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Understanding King Lear A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents
Donna Woodford
Book Code: GR1936
ISBN: 0-313-31936-7
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-31936-5
208 pages, photos
Greenwood Press
Publication: 7/30/2004
List Price: $51.95 (UK Sterling Price: £29.95)
Discount Price: $36.37 Greenwood Press Fall 2008 Backlist Sale. Use code 0826. Save 30%. Ends 12/31/2008.
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • Understanding the attitudes and conventions of Shakespeare's time, as well as our own, can provide invaluable background for reading or producing this complex play. Woodford's insights come from documents and literature that illuminate both historical context and current interpretation. From Renaissance treastises on insanity to current information on Alzheimer's disease, these related materials are presented in a clear and concise manner.
    —Curriculum Connections/School Library Journal     Fall 2005
  • [P]rovides a student 'casebook'to issues and historu in Shakespeare's notable play. Woodford's intention is to help students understand the literary and contemporary applications of his classic work: chapters anaylze and draw important connections between King Lear's times and modern concerns.
    —MBR Internet Bookwatch     January 2005
  • By using documents and literature from Shakespear's own time as well as from the present, Woodford illuminates the text of King Lear....By understanding more about attitudes and conventions in Shakespeare's time as well as now, students are better able to interpret the play either as literature or as a stage production. The presentation is clear and orderly. Anyone interested in King Lear could learn much from this book, which is especially good for classroom study and as a source of information for reports. A first purchase.
    —School Library Journal     March 2005
Description: Considered one of Shakespeare's most powerful dramas, King Lear, with its combined elements of political and domestic tragedy, is as interesting to today's readers as it was to Elizabethan audiences. While the play's intricate plot and timely themes can be challenging to students, studying the play in its historical contexts sheds a great deal of light on important dramatic elements and topical references. This casebook was prepared to help students understand the literary and historic issues in King Lear, as well as its contemporary applications. Readers are introduced to the work with a "Dramatic Analysis" focusing on genre, character archetypes, themes, and sources. Excerpts from actual historical and literary sources demonstrate how King Lear incorporates elements of fairy tale, legend, and history as it alludes to the political controversies of Shakespeare's day. The final chapter in the casebook helps readers appreciate the thematic relatedness of King Lear to contemporary issues by focusing on the treatment of the elderly in our own society.
Table of Contents:
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction
  • Dramatic Analysis
  • Historical Context: "That way madness lies": Insanity in Shakespeare's Time
  • Historical Context: Kingship: The Responsibilities and Weaknesses of a Ruler
  • Historical Context: "According to my bond": Family Ties in Shakespeare's Time
  • Adaptations: A Tale Retold
  • Contemporary Application: Treatment of the Elderly
LC Card Number: 2004003576
LCC Class: PR2819
Dewey Class: 822
PDF Catalogs:
Sale Catalog 2008.pdf
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