A New Variorum Edition of Shakespeare, Vol. 5
King Lear (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from A New Variorum Edition of Shakespeare, Vol. 5: King Lear<br><br>Since these volumes, containing separate plays, are independent of each other, it seems necessary that a statement of the plan on which they are edited should accompany each issue. This statement, however, in the present instance shall be as concise as possible; it is to be presumed that those who are interested in this edition are, by this time, tolerably familiar with its scope.<br><br>The attempt is here made to present, on the same page with the text, all the various readings of the different editions of King Lear; from the earliest Quarto to the latest critical edition of the play, together with all the notes and comments thereon which the Editor has thought worthy of preservation, not only for the purpose of elucidating the text, but at times as illustrations of the history of Shakespearian criticism.<br><br>In the Appendix will be found essays on The Text, The Date Of Composition, The Source of the Plot, Duration of the Action, Insanity, Actors, Costume, Tate's Version, selections from English and German Criticisms, a list of The Editions Collated, with the abbreviations used to denote them, the Bibliography of the Play, and an Index.<br><br>We have two sources for the text of Lear, the Quartos and the Folios, both from independent manuscripts. Although we may not have in the Folio the very text, 'absolute in its numbers,' as Shakespeare 'conceived it,' yet with all its defects it is much better than that of the Quarto, which is evidently one of those 'stolne and surreptitious' copies denounced by Heminge and Condell.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.