King Lear disliked its dark and depressing tone, but since the 19th century Shakespeare's original version has been regarded as one of his supreme achievements. The tragedy is particularly noted for its probing observations on the nature of human suffering and kinship. George Bernard Shaw wrote, "No man will ever write a better tragedy than Lear." King Lear of Britain, elderly and wanting to retire from the duties of the monarchy, decides to divide his realm among his three daughters, and declares he will offer the largest share to the one who loves him most. The eldest, Goneril, speaks first, declaring her
The Cambridge Shakespeare first quarto of "Henry V", quarto "King Lear", the "Richard III", the quarto of "Othello", the first quarto of "Romeo and Juliet", and "The Taming of a Shrew", an alternate version of "The Taming of the Shrew". The general editors of the series are Philip Brockbank (1984-1990) and Brian Gibbons (1990-present), with individual editors, or pairs of, assigned to cover separate plays and poetry. The Cambridge Shakespeare The Cambridge Shakespeare is a long-running series of critical editions of William Shakespeare's works published by Cambridge University Press. The name encompasses three distinct series: "The Cambridge Shakespeare" (1863–1866), "The New Shakespeare" (1921–1969),