Title: King Lear
Genre: Classic, Fiction, Play, Tragedy
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 339
Published: 1605
Where I Got It: My shelf (my big bad book of William Shakespeare collection)
Summary:
Shakespeare’s King Lear challenges us with the magnitude, intensity, and sheer duration of the pain that it represents. Its figures harden their hearts, engage in violence, or try to alleviate the suffering of others. Lear himself rages until his sanity cracks. What, then, keeps bringing us back to King Lear? For all the force of its language, King Lear is almost equally powerful when translated, suggesting that it is the story, in large part, that draws us to the play.
The play tells us about families struggling between greed and cruelty, on the one hand, and support and consolation, on the other. Emotions are extreme, magnified to gigantic proportions. We also see old age portrayed in all its vulnerability, pride, and, perhaps, wisdom—one reason this most devastating of Shakespeare’s tragedies is also perhaps his most moving.
Review:
My goal was to read one of these a year, but I do not think I read a Willie Shake last year. So I'll be reading two this year.
I've never read 'King Lear' before but I know the story well.
The play tells us a story about families struggling between greed and cruelty or support and consolation. King Lear, an elderly king, decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters. He promises to give the largest share to the daughter who proves to love him the most. From there drama ensues when he is blinded by his ego.
This is extremely tragic, but infuriating all at the same time. You want to shake King Lear and...to be fair....everyone. All the drama can be avoided if people JUST talk and chill. But we wouldn't have the story and the lessons that come from it.
People claim this is one of William Shakespeare's greatest works, but I found it...good. I honestly still love 'Othello' the best though. I still have a few plays to finally read but I can safely say my favorite still sits firmly on top at the moment. However, this was pretty entertaining.
The poetry and the drama is addicting. You won't want to set it down. I finished this in just a couple of sittings.
The ending is tragic and sad. It was done very well. You don't have to be a literature master to understand what lessons are being taught here. It was done loud and proud, but WS has a way of not telling you, but showing you. I find he is the King of this.
My favorite aspect of this play is that EVERYONE is complex and so very human. Sure you can point at a person or two and say they are the baddies, but they aren't evil (at least from my viewpoint). Yes, bad things happen and dumb things occur, but everyone is just so human. If you know me.....I love a complex set of characters.
All-in-all, this is a must-read classic. Not my fave by the ol' Shakeyspeare, but it's in the top 5. It's entertaining and addicting. Lots of dumb people doing dumb things, but it is teaching a lesson or two. You can't help but feel bad for these characters. They all are complex and so very human. I'll give this 5 stars.
(You know me...changing things up...and I'm reviving this!)
- Favorite Charater(s): Cordelia
- Least Favorite Character(s): Lear's other two daughters and (let's be honest) Lear.
6 comments:
Great you loved it. They are classics for a reason.
Anne - Books of My Heart
Wow, I applaud thee.
Nice work reading WS. I can't get past the language!
Anne, Love a good classic :)
B, *bows*
Jen, I think I'm just used to it from my college days. But it is more of a struggle than say a modern book.
When I was in college, they put on King Lear, but I was sick and away the time it ran so I never got around to seeing it or reading it. Like you, I try to read a Shakespeare play now and then. I got an audio of Othello at the library last year and enjoyed that a lot. Not sure which one I'll pick up this year.
Sophia, maybe you can do Lear!! :D
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