The Tragedy of King Lear (The New Cambridge Shakespeare) [Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author), Jay L. Halio (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521612632 | ISBN-13: 978-0521612630 | Publication Date: September 19, 2005 | Edition: 2

For this updated critical edition of King Lear, Jay Halio has added a new introductory section on recent stage, film, and critical interpretations of the play. He provides a comprehensive account of Shakespeare's sources and the literary, political and folkloric influences at work in the play; a detailed reading of the action; and a substantial stage history of major productions. An updated reading list completes the edition. First Edition Hb (1992) 0-521-33111-0 First Edition Pb (1992) 0-521-33729-1

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

For this updated critical edition of King Lear, Professor Halio has added a new introductory section on recent stage, film, and critical interpretations of the play. He gives a comprehensive account of Shakespeare's sources and the literary, political and folkloric influences at work in the play; a detailed reading of the action; and a substantial stage history of major productions. An updated reading list completes the edition.

About the Author

Jay L. Halio is Professor of English at the University of Delaware.

Product Details

• Paperback: 334 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (September 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521612632
• ISBN-13: 978-0521612630
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #615,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Note this is just the folio text, August 1, 2010

By 

Maggot - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tragedy of King Lear (The New Cambridge Shakespeare) (Paperback)

The editor of this edition, Jay L. Halio, has made the decision to base the text purely on Shakespeare's folio, rather than on the more usual conflation of the folio and the quarto. Quarto passages which aren't in the folio appear in an appendix at the back. This means that the text in this edition departs quite significantly from the text of other editions in key places. Halio makes a scholarly case for his decision representing something closer to Shakespeare's final version of the play, but it's frustrating if you're interested in the quarto or if you want to read King Lear in its more usual modern form.

0 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars NO DELIVERY AND NO FOLLOW-UP, September 1, 2009

By 

blue apple "blue apple" (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Tragedy of King Lear (The New Cambridge Shakespeare) (Paperback)

I received King Lear and Othello within several days of my order. However, I have never received Hamlet or MacBeth. I had noted this once or twice to Amazon. Additionally, when there was no response from the seller, I cancelled the last two.

Betty Goldman