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The One King Lear
Brian Vickers
€ 72.06
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Description for The One King Lear
Hardcover. In the 1980s influential scholars argued that Shakespeare revised King Lear in light of theatrical performance, resulting in two texts by the bard's own hand. The two-text theory hardened into orthodoxy. Here Sir Brian Vickers makes the case that Shakespeare did not cut his original text. At stake is the way his greatest play is read and performed. Num Pages: 310 pages, illustrations. BIC Classification: DSGS. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational. Dimension: 235 x 156. .
For over two hundred years, editors were united in their decision to bring together the King Lear texts of the Quarto (1608) and the First Folio (1623) to produce a single text that was the basis for all modern productions. Then in the 1980s a group of influential scholars argued that the two texts represent distinct stages in the life of King Lear, as Shakespeare supposedly revised his play in light of theatrical performance. The two-text theory has since hardened into orthodoxy. Now for the first time in a book-length argument, one of the world's most eminent Shakespeare scholars challenges the two-text theory. At stake is the way Shakespeare's greatest play is read and performed. Sir Brian Vickers demonstrates that the cuts in the Quarto were in fact carried out by the printer because he had underestimated the amount of paper he would need. As for the Folio, Vickers sees no evidence that Shakespeare cut the text in order to alter the balance between characters. These cuts, likely made by the theater company to speed up the action, removed passages essential to the play's moral and emotional structure and are impracticable on the stage.
Product Details
Publisher
Harvard University Press
Format
Hardback
Publication date
2016
Condition
New
Weight
739g
Number of Pages
310
Place of Publication
Cambridge, Mass, United States
ISBN
9780674504844
SKU
V9780674504844
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days
Ref
99-1
About Brian Vickers
Sir Brian Vickers is Distinguished Senior Fellow, School of Advanced Study, University of London.
Reviews for The One King Lear
Vickers's argument for his theory might sound fanciful if it weren't advanced with such expertise.
James Ryerson New York Times Book Review (06/05/2016) The One King Lear is concerned with one of the most interesting and controversial issues relating not just to the two texts of what some see as Shakespeare's greatest play, but to the dramatist and his art. There is much to enjoy in this book, and much to learn from it.
H. R. Woudhuysen, University of Oxford This is a big, bold book, a major piece of scholarship for everyone to engage with. No one interested in the texts of Shakespeare's work (and not only in the texts of King Lear) will be able to ignore it.
Peter Holland, University of Notre Dame [An] astonishingly energetic and groundbreaking interrogation of what [Vickers] calls The One King Lear.
Katherine Duncan-Jones Times Literary Supplement (11/23/2016)
James Ryerson New York Times Book Review (06/05/2016) The One King Lear is concerned with one of the most interesting and controversial issues relating not just to the two texts of what some see as Shakespeare's greatest play, but to the dramatist and his art. There is much to enjoy in this book, and much to learn from it.
H. R. Woudhuysen, University of Oxford This is a big, bold book, a major piece of scholarship for everyone to engage with. No one interested in the texts of Shakespeare's work (and not only in the texts of King Lear) will be able to ignore it.
Peter Holland, University of Notre Dame [An] astonishingly energetic and groundbreaking interrogation of what [Vickers] calls The One King Lear.
Katherine Duncan-Jones Times Literary Supplement (11/23/2016)