King Lear

by Bloom, Harold

• ISBN13: 9780791098417
• ISBN10: 0791098419
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-02-28
• Publisher: Facts on File

Summary

King Lear occupies a special place in the Shakespearean canon. Lear's descent into madness, the central event of this play, illustrates the extent to which humanity can be degraded by its errors. This invaluable new study guide to one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies contains a selection of the finest criticism through the centuries on King Lear, including commentaries by such important writers as John Keats, Victor Hugo, Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy, Sigmund Freud, Joyce Carol Oates, and many others. Students will also benefit from the additional features in this volume, including an introduction by Harold Bloom, an accessible summary of the plot, an analysis of several key passages, a comprehensive list of characters, a biography of Shakespeare, essays discussing the main currents of criticism in each century since Shakespeare's time, and more. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Series Introduction	p. ix
Volume Introduction	p. xi
Biography of William Shakespeare	p. 1
Summary of King Lear	p. 5
Key Passages in King Lear	p. 23
List of Characters in King Lear	p. 49
Criticism Through the Ages	p. 51
King Lear in the Seventeenth Century	p. 53
1681-From The History of King Lear	p. 54
1699-From The Antient and Modern Stages Surveyed	p. 71
King Lear in the Eighteenth Century	p. 73
1710-From Remarks on the Plays of Shakespear	p. 74
1715-"Remarks on King Lear," from The Censor	p. 75
1735-From The Prompter	p. 79
1753-From The Adventurer	p. 83
1768-From Notes on Shakespear's Plays	p. 93
1775-"Lear," from The Morality of Shakespeare's Drama Illustrated	p. 95
1784-"On the Dramatic Character of King Lear," from Essays on Some of Shakespeare's Dramatic Characters	p. 96
King Lear in the Nineteenth Century	p. 99
1809-"Criticisms on Shakespeare's Tragedies," from Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature	p. 100
1812-"On the Tragedies of Shakespeare," from The Reflector	p. 103
1817-"Lear," from Characters of Shakespear's Plays	p. 104
1818-"Lear," from Lectures and Notes on Shakspere and Other English Poets	p. 110
1818-"On Sitting Down to Read King Lear Once Again"	p. 115
1833-"Cordelia," from Shakspeare's Heroines: Characteristics of Women, Moral, Poetical, & Historical	p. 115
1838-"The Restoration of Shakespeare's Lear to the Stage," from The Examiner	p. 116
1864-William Shakespeare	p. 119
1875-"Lear," from Shakspere: A Critical Study of His Mind and Art	p. 122
1880-A Study of Shakespeare	p. 134
1883-Some Criticisms on Poets, Memoir by His Son	p. 137
King Lear in the Twentieth Century	p. 139
1904-"King Lear," from Shakespearean Tragedy	p. 141
1906-"On Shakespeare"	p. 156
1913-"The Theme of the Three Caskets," from Imago	p. 163
1920-"Shakespeare's King Lear: An Address to the Actors"	p. 164
1930-"The Lear Universe," from The Wheel of Fire	p. 169
1947-"Lear, Tolstoy, and the Fool," from Polemic	p. 195
1949-"Cordelia as Nature," from Shakespeare's Doctrine of Nature: A Study of King Lear	p. 200
1951-"King Lear," from The Meaning of Shakespeare	p. 213
1966-"Deus Absconditus: Lear," from King Lear and the Gods	p. 246
1974-"'Is This the Promised End?': The Tragedy of King Lear," from Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism	p. 270
1986-"King Lear," from Northrop Frye on Shakespeare	p. 288
1988-"Introduction," from King Lear (Modern Critical Interpretations)	p. 304
1992-"Introduction," from King Lear (Major Literary Characters)	p. 311
King Lear in the Twenty-first Century	p. 321
2004-"'Gods That We Adore': The Divine in King Lear," from Renascence	p. 321
Works Cited	p. 337
Bibliography	p. 341
Acknowledgments	p. 343
Index	p. 345
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

An essential resource for any Shakespeare enthusiast.
King Lear occupies a special place in the Shakespearean canon. Lear's descent into madness, the central event of this play, illustrates the extent to which humanity can be degraded by its errors. Harold Bloom calls King Lear the unique eminence in the world's literary world.
This useful study guide examines one of Shakespeare's most renowned works, providing a selection of the finest criticism from the 17th and 18th centuries up to the 21st. Intended for readers just beginning their exploration of Shakespeare, this helpful reference breathes life into one of his greatest tragedies. An introduction by Harold Bloom, an accessible summary, analysis of key passages, an extensive character list, and a biography of Shakespeare are also featured in this comprehensive study guide.
Includes criticism from:
Samuel Johnson (1768)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1818)
John Keats (1818)
Charles Dickens (1838)
Victor Hugo (1864)
Alfred Lord Tennyson (1883)
Leo Tolstoy (1906)
Sigmund Freud (1913)
Joyce Carol Oates (1974)
Northrop Frye (1986).