A happy ending for King Lear? Trauma of plague caused Shakespeare to change play?s finale
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Summary
One expert now believes it coloured his later playsThe ravages of the plague are the true source of the dark sorrow driving Shakespeare’s later work, a leading authority on the playwright has claimed – and were even behind his decision to change the traditional ending of the King Lear story for his own play.According to the artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Greg Doran, the national trauma behind this masterpiece has always been hiding in plain sight.After researching in Stratford-upon-Avon during lockdown, Doran is now convinced he has been guilty of ignoring the crucial impact of widespread bereavement on some of the greatest plays.“There is a big change in tone in his later work. But Doran thinks the plague is responsible for much more.“There’s been a lot of conjecture about the unhappy ending to the King Lear Shakespeare gives us, as it seems so modern.
As said here by Vanessa Thorpe