King Lear, a tragedy in which Shakespeare exhibits most fully his literary complexities, is surprisingly the least popular of the famous four. In spite of this, it is indefinitely the most talked about. For many this is Shakespeare's most profound tragedy, one of the greatest plays ever written in any language at any time. It throws up questions, which remain as perplexing now as they were to Shakespeare's earlier critics. And although thoroughly studied, the original story line has remained unchanged for centuries, even though many attempts have been made to alter it. In the twentieth century a range of conflicting views on King Lear emerged, a major development in Shakespearean criticism came with the publication of A.C Bradley's Shakespearean tragedy in1905. He focused on character and motivation and worked new angles previous critics never imagined and this set him apart from the rest. For Bradley a...