King Lear (Quarto 2, 1619)

Introduction
2. Textual Introduction
Texts of this edition
1. King Lear (Folio, 1623)
3. Modern
5. Extended modern
7. Old-spelling transcription
8. King Lear (Quarto 1, 1608)
10. Modern
12. Extended modern
14. Old-spelling transcription
15. King Lear (Quarto 2, 1619)
17. Old-spelling transcription
Contextual materials
1. Sources for the Lear story
3. Holinshed on King Lear
5. The History of King Leir
7. Albion's England (Selection)
9. Hardyng's Chronicle (Selection)
11. Kings of Britain
13. Chronicles of England
15. Faerie Queene
17. The Mirror for Magistrates
18. Sources for the Gloucester plot
20. The Arcadia
22. A Declaration of Egregious Popish Impostures
23. Literary, political, and social contexts
25. Aristotle on tragedy
27. The Book of Job (Selections)
29. The Monk's Tale (Selections)
31. The Defense of Poetry
33. The First Blast of the Trumpet
35. Basilicon Doron
37. On Bastards
39. On Aging
40. King Lear's afterlife
42. King Lear (Adapted by Nahum Tate)
Facsimiles

The History of King Lear.
 19571714Kent. This way my Lord.
 19581715Lear. With him I will keepe still, with my Philosopher.
 19601716Kent. Good my Lord sooth him, let him take the fellow.
 19621717Glost. Take him you on.
 19631718Kent. Sirra come on, go along with vs.
 19641719Lear. Come good Athenian.
 19651720Glost. No words, no words, hush.
 19661721Edg. Childe Rowland, to the darke towne come,
 19671722His word was still fye, fo, and fum,
 19681723I smell the bloud of a British man.
 
 19701724Enter Cornwall and Bastard.
 19711725Corn. I will haue my reuenge ere I depart the house.
 19721726Bast. How my Lord I may be censured, that nature thus giues
 19731727way to loyalty, some-thing feares me to thinke of.
 19751728Corn. I now preceiue it was not altogether your brothers euil
 19761729disposition made him seeke his death, but a prouoking merit, set
 19771730a worke by a reproueable badnesse in himselfe.
 19791731Bast. How malicious is my fortune, that I must repent to bee
 19801732iust? this is the Letter he spoke off, which approues him an in-
 19811733telligent partie to the aduantages of France, O heauens, that his
 19821734treason were, or not I the detecter.
 19841735Corn. Go with me to the Dutches.
 19851736Bast. If the matter of this paper be certaine, you haue mighty
 19861737businesse in hand.
 19871738Corn. True or false, it hath made thee Earle of Glocester, seeke
 19881739out where thy father is, that he may be ready for our apprehen-
 19891740sion.
 19901741Bast. If I finde him comforting the King, it will stuffe his sus-
 19911742pition more fully, I will perseuere in my course of loyalty, thogh
 19921743the conflict be sore betweene that and my bloud.
 19941744Corn. I will lay trust vpon thee, and thou shalt finde a dearer
 19951745father in my loue. Exit.
 
 19971746Enter Glocester, Lear, Kent, Foole, and Tom.
 19981747Glost. Here is better then the open ayre, take it thankfully, I
 19991748will peece out the comfort with what addition I can, I will not
be

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King Lear (Quarto 2, 1619)