| No one is disputing that King Lear is a great play. It is. The story of the king attempting to hand over his kingdom to his children, and having everything go horribly wrong, is epic and the work of a genius. Now, however, when Victorian jokes are alien to our world, what we need to review is not the play itself (which has stood the test of time, for greatness), but the particular edition of the play - in this case by Arden Shakespeare. Unfortunately, I don't think this version is particularly great. Many of the annotations are incomplete, while others are just wrong (to the reasoned reader of the play). This, in my opinion either makes of breaks an annotated book of a Shakespearean work. The Book is full of details concerning the perfoming of Lear in the theatre and the history of Lear. More than half the book is devoted to the historical aspect of the play, in fact. If you want this much biographical detail, as well as the play itself, then the Arden Shakespeare may be the book for you. Otherwise, look for a lighter, better annoteated edition of Lear. Lear is a superb play if understood and I'm not sure if this Arden book leads to complete understanding. Not recommended for someone interested in Shakespeare for the first time. |
