King Lear
Title
King Lear
Text Read
King Lear
Author
Shakespeare, William. ed. Alexander Chalmers
Original Source
London: Bohn, 1854. The Complete Works of Shakespeare with a Memoir, pp. 224-46
Digitized by
Internet Archive
Publication Date
1854
Date(s) of Reading
- 1854-12-22
- 1854-12-24
Evidence
1854-12-22: "Read aloud Heine's "Gotter im Exil" and some of his poems. G. read aloud Lear." Diary 1854-1861 40
1854-12-24: "Came home and copied Goethe's discourse on Shakespeare. Read, at dinner, his wonderful observations on Spinoza. Particularly struck with the beautiful modesty of the passage in which he says he cannot presume to say that he thoroughly understands Spinoza. After coffee read aloud G's M.S. of the Leipsic and beginning of the Strasburg Period. G. finished Lear - sublimely powerful!" Diary 1854-1861 40
1854-12-24: "Came home and copied Goethe's discourse on Shakespeare. Read, at dinner, his wonderful observations on Spinoza. Particularly struck with the beautiful modesty of the passage in which he says he cannot presume to say that he thoroughly understands Spinoza. After coffee read aloud G's M.S. of the Leipsic and beginning of the Strasburg Period. G. finished Lear - sublimely powerful!" Diary 1854-1861 40
Citation
Shakespeare, William. ed. Alexander Chalmers, King Lear, George Eliot's Reading, George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://www.georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/57573