König Lear

This is definitely Shakespeare's most existential play of all that I have read. (I have suspicions about Timon of Athens, but I haven't tried that one yet.)[b:Timon of Athens|104805|Timon of Athens|William Shakespeare|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328033835s/104805.jpg|2083361]
Cordelia is ridiculous, but I feel she is the character that most develops. I would love to see a quality film or something on her time in France, and her relationship with the king. ( )

The aging King Lear decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, allotting each a portion in proportion to the eloquence of her declaration of love. The hypocritical Goneril and Regan make grand pronouncements and are rewarded; Cordelia, the youngest daughter, who truly loves Lear, refuses to make an insincere speech to prove her love and is disinherited. The two older sisters mock Lear and renege on their promise to support him. Cast out, the king slips into madness and wanders about accompanied by his faithful Fool. He is aided by the Earl of Kent, who, though banished from the kingdom for having supported Cordelia, has remained in Britain disguised as a loyal follower of the king. Cordelia, having married the king of France, is obliged to invade her native country with a French army in order to rescue her neglected father. She is brought to Lear, cares for him, and helps him regain his reason. When her army is defeated, she and her father are taken into custody.

The subplot concerns the Earl of Gloucester, who gullibly believes the lies of his conniving illegitimate son, Edmund, and spurns his honest son, Edgar. Driven into exile disguised as a mad beggar, Edgar becomes a companion of the truly mad Lear and the Fool during a terrible storm. Edmund allies himself with Regan and Goneril to defend Britain against the French army mobilized by Cordelia. He turns his father over to Regan’s brutal husband—the Duke of Cornwall, who gouges out Gloucester’s eyes—and then imprisons Cordelia and Lear, but he is defeated in chivalric combat by Edgar. Jealous of Edmund’s romantic attentions to Regan, Goneril poisons her and commits suicide. Cordelia is hanged on the orders of Edmund, who experiences a change of heart once he has been defeated and fatally wounded by Edgar but is too late in his attempt to reverse the death order. The Duke of Albany, Goneril’s well-meaning husband, has attempted to remedy injustice in the kingdom but sees at last that events have overwhelmed his good intentions. ( )

This full-cast audio recording tells the story of King Lear who unwisely divided his inheritance based on his perception of how much each daughter loved him. We see how this leads to a life of isolation and great tragedy within his own family. Some actors were more skilled in their role interpretations than others. ( )

I read (listened) to this after reading A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley. I enjoyed both very much. ( )

Well i read this instead of watching it but i really don't think any acting could improve it. I was quite enjoying it for the first half though.
We're really dropped into the deep end with the opening, Lear comes across like a comedy version of a mafia boss. I was routing for his daughters most of the time. Since we get no background on Lear he just seems incredibly capricious even if you considered his daughters to be the bad guys it certainly feels like they learned their behavior from him.
The scene changes felt a bit all over the place at least on the page. The various characters meandered about a bit too much and a lot of action took place off stage. Also the love-triangle just seemed to come from nowhere and there were too many deaths by heart attack.

Finally, between the mad characters and the fool, it really felt more of a black comedy than a tragedy. I weep not for Lear :) . ( )