ABSTRACT
This chapter compares and contrasts the revised text of King Lear, edited and published by Nahum Tate, to Shakespeare’s original drama in order to allow students an opportunity to consider the relative values of their diction, syntax, thematic unity, dramatic flourishes, realism, and pacing. Perhaps the most telling fact concerning Nahum Tate’s The History of King Lear is that it was the only version of King Lear performed for 150 years, literally replacing Shakespeare’s drama on the stage. The conversational portion of this activity can certainly be expanded into a graded Socratic seminar discussion or even a classroom debate. The alternate endings should likewise be shared among students and aloud with the class, then used as springboards into a discussion of why they are perhaps better, less effective, sillier, less realistic, and so on.
