The True Chronicle of King Leir is first entered into the Stationers's register in 1594, although there is no record of its publication until the 1605 edition appears. Much of the events that occur to Gloucester are derived from this source.

The Gloucester plot may have been taken from Sir Philip Sidney's 1590 poem, Arcadia, in which an old prince is blinded by his illegitimate son, but is ultimately saved by his legitimate son.

The Lear story is also retold in Edmund Spenser's 1590 epic poem, The Faerie Queene, where Cordelia commits suicide by hanging. The John Higgens 1574 edition of Mirror for Magistrates introduces the name of Albany and includes a story of Cordelia, in which she commits suicide - something that does not occur in the older play. Cordelia succeeds her father to the throne, upon his death but she is later imprisoned and commits suicide. Years later, Lear's story is repeated in Raphael Holinshed's 1577 book, Chronicles of England, which includes an ending in which Cordelia and Lear both survive her sisters' treachery. This text includes insights into the kings of the ancient, pre-Christian Britain. Lear's story appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, published about 1135.

However, accounts of King Lear surface in several texts so, Shakespeare may have turned to other sources as well in exploring this ancient story. This similarity of name and plot might have sparked some interest in resurrecting a familiar plot. In an act that generated extensive publicity, two daughters attempted to have their father declared insane so that they might seize his estate. A legal case of the times also may be due credit for contributing to the drama. The story of King Lear and his daughters was a familiar tale in Elizabethan England, where it was generally believed to be based on historical fact, having been taken from ancient British history. Because of this uncertainty and the textual references, the composition of King Lear may have taken place anywhere from 1604 to 1606. The exact date of composition is not known, so scholars often try to base the point in time on references in the play itself. Because many differences exist between the Quarto and Folio editions, some recent anthologies of Shakespeare's works contain play text from both editions, and may also include a conflated edition derived from a combination of both the First Quarto and Folio versions.Īlthough the text was not printed until 1608, the play was performed in December 1606. The First Quarto contains 300 lines not found in the Folio, and the Folio contains 100 lines not found in the First Quarto. Another Quarto version was printed in 1619, and King Lear appeared again in a 1623 Folio edition. This initial printing is now referred to as the First Quarto. Parent-Child Relationships : The Neglect of Natural Law.

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