
King Lear
Shakespeare Appreciated: (Unabridged, Dramatised, Commentary Options)
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Narrated by:
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Joan Walker
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Terrence Hardiman
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Lucy Robinson
About this listen
To help you get the most out of Shakespeare, the narrator offers historical insights and background information, so you can enjoy the jokes, appreciate the references, and get a real sense of Shakespeare's world. The unabridged drama is also presented without commentary.
If school turned you off Shakespeare, find out what you've been missing all these years with this beautifully crafted audio presentation.
From the creators of SmartPass audio education study guides, voted third in a national poll to find the UK's favourite audibook (2008). Winners of 3 Spoken Word Awards for Best Drama (2004), Best Original Audio and Best Publishing Initiative (2005).
©2007 SmartPass Ltd (P)2007 SmartPass LtdListeners also enjoyed...
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King Lear In All Its Nuanced Brilliance!
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Any additional comments?
The commentary does its job, which is to explain in simpler language what might be hard to understand in the original text of the play.I thought the narrator was too overexcited about every single scene. Her lively tone of voice seemed more appropriate for a naturalist talking excitedly at the camera as she comments on gorillas in the wild doing unusual things right next to her. Not enough to irritate me, but I feel some people might either love or hate it.
As for the actors voices in the play, it's not like the Royal Shakespeare Company live, but it's good enough for me.
You can either listen to the actors performing the text (with the perky narrator giving you the stage directions), or listen to the actors followed by explanation/interpretation of the text that was just performed.
I don't know how it compares to similar audiobooks, but I think the this particular audiobook is meant for school or university students who'd like to understand what's going on in the play.
I don't know how it compares to similar audiobooks
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If you could sum up King Lear in three words, what would they be?
I'm reading "King Lear" for the first time and this audio really helped me to enjoy the story and appreciate the play more fully. The cast brings the play to life and the commentary helps make everything clear and easy to understand.Excellent in Every Way!
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Lear made clear
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The guide's relatively frequent interjections and scene analysis was helpful even beyond their informative content, as they made it much easier to follow which characters are active in a given scene. Otherwise, you have to remember fairly subtle voice differentiations - difficult if you are listening to the play in moderate intervals.
I appreciate that the file seems to have both annotated and non-annotated readings.
Very Satisfying to have the extra context
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What made the experience of listening to King Lear the most enjoyable?
A powerful drama made more enjoyable through the "appreciated" method of explaining the lines in play-by-play fashion. I wish more classics were presented this way.Appreciated much Appreciated
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SmartPass makes you smarter
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Love the format, like the piece
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WONDERFUL!!!
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Great way to understand Shakespeare
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