Customer Reviews

The History of King Lear (Oxford Shakespeare)

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The traditional King Lear (Arden Shakespeare) adequately presents the scholarship, in three different editions stretching back a century. I admit I have not seen the latest third edition, but find the second very helpful.

As mentioned briefly in the other review here, Oxford provides a welcome supplement to the Arden. For one thing the typescript may be found to be more clear. The Arden in the second edition may be found rather busy upon the page, with under a half page of play, a busy band of textual variations and then several footnotes upon each page. Here the script is presented very clearly and openly, a great reading copy when eye ease is the main concern.

Each page of script contains similar information to the Arden, but the script itself has a much larger font than the textual variant and the footnotes.

You will discover effective and comprehensive information in its place, and find the critical essays excellent and helpful as well. Oxford has long been noted as the essential and traditional academic center of the English speaking peoples, and here we receive the fruits of that long tradition of careful, objective and exacting scholarship, particular in this field of the highest fruit of British literature, a tragedy so powerful and true to human nature as to inform our present condition today.

The text is based upon the early 1608 Quarto, avoiding the mix of compromises and guesses in the Arden, while providing in the notes an indication of variance. An interesting Ballad of King Lear, composed at about the time of the play's original presentation and serving as a sort of movie trailer of the time, is included in the ample appendices. The introduction includes consideration of composition, sources, performances,and evolving critical appreciations of this tragic play. The academic nature of this critical review leaves little room for the kind of ideological slant which certain very recent and usurping 'critical editions' eagerly allege as part of their sales campaign. A concise yet comprehensive review of the history of readings of this play is given without any ax to grind. If mentioning the full spectrum of possible and traditional readings gives confusion to some students, study harder.


For the visual learner and unlike many such critical editions, ilustrations of productions and related art accompany the introduction. This edition is also beautifully and durably bound and can take any manner of reading, on the train on the beach, in bed.

Overall an excellent reading copy of this play for our lost times.

The OXFORD is a great source. What the ARDEN'S may not touch on, these do, and thus, shed more light on the subject at hand.