Synopsis
Melvyn Bragg is joined by Jonathan Bate, Catherine Belsey and Katherine Duncan-Jones to examine Shakespeare's tragedy, King Lear; how its themes of rule and misrule, of old age and family break-up would have spoken powerfully at the end of Elizabeth I's long and once glorious reign.
Further Information
Similar plays, poems and sonnets
Prefaces to Shakespeare | King Lear
The actor Tony Church, who played the role of Lear for the Royal Shakespeare Company In 1974-5, gives his personal view of the play and its qualities.
Book of the Week | 5: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear
King James's quest for the union of England and Scotland is not easily resolved.