King Lear

An old man decides to retire. By dividing his considerable assets among his three loving and capable children now, while he is still living, he will know that his generosity will be appreciated, his assets safe, and in good hands. What could possibly go wrong? Merely everything. In King Lear, Shakespeare turns a previously told anecdote with a happy ending into one of his—and world literature’s—supreme tragedies. Reading slowly, line by line, we’ll spend fourweeks examining the trajectory of such good intentions gone wrong. To supplement our reading and discussion, we’ll watch online excerpts from major international productions.

Required Readings: Any edition of King Lear, preferably one with a glossary for unfamiliar words. 

George Young has a B.A. in English from Duke and a PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Yale. He has taught Russian and world literature at Grinnell, Dartmouth, UNE, and in retirement, courses at OLLI and MSC. He and his wife live in Brunswick.