King Lear

　　《李爾王》是莎士比亞四大悲劇中最成熟的作品，講述年老的李爾把國土分給三個女兒，但恩賜之前先要女兒聲言多麼愛他。大女兒二女兒都講出一番動聽言 詞，小女兒則不願花言巧語，結果應得的國土被兩個姊姊分去，在毫無嫁妝的情況下嫁給賞識她的法國皇帝。李爾遜位之後受到大女兒二女兒虐待，最後在暴風雨中 發瘋。小女兒聽到父王受虐，領兵入侵欲救李爾，最後兵敗遭擒。結局時小女兒遇害，李爾亦傷心而死。這齣悲劇另有一劇情主線，陳述葛勞斯特伯爵聽信庶子讒 言，欲殺嫡子，但最後弄得雙眼被挖，孤苦伶仃之下，反受嫡子護持。這兩條劇情、兩家人物相互激蕩之下，更使此劇哲理深遠，幅度廣闊；莎翁詞藻之美角色之 精，更不在話下。

　　本書中譯本<<李爾王>>由木馬文化出版

　　The acclaimed Pelican Shakespeare series, now in a dazzling new series design in time for the 400th anniversary of the Bard s death The legendary Pelican Shakespeare series features authoritative and meticulously researched texts paired with scholarship by renowned Shakespeareans. Each book includes an essay on the theatrical world of Shakespeare s time, an introduction to the individual play, and a detailed note on the text used. Updated by general editors Stephen Orgel and A. R. Braunmuller, these easy-to-read editions incorporate over thirty years of Shakespeare scholarship undertaken since the original series, edited by Alfred Harbage, appeared between 1956 and 1967. With stunning new covers, definitive texts, and illuminating essays, the Pelican Shakespeare will remain a valued resource for students, teachers, and theater professionals for many years to come.

　　This edition of "King Lear" presents a conflated text, combining the 1608 Quarto and 1623 Folio Texts, edited with an introduction by series editor Stephen Orgel.

　　For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust theseries to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-datetranslations by award-winning translators."

威廉‧莎士比亞 William Shakespeare （1564－1616）

　　威廉．莎士比 亞出生於英 國，被公認是英國文學史和戲劇史上最傑出的詩人和劇作家。父親在他十三歲時因經商失敗而破產，他因此無法上大學。他十八歲時娶了大他八歲的Anne Hathaway，育有三名小孩。莎士比亞在1590年成為劇作家，起初只是模仿別的作家寫故事，藉此磨練寫作技巧，後來他越漸歡迎，最後成為成功的演員 與劇作家。

　　莎士比亞擅於刻畫人物心理，運用生動的戲劇語言扣動讀者心弦，他的故事結構嚴謹、情節豐富多元，更富含人生哲理。他一生 共 寫了37部作品，可分成四個時期：歷史劇、喜劇、悲劇和浪漫喜悲劇。其中四大悲劇：《哈姆雷特》、《奧賽羅》、《李爾王》和《馬克白》寫於悲劇時期。這些 戲劇故事在世界各地不斷地改編、上演，數百年來雋永不朽，為他贏得最偉大的劇作家的聲譽。

　　William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English dramatist, poet, and actor, generally regarded as the greatest playwright of all time.