Wednesday, April 5, 2006

Reading

• Sonnets 91–93
• The Tragedy of King Lear (3219–2473), Acts 1–2

Notes

We’ll begin today by wrapping up our discussion of sonnets 91–93. Then we’ll turn to the first two acts of The Tragedy of King Lear.

Make sure that you are reading the right play! If you’re being a “good” student and using The Norton Shakespeare, this should be easy to remember, as The Tragedy of King Lear appears on the right-hand page. (You should pay a little attention to The History of King Lear, though, and note the obvious differences between the “history” and the “tragedy,” as this will make your assignment for next Wednesday easier.)

If you don’t have access to The Norton Shakespeare, you might be able to find (either for purchase or from the library) The Oxford Shakespeare (Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor, eds.; ISBN: 0198711905), which is essentially the same edition as the Norton, but without some of the handy introductions and explanatory notes.

If you’re not using one of these editions, you will likely have trouble with King Lear. The editorial challenges that this play presents will become clear(er) next Wednesday.