British Literature Module 4.4
Study Guide: British Literature (Excellence in Literature, English 4)
Focus Text: King Lear by William Shakespeare
You will need the text (Ignatius Critical Edition recommended), as well as a video of this play.
Printable: http://publicliterature.org/books/king_lear/xaa.php – May not be working properly
Honors Text: Hamlet by William Shakespeare
King Lear Context Resources
Readings
http://www.pathguy.com/kinglear.htm
http://www.bardweb.net/grammar/grammar.html
https://excellence-in-literature.com/tales-from-shakespeare-by-charles-and-mary-lamb-king-lear
http://www.penguin.com/static/pdf/teachersguides/kinglear.pdf
The Author’s Life
http://www.bardweb.net/man.html
http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/timeline/timeline.htm
http://ise.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/life/lifesubj.html
http://www.shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org/discover-shakespeare/
Poetry
https://excellence-in-literature.com/poetry-by-shakespeare-contemporaries
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/william-shakespeare#about
http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poets/shakespeare-william
Audio
http://librivox.org/king-lear-by-william-shakespeare/
Music
http://www.curtisclark.org/emusic/renaissa.html
King Lear Overture by Hector Berlioz:
http://www.hberlioz.com/Scores/skinglear.htm
- May need http://www.sibelius.com/products/scorch/index.html to view the above score.
Video
King Lear (a BBC production with Laurence Olivier as Lear) on the Amazon website
Visual Arts
http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/visit-the-houses/shakespeares-birthplace.html
Painting: King Lear and the Fool in the Storm by William Dyce
Painting: King Lear and Cordelia by Benjamin West
http://www.folger.edu/sites/default/files/picturing-shakespeare-images/003039.jpg
http://www.english.emory.edu/classes/Shakespeare_Illustrated/Brown%27sLear.html
http://absoluteshakespeare.com/pictures/king_lear.htm
http://english.emory.edu/classes/Shakespeare_Illustrated/LearPaintings.html
Historical Context
http://elizabethan.org/compendium/
http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Elizabethan_life.htm
Note: we specifically recommend this version from the 7th edition, not the 8th edition.
Virtual Globe Theatre
The website for the reconstructed Globe Theatre offers a virtual tour, filmed on site:
http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/about-us/virtual-tour
Index of British Literature context link pages
Note: All Amazon links are affiliate links provided for your convenience; full information in footer.
British Literature Texts (recommended editions)
British Lit study guide, and links to focus and honors texts (opens in a new tab at the author’s Everyday Education site)