King Lear

Last Thursday I went to Statford-upon-Avon with a group of students from Oxford. We had tickets to see King Lear, performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Statford-upon-Avon is the birthplace of William Shakespeare, and we drove past his home. I had not previously read King Lear, so I decided to read the synopsis on the bus ride up- I think this greatly aided my comprehension of the play, because I easily get lost in old English and Shakespearian prose. The production was impressive; I knew going into the play that 'King Lear' was a tragedy, but wow, what a tragedy! The entire play revolves around dishonesty. I liked Shad's synopsis of the lesson he learned from 'King Lear': "If anything I guess we learn that those who twist the facts to their own personal gain will die, and those who are victims to those actions... well, they'll probably die too."