Reviews

King Lear (No Fear Shakespeare) by SparkNotes

jstarshine16's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Murder, Violence, Death, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Torture, Bullying, War, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicide, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, and Injury/Injury detail

nancyduck's review against another edition

challenging dark funny sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

milele23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Gaslighting, Confinement, War, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Blood, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence

feeflebrief's review against another edition

4.0

Some of the best Shakespearean roasts and an excellent story, however some of the "translations" to modern English are a little off from the actual meaning.

mikepalumbo's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

soap123's review against another edition

2.0

Me and plays don’t mix 

kamckim's review against another edition

2.0

Just not a KING LEAR fan, I guess. It lacks exposition, and I just think readers have to jump into it too quickly. Most critics I have read say this one is much better in stage. They are probably right, so I'll put that on my bucket list. I do enjoy reading the NO FEAR SHAKESPEARE texts. They make the plays really easy to understand. It's fairly easy to tell what the important speeches are, so it is easy to look over at the Elizabethan text and consider the beauty of the original poetry of the language as well (for all you purists out there).

allison_on_a_book_break's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

tomebro's review against another edition

5.0

Probably the saddest fiction I've ever read. There is a lot to say about human suffering in this play, as well as the roles between the older and younger.

This is easily in my top three favorite Shakespeare plays now.

rachelevolve's review against another edition

4.0

I can't believe it's taken me this long to read my first Shakespeare play. I enjoyed the story of King Lear so much, more than I ever thought I would. I didn't expect for so many parts to be comical. I was under the impression King Lear was a totally solemn story but it was rather dramatic in a funny way..although there were shocking and tragic bits to it too. I have to admit I opted for the "plain English" version of this edition because it's my first time reading Shakespeare and I felt it's much more important to first understand what the play is about before reading the work in it's original text. I strongly feel I will read the original version once I've had time to process it.