William Shakespeare's King Lear

Since 1606, "King Lear" has shocked and delighted audiences and given rise to heated critical debate. This "Routledge Literary Sourcebook" offers a starting point for those wishing to study Shakespeare's intriguing play in depth. The first secton of the book, "Contexts", provides background information, including a chronology of the playwright. It also examines the sources of King Lear, from Holinshed to Spenser. This is followed by a section on "Interpretations", covering both critical readings and notable performances of the play. Grace Ioppolo ranges from early critical responses and performances through to contemporary stage and screen interpretations of Lear. In both these sections, clear introductions and annotation are balanced with reprinted extracts from a range of crucial texts. The third section of the book analyses and reprints key passages from the play, highlighting the most important critical issues and suggesting useful connections with the earlier sections of the book. Annotation offers a guide to Shakespeare's language. Finally, suggestions for further reading allow readers to pursue the issues which interest them most.

Grace Ioppolo is based at the University of Reading, and has previously taught at UCLA, University of California, Berkeley, American University (Washington DC) and The Shakespeare Institute. She is the author of Revising Shakespeare, editor of Shaespeare Performed: Essays in HOnour of R. A. Foakes and the editor of plays by Shakespeare and Middleton.