King Lear By William Shakespeare King Lear is focused around Lear, the aging King of Britain, and his three daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. When Lear wants to step down from the throne, he decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters and asks each daughter how much she loves him. Goneril and Regan, greedy for their share, give him flattering answers, while Cordelia remains silent, which enrages Lear and forces him to disown her. The play tells of Lear s fate once he has given up his kingdom and destroyed his relationship with his daughters. We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.

本作は四大悲劇の中でも、最も峻厳で崇高な魂の震えを描いた傑作です。老王リアの狂気は、虚飾に目を眩まされた人間が剥き出しの「真実」と対峙するまでの痛切な巡礼に他なりません。嵐の中で全てを剥ぎ取られ、泥にまみれる王の姿は、読む者の心の奥底にある脆弱さと尊厳を激しく揺さぶります。 「無からは何も生じぬ」という冷徹な理が、この物語を貫く深淵なテーマです。沈黙にこそ宿る真実の愛、そして理性を失い初めて世界の核心を視るリアの逆説。この極限の悲劇を通じて、私たちは人間という存在の孤独と、その果てに灯る救済の光を、シェイクスピアが紡ぐ血を吐くような言葉と共に体験するのです。