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This volume documents the reception and interpretation of Shakespeare's tragedy
King Lear by critics, editors and general readers from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries. Following an introduction which provides an historical account of the play's critical reception from the earliest times to the present day, the volume presents a selection of original documents, together with contextual head notes and biographical sketches of the authors and a rationale for their selection, as well as a list of suggested further reading.
The chronological arrangement of the text-excerpts engages the readers in a direct and unbiased dialogue, whereas the introduction offers a critical evaluation from a current stance, including modern theories and methods. Thus the volume makes a major contribution to our understanding of the play and of the traditions of Shakespearean criticism surrounding it as they have developed from century to century.
List of contents
General Editor's Preface
General Editor's Preface to the Revised Series
Acknowledgements
Introduction
The Critical Tradition Texts
Select Bibliography
Index
About the author
Kevin J. Donovan, professor of English at Middle Tennessee State University, USA, has co-edited collections of essays on Milton and scholarly editions of Shakespeare and early Irish drama, as well as various essays on Ben Jonson and other early modern dramatists.Joseph Candido is Professor of English at the University of Arkansas, USA. He has published extensively on Shakespeare and Renaissance drama, particularly the Elizabethan and Jacobean history play. He is the editor of King John in the series Shakespeare: The Critical Tradition, and is editor of The Text, the Play, and the Globe: Essays on Literary Influence in Shakespeare's World and His Work in Honor of Charles R. Forker (2016).Brian Vickers is a Fellow of the British Academy and a Distinguished Senior Fellow in The School of Advanced Study, University of London.
Summary
This volume documents the reception and interpretation of Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear by critics, editors and general readers from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries. Following an introduction which provides an historical account of the play’s critical reception from the earliest times to the present day, the volume presents a selection of original documents, together with contextual head notes and biographical sketches of the authors and a rationale for their selection, as well as a list of suggested further reading.
The chronological arrangement of the text-excerpts engages the readers in a direct and unbiased dialogue, whereas the introduction offers a critical evaluation from a current stance, including modern theories and methods. Thus the volume makes a major contribution to our understanding of the play and of the traditions of Shakespearean criticism surrounding it as they have developed from century to century.
Foreword
The volume provides a detailed account of the critical reception of Shakespeare’s tragedy King Lear from 1790 to 1930.
