King Lear can be read in a variety of ways

King Lear, like all texts, has been interpreted in a number of ways. The way an audience reads the play is shaped by the time, place and culture in which they live. This is illustrated through the two very different readings of the play: the Elizabethan perspective and Richard Eyre’s perspective. While the Elizabethan perspective, revealed through Shakespeare’s use of several literary techniques, interprets the play primarily as a social tragedy. Richard Eyre’s perspective revealed through the production techniques of the 1998 film version interprets the play primarily as a domestic break down. Thus, these two readings of the play, taken from two different points in history reveal how social and political context can shape very different interpretations of the one text.


When King Lear was originally written, most audiences would have interpreted it through an Elizabethan perspective. The Elizabethan perspective was a result of the social, political and cultural values of the...