespeare), a strictly First Folio presentation. The greatest available recording is of course the Branagh - Gielgud production King Lear (BBC Radio Presents) which must be purchased and repeatedly heard, as it is real. Be certain to get the accompanying brochure.
Be that as it may, with this brief description of the history of this tortured text, let me state this present edition from Folger presents solid reasons for its always arbitrary choices. While stating their preference for the First Folio edition, they actually publish here a conflated version, with variant readings in a variety of brackets and poiinted parentheses, with explanations. They have produced therefore something here of great value, yet at a small price and therefore accessible to any classroom, production company or reader.
As usual the Folger diverges from the usual Critical Edition format of a third of a page of text, a strip of variorum and a third of a page of notes to the text above. Folger correctly fids more readable a diptych approach. In opening the book to the play, the reader discovers on the right hand page the text and on the left hand page notes. Further specific notes are discovered in the back.
In short (if it is not too late to write that) this book may approach any other critical edition, and passes many (let us not mention the unfortunate Joe Pearce's attempt). It presents a thorough examination of Shakespeare's life and theatre, suggestions on reading "his" language, and on reading Lear, this great tragedy for our times. A critical essay by Susan Snyder is included in the back, as well as suggestions for further readings. I find this edition in brief very useful for any new scholar of Lear, and I only wish I could now afford the new King Lear: New Critical Essays (Shakespeare Criticism), or even Critical Essays on Shakespeare's King Lear (Critical Essays on British Literature), and the rest. | | | Write your own review about King Lear (The New Folger Library Shakespeare)
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