This edition first published in 1966. Previous edition published
1965 by the University of California Press. Perhaps more than any
other play of Shakespeare's King Lear has been subjected to almost
totally contradictory interpretations. In the first historical
section of the book the author describes the varying concepts of
the play and the distortions of text and even plot that have been
widely used. Garrick's playing of Lear as a pathetic and
down-trodden old man. Laughton's and Olivier's versions and Herbert
Blaus's theory of the 'subtext' are described and analysed. The
central section of the book examines the medieval, folk and romance
sources of the play. The final chapter illustrates how the action
of the play and its pervading violence and evil are not explained
in terms of human motive and rely for their meaning more on their
effects than their antecedents. An important theme is the play's
examination of society and the ties of service and family love.
General
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