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.
 21891966Who's here, my father poorely led, world, world, ô world!
 21911967But that thy strange mutations make vs hate thee,
 21921968Life would not yeeld to age.
 
 21881969Enter Gloster led by an olde man.
 21931970Old man. O my good Lord, I haue bene your tenant, & your
 21941971fathers tenant this fourescore ------- 
 21951972Glost. Away, get thee away, good friend be gone,
 21961973Thy comforts can do me no good at all,
 21971974Thee they may hurt.
 21981975Old man. Alacke sir, you cannot see your way.
 21991976Glost. I haue no way, and therefore want no eies,
 22001977I stumbled when I saw, full oft tis seene
 22011978Our meanes secure vs, and our meere defects
 22021979Prooue our commodities; ah deare sonne Edgar,
 22031980The food of thy abused fathers wrath,
 22041981Might I but liue to see thee in my tuch,
 22051982Ide say I had eyes againe.
 22061983Old man. How now, who's there?
 22071984Edg. O Gods, who ist can say I am at the worst,
 22081985I am worse then ere I was.
 22091986Old man. Tis poore mad Tom.
 22101987Edg. And worse I may be yet, the worst is not,
 22111988As long as we can say, this is the worst.
 22121989Old man. Fellow where goest?
 22131990Glost. Is it a begger man?
 22141991Old man. Mad man, and begger too.
 22151992Glost. He has some reason, else he could not beg,
 22161993In the last nights storme I such a fellow saw,
 22171994Which made me think a man a worme, my sonne
 22181995Came then into my minde, and yet my minde
 22191996Was then scarse friends with him, I haue heard more since,
 22211997As flyes are to'th wanton boyes, are we to'th Gods,
 22221998They bit vs for their sport.
 22231999Edg. How should this be? bad is the trade that must play the
 22242000foole to sorrow, angring it selfe and others; blesse thee master.
 22262001Glost. Is that the naked fellow?
Old
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King Lear (Quarto 2, 1619)