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zaida_riquelme's review against another edition
3.0
shitty dad wastes the potential of his smart and talented daughters because mysogyny. politics also happen.
gaby_mrc16's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
elliecloe's review against another edition
4.0
I liked the drama and King Lear was funny in a way, but I don't know if I would say this is Shakespeare's best tragedy (which many do say). I think Macbeth was better, and I haven't read many of the others. The ending was very classic Shakespeare, and I was left wondering what would happen next. BUT I did like the story and it was funny at times.
marjenn's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite Shakespeare play -- it didn't resonate with me as much as Othello, Hamlet or Macbeth -- but still a classic one to read.
ellalock_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
viri's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
this was definitely not my favourite shakespeare play but still interesting to read though. i do plan on making my way through his works.
i find it so interesting that this story became the inspiration for so many more stories. i really enjoy studying it at school and sharing our interpretations and perspectives…
i find it so interesting that this story became the inspiration for so many more stories. i really enjoy studying it at school and sharing our interpretations and perspectives…
emcot's review against another edition
3.0
so I listened to the arkangel audio book of this and tbh it might have been easier to understand if I physically read it but idk. wish there was less Edgar/Gloucester and more of regan and gonreil being slay evil girlbosses
zachlittrell's review against another edition
4.0
Earl of Kent telling Oswald what he thinks of him:
Yeah! You tell 'em, Kent! If, in the extremely unlikely case, I had a baby boy, Kent would be a very strong contender for the baby's name, and largely on the merits of what a thorough verbal smackdown Kent dishes out.
For a tragedy, it is a fun story. Everyone's double crossing each other; some characters pretend to be insane while others very much are insane; the villains have a problematic combination of afflictions: paranoid and horny; there is maybe one or two healthy familial relationships (Lear starts Act 1 by kicking out the only daughter who decided to tell him the truth rather than kiss his senile ass), but most of the play depicts love and loyalty and greed and capriciousness being dragged through the mud. Basically, very few people leave this play happy, outside of the readers or viewers.
(I have two small quibbles, though. Edmund's brief moment of regret seems so shocking, given what a maniacal schemer he is, as to almost derail the entire story. And the Fool, by far one of the coolest characters in the play, just up and disappears. But I am slowly being convinced, and intrigued, by the conspiracy theory that the Fool is simply another major character -- who is never around at the same time -- incognito.)
A knave; a rascal; an eater of broken meats; a base, proud,
shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy,
worsted-stocking knave; a lily-liver'd, action-taking, whoreson,
glass-gazing, superserviceable, finical rogue;
one-trunk-inheriting slave; one that wouldst be a bawd in way of
good service, and art nothing but the composition of a knave,
beggar, coward, pander, and the son and heir of a mongrel bitch;
one whom I will beat into clamorous whining, if thou deny the
least syllable of thy addition.
Yeah! You tell 'em, Kent! If, in the extremely unlikely case, I had a baby boy, Kent would be a very strong contender for the baby's name, and largely on the merits of what a thorough verbal smackdown Kent dishes out.
For a tragedy, it is a fun story. Everyone's double crossing each other; some characters pretend to be insane while others very much are insane; the villains have a problematic combination of afflictions: paranoid and horny; there is maybe one or two healthy familial relationships (Lear starts Act 1 by kicking out the only daughter who decided to tell him the truth rather than kiss his senile ass), but most of the play depicts love and loyalty and greed and capriciousness being dragged through the mud. Basically, very few people leave this play happy, outside of the readers or viewers.
(I have two small quibbles, though. Edmund's brief moment of regret seems so shocking, given what a maniacal schemer he is, as to almost derail the entire story. And the Fool, by far one of the coolest characters in the play, just up and disappears. But I am slowly being convinced, and intrigued, by the conspiracy theory that the Fool is simply another major character -- who is never around at the same time -- incognito.)
miandi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0