Read this when
King Lear
Some parents want 'I love you' performed. Some kids can only say it honestly. King Lear is what happens in between. 👑
Who it's for
Lear gives adult children and aging parents a shared, if harrowing, map: the father terrified of losing status and mind, the flattering children who exploit him, and the honest one who is banished for refusing to perform.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Shakespeare's tragedy opens with the aging King Lear deciding to divide his kingdom among his three daughters according to how much they say they love him. Goneril and Regan flatter him, while Cordelia refuses to take part in the love test and is disowned. As the two elder daughters mistreat him, Lear descends into madness and is driven out into a storm on the heath.
Where to find it
Public domain in the US; free on Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks and the Folger Shakespeare website. In print (Folger, Arden) and in libraries (Libby/Hoopla); many filmed productions and full-cast.
Before you start
Heads up: A suicide and an on-stage blinding.
Age: Ages 16+
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “Ulysses”
