William Shakespeare 
New Variorum Edition of Shakespeare 
King Lear

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The attempt is here made to present, on the same page with the text, all the various readings of the different editions of King Lear, from the earliest Quarto to the latest critical edition of the play, together with all the notes and comments thereon which the Edi tor has thought worthy of preservation, not only for the purpose of elucidating the text, but at times as illustrations of the history of Shakespearian criticism.