Glenda Jackson is extraordinary as Shakespeare's mad monarch in uneven production of 'King Lear'
by Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
Apr 05, 2019
4 minutes
NEW YORK - No crueler speech was ever uttered by a parent than the torrent of abuse that William Shakespeare's King Lear, that great beacon of self-awareness, unleashes on Goneril, the eldest of his three daughters.
"Into her womb convey sterility," he cries, calling on the goddess of nature in a great Shakespearean tragedy that lurches back and forth between belief in a benevolent God and raw terror at the intensity of feral, familial warfare.
"Dry up in her the organs of increase, And from her derogate body never spring a babe to honor her. If she
You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.
Start your free 30 days