A great play full of treachery and wonderful sequences,

«No, no, no, no! Come, let's away to prison:
We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage:
When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down,
And ask of thee forgiveness: so we'll live,
And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh
At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues
Talk of court news; and we'll talk with them too,
Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out;
And take upon's the mystery of things,
As if we were God's spies: and we'll wear out,
In a wall'd prison, packs and sects of great ones,
That ebb and flow by the moon.»

Oh wow, Is this Raquel struggling with another Shakespeare’s work for almost a month? Agaaaain?



You all know how this review is going now: sure, I liked it, but I would never tried (and finished it) if it hadn’t been a mandatory reading ‘cause it’s FREAKING BORING (except maybe for Act 3? I enjoyed that part, tho). As usual, this was challenging and I’ll probably watch a film version –recommendations are welcomed!– to get a broader view of this play.

There’s one thing I know now for sure: I prefer Shakespeare’s comedies.

This was my third time reading this for class, and I have to admit that I grow more fond of this play after each reading.

My new least favourite Shakespeare play. A lot of the sympathy for Lear seems to come from a belief he was guiltless but I didn’t see that at all. Anyone who disinherits his daughter after such a stupid test isn’t a good father. Lear seems to think that just because he is their father and gave them his kingdom his daughters owe him everything and that proves his toxicity. Hated him from page one.

cordelia is the fucking fool end of story.

In my opinion, this is probably Shakespeare's best tragedy. Nothing seems fantastical or out of place, everyone's motives ring true, and by the end, we're all hoping for Lear and his daughters to survive, for there to be some reconciliation, but in true Shakespearean fashion, it's too late.

So well done. Highly recommended.