King Lear
'The most perfect specimen of the dramatic art existing in the world' Percy Bysshe Shelley
Shakespeare's bleak and brutal tragedy begins when an ageing king, seeking a successor, rejects the young daughter who loves him and misplaces his trust in her malevolent sisters. In return they strip him of his power and condemn him to a wretched wasteland of horror and insanity. Set in a pitiless universe, King Lear is a towering, elemental masterpiece of fierce poetry and vast imaginative scope.
Used and Recommended by the National Theatre
General Editor Stanley Wells
Edited by George Hunter
Introduction by Kiernan Ryan
William Shakespeare was born in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon and died in 1616. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.
Stanley Wells is Emeritus Professor of the University of Birmingham and Honorary President of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
Kiernan Ryan is Professor of English at Royal Holloway, University of London.