King Lear: Crisis of a Dysfunctional Man

By: Richard Shaw

Narrated by: Lori L. Parker

This book is a study of the decline and fall of a powerful man and his family. The TV series Empire embodies themes similar to those in King Lear, with some extra creative material, which makes it a hip-hop version of King Lear. When you hear King Lear and watch the show Empire, you will be impressed with its Shakespearean connection.

©2015 Richard Shaw (P)2016 Richard Shaw

Don't!

I shall return this, but want to warn others who may be researching Lear as I am and are tempted to try something unreviewed. If you read Bloom, say, or Shapiro on Lear, and then try this, you'll be aghast. The thoughts are dull-witted and shallow, but they do match the writer's style. His writing would bore a fourth grader even though he's obviously aiming for adults. What he presents as insights are perfectly exemplified by the narrator, who pronounces "Goneril" as though the name were a sexually transmitted disease, and turns "Gloucester" into three syllables: glough - chess - ter. Thank god Will named the brothers Edgar and Edmund! I can't imagine how "Aguecheek" would come out. This whole thing - whatever it is - is an embarrassment to Shakespearean study. How someone chose to include it Audible's offerings is beyond me.