The Tragedy of King Lear

Description

Updated critical edition of King Lear, including an introductory section on interpretations. Cover Title Page Copyright CONTENTS List of Illustrations 1 The title page of the 1605 quarto of King Leir, as reproduced in the Malone Society reprint (1907) 2 The title page of Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia (1590), as reproduced in the edition by Albert Feuillerat (1939) 3 A possible staging of Act 3, Scene 4: Edgar as Tom o'Bedlam. Drawing by C. Walter Hodges 4 A possible staging of Act 4, Scene 5: Gloucester's 'suicide' leap. Drawing by C. Walter Hodges 5 'Hark in thine ear' (4.5.146): Paul Scofield as King Lear and Alan Webb as Gloucester in the production directed by Peter Brook, 1962 6 Lear and Cordelia: 'Is this the promised end?' Painting by Maciek Swieszewski 7 A possible staging of Act 1, Scene 1, and of Act 5, Scene 3: Lear and his daughters. Drawing by C. Walter Hodges 8 Susanna Maria Cibber as Cordelia in the storm saved by Edgar from Edmond's ruffians (Tate's adaptation), c. 1743 9 Garrick as King Lear, with Kent and Edgar in the storm and no Fool, as portrayed in the painting by Benjamin Wilson, 1761 10 John Gielgud as Lear and Alan Badel as the Fool, in Anthony Quayle's production, Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1950 (Angus McBean) 11 Act 1, Scene 1: Peter Brook's Royal Shakespeare Company production, with Paul Scofield as Lear, 1962 (Angus McBean) 12 Antony Sher as the Fool in the oil drum (left) and Michael Gambon as Lear, in the Royal Shakespeare Company production, 1982 13 Linda Kerr Scott as the Fool and John Wood as King Lear, in Nicholas Hytner's production for the Royal Shakespeare Company, 1990 14 David Calder as Kent, Ian Hughes as the Fool, Simon Russell Beale as Edgar, Robert Stephens as King Lear, in the 1993 Royal Shakespeare Company production, directed by Adrian Noble. Malcolm Davies Collection. 15 Monique Holt as Cordelia and Floyd King as Lear's Fool in the Shakespeare Theatre's 1999 production of King Lear, directed by Michael Kahn. 16 A page from the original typescript of The Rose Tattoo, by Tennessee Williams 17 A page from The Rose Tattoo, Act 1 Preface Abbreviations and Conventions 1. Shakespeare's plays 2. Other works cited and general references Introduction Date and sources of Shakespeare's King Lear King Lear: Date of Composition and First Performance The Playwright's Reading The True Chronicle History Foolish Fond Old Man: Fathers and Daughters Foolish Fond Old Man: Fathers and Sons The Theatre of Folly The Theatre of Exorcism The Theatre of the Blind Salt and Cinderella The Tragedy of King Lear Fragmentary Recollections The Theatre of the Bible The play Act I, Scene I and Its Aftermath The Gloucester Plot The Mad Scenes in Act 3 Gloucester's Despair and Edgar's Ministry King Lear and Gloucester at Dover Revelation, Reconciliation, and Death Shakespeare's Evolving Vision Promised and Disappointed Endings Conclusion King Lear on stage and screen Finding the Text: King Lear from the Restoration to the Nineteenth Century Finding the Set Design Finding the Characters and the Overall Interpretation King Lear Abroad King Lear on Screens Large and Small Edward Bond's Lear Recent stage, film, and critical interpretations Textual analysis, part 1 The Q Text The F Text The Copy for F F and Q Transmission The Nature of Interventions Omissions and Cuts Amplifications and Additions Rewriting, Substitution, and Recasting The Timing of Interventions Pre-performance alterations Playhouse adaptations Preparation for publication The Textual Data and Editorial Procedure Quarto and Folio compared: some parallel passages Note on the text List of characters THE TRAGEDY OF KING LEAR Act 1 1 2 3 4 5 Act 2 1 2 3 4 Act 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Act 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 Act 5 1 2 3 Textual analysis, part 2 Q-only passages F-only passages Conclusions Appendix: Passages unique to the first quarto Reading List