This CD-ROM offers an archive of textual and performance material relating to Shakespeare's King Lear. Over time the text of King Lear has changed drastically. The Quarto of 1608 and the Folio of 1623 are contained here in modern spelling and as facsimiles, along with five other texts, 500 illustrations of performances, critical essays and a wealth of annotation and reference material. All are fully searchable, using DynaText software, and are linked to a central "finder" text that guides users through the performance and textual history of each act and scene.
Arguably the greatest English-language playwright, William Shakespeare was a seventeenth-century writer and dramatist, and is known as the Bard of Avon. Under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth I, he penned more than 30 plays, 154 sonnets, and numerous narrative poems and short verses. Equally accomplished in histories, tragedies, comedy, and romance, Shakespeare s most famous works include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, The Taming of the Shrew, and As You Like It.
Like many of his contemporaries, including Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare began his career on the stage, eventually rising to become part-owner of Lord Chamberlain s Men, a popular dramatic company of his day, and of the storied Globe Theatre in London.
Extremely popular in his lifetime, Shakespeare s works continue to resonate more than three hundred years after his death. His plays are performed more often than any other playwright s, have been translated into every major language in the world, and are studied widely by scholars and students.