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''The most perfect specimen of the dramatic art existing in the world'' Percy Bysshe Shelley

Summary

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.

Additional Information

Used and Recommended by the National Theatre

General Editor Stanley Wells

Edited by George Hunter

Introduction by Kiernan Ryan