King Lear (No Fear Shakespeare) [Paperback]

SparkNotes Editors (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 158663853X | ISBN-13: 978-1586638535 | Publication Date: July 3, 2003

No Fear Shakespeare gives you the complete text of King Lear on the left-hand page, side-by-side with an easy-to-understand translation on the right.

 

Each No Fear Shakespeare contains

• The complete text of the original play
• A line-by-line translation that puts Shakespeare into everyday language
• A complete list of characters with descriptions
• Plenty of helpful commentary

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: SparkNotes (July 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158663853X
• ISBN-13: 978-1586638535
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > British & Irish

More About the Author

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23. The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are sparse. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a merchant of some standing in his community. William probably went to the King's New School in Stratford, but he had no university education. In November 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior, who was pregnant with their first child, Susanna. She was born on May 26, 1583. Twins, a boy, Hamnet ( who would die at age eleven), and a girl, Judith, were born in 1585. By 1592 Shakespeare had gone to London working as an actor and already known as a playwright. A rival dramatist, Robert Greene, referred to him as "an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers." Shakespeare became a principal shareholder and playwright of the successful acting troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later under James I, called the King's Men). In 1599 the Lord Chamberlain's Men built and occupied the Globe Theater in Southwark near the Thames River. Here many of Shakespeare's plays were performed by the most famous actors of his time, including Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, and Robert Armin. In addition to his 37 plays, Shakespeare had a hand in others, including Sir Thomas More and The Two Noble Kinsmen, and he wrote poems, including Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. His 154 sonnets were published, probably without his authorization, in 1609. In 1611 or 1612 he gave up his lodgings in London and devoted more and more time to retirement in Stratford, though he continued writing such plays as The Tempest and Henry VII until about 1613. He died on April 23 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. No collected edition of his plays was published during his life-time, but in 1623 two members of his acting company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put together the great collection now called the First Folio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best way to read our finest playwright! and King Lear is one of his grestest works, January 15, 2008

By 

Mary Dirkx Jorn (Lawrence KS, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: King Lear (No Fear Shakespeare) (Paperback)

Years ago when my husband's father, a farmer for many years, first saw large round-style hay bales, he wept with joy because, since these new bales could not be lifted by hand, he knew farmworkers would no longer need to risk the heavy, injurious previous work of stacking and transporting their hay.

I know how he felt. It nearly brought tears to my eyes to first experience reading a No Fear Shakespeare. I cannot overstate the ease this text brings to the pleasure and excitement of a Shakespeare play. If you have wanted to read Shakespeare but found the language too archaic to understand, if you have enjoyed reading Shakespeare but not the time it took to plow through the footnotes and concordances, if you have been assigned to read Shakespeare plays for a class and want to know which edition to use, if you have always meant to read Shakespeare to find out for yourself what "all the fuss" is about - this is the version to read.

As for the play King Lear itself, it is a beautiful, painful, truthful story of a human being in all his prideful flaws, who learns to understand himself and his relations with others, even though paying the ultimate tragic price. Shakespeare's genius is telling a story that we all can relate to, and part of you will be right there on the heath in the storm raging with Lear.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than "All My Children" and Readable, Too!!!, February 18, 2009

By 

Big D (Auburn, AL. USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: King Lear (No Fear Shakespeare) (Paperback)

Masterful as always, this tragic story of the aging King Lear.

Caring for an aging parent? Wondering who is going to take care of you when you get old? Wondering how you will be treated in your old age?Thinking about Estate Planning? Read King Lear!!!

Shakespeare is still "da man," and "No Fear" is the only way to read him. Don't miss this, one of his best works...

It's better than "All My Children" on ABC!!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Embracing Bill, January 8, 2011

By 

Booklover - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: King Lear (No Fear Shakespeare) (Paperback)

I never liked Shakespeare. I never understood Shakespeare. Then along came No Fear Shakespeare and now I not only get it, but am eager to read more of the bard. King Lear has it all - arrogance, greed, love, hate, redemption - what a great story! I heartily recommend.