King Lear

Rating:
Summary: Nothing will come of nothing
Review: "Nothing will come of nothing" the fatal line Lear utters to Cordelia sums up the entire play. The wizened king believes he is urging Cordelia not to refrain from expressing her love for him when in fact he is unwittingly prompting her to use the same insincere flattery as her sisters. When Cordelia refuses to acquiesce to Lear's wishes, he banishes her from the kingdom and divides it among her nefarious sisters Goneril and Reagan. In doing this Lear accepts their empty flattery instead of Cordelia's austere profession of paternal love. Goneril and Reagan quickly betray Lear and then turn against each other. Thus Lear's preference for empty flattery (nothing) destroys his authority and embroils his kingdom in civil strife (generates nothing).

This theme runs like a thread through other parts of the play. Gloucester's blindness toward the nature of his sons results in his literal blindness later in the play. Metaphorical blindness generates physical blindness (nothing comes of nothing). Similarly, after Edgar is banished he avoids further harm by shedding his identity and disguising himself as a vagrant. In the new order of things eliminating one's status results in no harm (another version of nothing coming from nothing).

The motif of nothing coming from nothing has psychological and political ramifications for the play. From a psychological point of view Lear fails to realize that the type of adulating love he wants from Cordelia no longer exists because Cordelia is no longer a child. Her refusal to flatter Lear is, in a sense, an act of adolescent rebellion. Lear's failure to recognize the fact that Cordelia still loves him but not with the totality of a child proves to be his undoing. From a political point of view the fact that Lear divides his kingdom on the basis of protocol (who is the most flattering) instead of reality (whose words can he really trust) also proves to be his undoing. The fact that Lear sees what he wants to see instead of what he should see is the fulcrum of destruction throughout the play.

It is interesting to note that "King Lear" was staged barely one generation after England endured a bitter war of succession (The War of the Roses). The sight of Lear proclaiming his intention to divide his kingdom must have shocked contemporary audiences in the same manner that a play about appeasing fascists might disturb us today.

Rating:
Summary: A great piece of literature
Review: After being forced to read Romeo and Juliet in 8th grade, I vowed I'd never pick up another book by William Shakespeare again. It was hard to read, boring, and I couldn't understand it. Now in high school, with interest in British history, I came across the tale of King Lear in another book, and decided that if it was really going to make much sense that I would have to read King Lear by Shakespeare. So, I did...and I LOVED it...when I put my mind to it, I could understand it, and I found it a great tale told by a great writer. A+!

Rating:
Summary: A father's folly and a daugther's devotion
Review: After you begin to read a few of Shakespeare's plays in their original language you begin to develop an understanding of the structure of the language and the expressions used in that time. The trick I believe is to persevere; like any good thing, once you have mastered it, you begin to feel a sense of accomplishment. This greatly enhances your enjoyment of the plays.

King Lear is a play about honoring one's parents, a very relevant lesson for those of us in the modern world. As with many of Shakespeare's other plays, the language may be old but the lessons are still as relevant as ever. Lear, the King of England gives his blessing and lands to two of his daughters based on their outward show of affection for him, while neglecting his third; Cordelia, because she would rather show her love than make an outward display " my love's more richer than my tongue". It turns out that her two daughters deeds are contrary to their words and the rest of the play deals with Lear almost going mad at the ingratitude and lack of respect shown to him by his two daughters.

There is another subplot with the earl of Gloucester being deceived by his illegitimate son into wanting to kill his other son, Edgar. The story unfolds with two of these men, Lear and Gloucester being mistreated by their children who outwardly show love but inwardly have cold and calculating hearts. As with other tragedies, there must be deaths and disappointment, and King Lear is full of them. Unlike Othello however, King Lear does not have a very depressing ending and there is a feeling that everything will be alright, life goes on in other words.

I have tried to outline very briefly what this play is about and hopefully have shown a little of what is inside this very rich play. I would recommend King Lear to anyone wanting to read Shakespeare, I would also recommend you read it in the original language because even though it may be more difficult to comprehend, the language is richer and you will be reading Shakespeare and not some modern editor's idea of him.

Rating:
Summary: Another Shakespeare Masterpiece.
Review: All good Shakespeare tragedies have strong conflicts. The inheritence of kingdom is serious, and realistic. People have been fighting over power and control of land for thousands of years. Shakespeare shows how ingratitude and greed destroys not only a person, but the entire family. A must read.

Rating:
Summary: Allegory of Elizabethan England
Review: Although King Lear is set in pagan England, 700 years before Christ, the plot is an allegory of the suffering of Catholics under the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Here the old fathers (the Catholic Church) are persecuted by the young (the Church of England) and the realm's most faithful daughter (Cordelia) is sent into exile. A central point in the play is the fool's prophesy when "bawds and whores do churches build." The brutality of Elizabeth's reign is very well portrayed in "Cranmer's Godly Order" by Michael Davies and will provide great insight into the environment that Shakespeare was living. Shakespeare's parents and best friend suffered under this persecution and King Lear was written to encourage recusant Catholics to be patient and persevere in the face of hardship. "The weight of this sad time we must obey." The failed invasion of the French army parallels the failed invasion of the Spanish Armada in its attempt to avenge the murder of Queen Mary. Perhaps for these reasons, King Lear's importance was downplayed for several hundred years in Anglican England and only today it is recognized as Shakespeare's greatest play.

Rating:
Summary: An old fool learns too little too late
Review: An annoying old fool named King Lear doesn't know the true character of his own children. He divides all of his property between his two disloyal daughters simply because they flatter him, and he gives nothing to his loyal daughter because she refuses to play the flattery game. In retrospect I can't blame the two flatterers for their behavior, considering that their father is an obnoxious fool. He gets his just desserts in the end - the short end of the stick. So there's a happy ending after all. Shakespeare wrote it with sympathy for the old king. He excuses arrogance in kings. I don't. The hell with King Lear.

Rating:
Summary: Another Macbeth
Review: Average, mediocre play. Boring, tedious, and grim plot, with an unoriginal cast of characters. I don't really recommed it.

Rating:
Summary: masterpiece, tighter framework and control than hamlet
Review: dense, philosophically comepletely, acheiving catharsis. the best work from the master? quite possibly. we're just waiting for branagh to age . . .

Rating:
Summary: King Lear as read by a Teenager
Review: I just want to say to all the teenagers out there who think Shakespeare is this old fart who only dinosaurs like ... YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON THE BEST THING EVER. I read "King Lear" as dubiously as a regular teenager - and I ended up shouting out loud in horror at some of the bits in it - there is some sick sick sick cool cool cool stuff in there. (If you really hate it, then just read the final scene of Act 3 - it's as brutal as any horror movie!!!!!!!!!!)

Rating:
Summary: THIS PLAY MAKES NO SENSE
Review: I like plays, but this play was boring and shallow! The dialogues were completely unrealistic and too long. Also, I didn't understand how it kept going back and forth between a bunch of different stories. Hey Shakespeare: Stick with one topic at a time. Nobody's gonna think you're smart just because you use big words and try to be complicated. I didn't like how people died in the end. When i read a play, I want to be entertained, not depressed! Life's too short to waste reading nonsense!