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How to Read Shakespeare's King Lear (Banquets of Blood, Pre-Play Preparation) (Patreon)

Published:
2022-01-05 15:23:30
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Shakespeare's King Lear is one of the crowning jewels in the Western literary canon.

Exhausting, yet inexhaustible, this tragic masterpiece requires multiple deep rereadings over the course of one's life.

So let's discuss how to set ourselves up for entering the Lear Universe. 

Consider these pre-play preps as little treasure troves to use however best suits you. Feel free to utilise the timestamps to jump to the topics where you would like the most direction.

Below the timestamps, we have links to everything mentioned, scenes to focus on, and reading assignments in anticipation for the deep-dive lecture and appreciation.

I see the most important activities as being ordered like this:

1) Reading the play

2) Writing your thoughts down/making notes/marking passages that intrigue you

3) Enjoying an adaptation (or sampling some clips)

We are discussing: 

  • recommended editions 
  • adaptations (audio and film)
  • the characters, themes, and story
  • focused challenges and assignments

Video Timestamps:

  • 0:00 the reputation and stage history of King Lear
  • 4:30 the best production of King Lear I ever experienced
  • 9:00 the best film adaptations of King Lear
  • 13:00 is King Lear unperformable?
  • 14:20 the story of King Lear (spoiler-free)
  • 19:00 the fool of King Lear
  • 20:00 the themes of the play
  • 21:30 Shakespeare’s life whilst writing the play
  • 22:20 the characters of King Lear
  • 25:00 how to read King Lear
  • 28:00 focused challenges for King Lear
  • 35:00 recommended critical commentaries
  • 37:00 good luck in breaching the Lear Universe

🎭 Recommended Editions

🎬 Recommended Film Adaptations

🎙️ Worthy Audio Productions

  • BBC 3 Radio Drama: John Gielgud, Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Emma Thompson, and Derek Jacobi are all in fine form in this wonderful radio production.
  • Archangel Shakespeare: Available from Audible, this classic radio drama version of King Lear boasts a cast that includes Kenneth Branagh, Paul Scofield, and Alec McCowen. 

📖 Deep-Cuts Shakespeare Criticism

  •  The Wheel of Fire by G. Wilson Knight: The essays entitled 'The Lear Universe,' 'King Lear and the Comedy of the Grotesque,' and 'Tolstoy's Attack on Shakespeare' all make for illuminating reads.
  • 'Shakespeare’s Tragedies', Episode 40 of the Hardcore Literature Podcast focuses on Shakespeare's tragic substance, using A. C. Bradley's masterful lectures as the springboard.

(Optional) Reading Challenges:

  • Collect your favourite passages as you make your way through. You may like to keep a file of favourite lines. By the time we've read through Shakespeare's Masterpieces, these passages will be a stunning reflection of your own soul this year.
  • Read aloud. For the shy, reading under one's breath, or mouthing the words, is absolutely fine. For the brave, share a passage with another.
  • Compare your reading with 1x adaptation. What did the director and actors do right? What should they do differently?

Scenes to look out for:

These are just a selection of orienting scenes. Let us know what other scenes you find resonant, and for what reason. Which scenes would catch your eye, so to speak?

We have links here to sample interpretations from different actors, but do have fun finding your own too (and share with us). 

  • Act 1, Scene 1, "Know that we have divided in three our kingdom" (interpretation)
  • Act 1, Scene 2, “Now, gods, stand up for bastards!” (interpretation)
  • Act 3, Scene 2, the storm on the heath - "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!" (interpretation)
  • Act 4, Scene 6, at the fields near Dover/“A dog’s obeyed in office” (interpretation)
  • Act 5, Scene 3, "My poor fool" (interpretation)

Questions to think about:

1) How would you produce/stage King Lear?

2) Is King Lear unperformable?

3) What warnings, if any, does Shakespeare offer us today?

Happy Learing, everybody!

Files

Previews only

How to Prepare for Shakespeare's King Lear (Banquets of Blood Pre-Play Prep)

0:00 the reputation and stage history of King Lear 4:30 the best production of King Lear I ever experienced 9:00 the best film adaptations of King Lear 13:00 is King Lear unperformable? 14:20 the story of King Lear (spoiler-free) 19:00 the fool of King Lear 20:00 the themes of the play 21:30 Shakespeare’s life whilst writing the play 22:20 the characters of King Lear 25:00 how to read King Lear 28:00 focused challenges for King Lear 35:00 recommended critical commentaries 37:00 good luck in breaching the Lear Universe

Comments

Eggy

1) I would really struggle. It would be best to base it in the king's throne room and have the characters come in and out, with some of the Oswald hijinks occur in an off room or dark corner. 2) I listened to it as a radio play which was pretty good. But I think fundamentally it's boring to watch because it's pure dialog and from what I can tell there isn't much if any description of where anything is happening. This could be one example where the play is actually better to read than watch. 3) Putin could have stepped down in 2012 and had a pretty unblemished record as a Russian leader, but we are arguably seeing his Lear moment. Perhaps Ukraine is the Russian Cordelia?

Emma Yap

I finished reading King Lear in one day. Haven't moved onto the post-play video yet but will do as soon as I finish writing this comment. I studied Lear in school, and re-read it a couple of times after, so I'm very familiar with the story and the language. It was hard for me to shake off my earlier experiences of the play (I just remember at school talking about how nihilistic the play was, the themes of 'nothingness'). However, this time I definitely had a greater understanding of the depth of the play, especially now that I'm older. I don't have children, but I can imagine that if I did, the experience of reading this play would be even more intense. Some lessons which I think the play has for us: I noted that Lear bewails his fortune, and the fact that his daughters haven't shown him the love or respect that he is owed. There's a lot of talk of being 'owed' love, being 'owed' respect, in return for the material benefits he has given them. But it's not until the end of the play that he really stops and realises that the way things have turned out are also a direct result of his own actions, of his lack of self-knowledge, and the fact that he probably wasn't a very good father (or a wise person). Coming from a Chinese background, where the idea of family is underpinned by Confucianism (respecting your elders, the idea that you owe your parents a debt of gratitude), this definitely struck a chord with me and reminded me a bit of my own family. I think the idea that your children 'owe' you anything is misplaced, and it also made me think of Edmund's line about how we all blame the stars for our misfortune, when in fact, it's very often a result of our own character weaknesses. Another lesson I think this play has for us is the danger of sycophancy - it's so easy to listen to flatterers and sycophants, and close our ears to people who speak the truth, because it's unpleasant to us. It highlighted to me the moral imperative of speaking truth as far as we can. The worst kind of people are those with a 'still soliciting eye' , like Oswald for example - someone who becomes 'successful' by serving the vices of their employers, without any regard for the morality of what they are being asked to do.