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The History of King Lear

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For works with similar titles, see King Lear.
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The History of King Lear
Nahum Tate, adapted from William Shakespeare
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The History of King Lear is an adaptation made by Nahum Tate of Shakespeare's King Lear. It appeared in 1681, some seventy-five years after Shakespeare's version. It provides a happy ending, with Lear regaining his throne at the end, adds a romance between Edgar and Cordelia (who never address each other in Shakespeare's play), and ends with a happy Edgar declaring that "truth and virtue shall at last succeed." Although many critics condemned Tate's adaptation for its cheap sentimentality, it was approved by Samuel Johnson and was popular with theatregoers. From the first appearance of Tate's adaptation, Shakespeare's version was not seen again in full on stage for over a hundred and fifty years, being replaced in whole or in part by Tate's tragicomedy.

184089The History of King LearNahum Tate, adapted from William Shakespeare

THE

HISTORY

OF

KING

LEAR

Acted at the

Duke's Theatre.

Reviv'd with Alterations.

By N. TATE.

LONDON,
Printed for E. Flesher, and are to be sold by R. Bentley, and M. Magnes in Russel-Street near Covent Garden, 1681.

Chapters (not listed in original)

This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse

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