King Lear (Hardbound - 2020)

King Lear is one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies and was believed to have been written between 1605-1606, and was based on a legend of the Leir of Britain, a pre-Roman Celtic king from mythology. It brilliantly depicts the senility and increasing madness of its title character as he splits his kingdom into portions for his daughters based on their false declarations of love for him.

King Lear, wanting to retire from the duties–the monarchy demands of him, makes the decision to divide his kingdom amongst his three daughters. Courting flattery and praise, he announces he shall give the largest share to the daughter who loves him the most. His eldest daughter, Goneril, first proclaims her love in the most fulsome description, delighting Lear and causing him to award Goneril her share as soon as she is finished speaking. Not wishing to be outdone, his second daughter Regan uses similarly flowery and language to convince her father of her adoration. She as well is awarded her share of his realm. His youngest daughter Cordelia was always Lear's favorite and most-loved daughter, but …

William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England’s national poet and the “Bard of Avon” (or simply “The Bard”). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1590 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. Next he wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest examples in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime, and in 1623 two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare’s.