Approaches to Teaching Shakespeare's King Lear
Editor(s): Robert H. Ray
Pages: x & 166 pp.
Published: 1986
ISBN: 9780873524988 (paperback)
ISBN: 9780873524971 (cloth)
"Any dedicated teacher of the play will find the book's variety both thought-provoking and refreshing and will arise from it with a renewed sense of commitment and excitement about the play. This volume makes a significant contribution to the teaching of King Lear."
Christianity and Literature
"If you teach King Lear, you must have this book and you can use most, if not all, of the varied advice these teachers offer."
Bibliothèque d'humanisme et renaissance
Perhaps Shakespeare's greatest play, King Lear is likely the one most often taught at the undergraduate level, but many instructors agree that it may also be the most daunting to teach. A survey conducted for this collection of essays found several common difficulties teachers face in presenting the play: the inability of students to empathize with an old man, bewilderment caused by the pessimistic vision of the play and its ending, difficulty in conveying the universality of the play, and confusion over complex imagery. Approaches to Teaching Shakespeare's King Lear suggests ways that teachers can meet these challenges and make King Lear engaging and accessible.
The volume, like others in the MLA's Approaches to Teaching World Literature, is divided into two parts. The first part, "Materials," surveys the editions of King Lear most used by instructors, lists recommended readings for students and teachers, and discusses audiovisual materials available for classroom use. In the second part, "Approaches," sixteen teachers share ideas for teaching King Lear in different settings, from freshman survey courses to seminars devoted entirely to the play. The essays present overviews of the play from a variety of critical perspectives as well as describe specific approaches, such as focusing on theme and character, discussing dramatic and philosophical contexts, and analyzing the roles of the written text and of oral and visual performance.
Table of Contents
Approaches to Teaching Shakespeare's King Lear
PART 1: MATERIALS
Robert H. Ray
- Editions
- Introduction
- Complete Editions of Shakespeare
- Single Editions
- Anthologies
Required and Recommended Student Readings
- The Instructor's Library
- Introduction
- Reference Works
- Background Studies
- Source Studies
- Theatrical Studies
- Textual Studies
- Critical and Linguistic Studies
Aids to Teaching
PART 2: APPROACHES
Introduction
General Overviews
An Eclectic Critical Approach: Sources, Language, Imagery, Character, and Themes
Vincent F. Petronella
Teaching a Plural Work Pluralistically
Kenneth S. Rothwell
Specific Approaches
An Approach through Theme: Marriage and the Family
Lynda E. Boose
An Archetypal Approach
Ann E. Imbrie
King Lear in a Literature Survey Course
Ann Paton
Sight and Perception in King Lear: An Approach through Imagery and Theme
Frances Teague
An Approach through Dramatic Structure
James E. Hirsh
"Mapping" King Lear in a Drama Survey Course: A Guide in an Antiformalist Terrain
Maurice Hunt
Shakespearean Tragedy in a Renaissance Context: King Lear and Hooker's Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity
Bruce W. Young
Teaching with a Proper Text
Michael Warren
A Theatrical Approach: King Lear as Performance and Experience
J. L. Styan
A Theatrical Approach: Readers' Theater
John B. Harcourt
An Approach through Visual Stimuli and Student Writing
Jean Klene, CSC
King Lear in a Course on Shakespeare and Film
Hugh M. Richmond
"Is This the Promis'd End?": Teaching the Play's Conclusion
David L. Kranz
Epilogue
A Course Devoted Exclusively to King Lear
J. W. Robinson
Works Cited
Index
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