In Shakespeare's King Lear, the titular ruler undergoes multiple trials in his desire to pass the kingdom on to his three daughters and their promises. After the disavowal and exile of his youngest daughter Cordelia, Lear's eldest daughters, Goneril and Regan, soon begin attempting to overthrow their father and usurp his power. In the midst of this unfolding plot, Lear's debilitating mental illness causes his mind to descend further into madness. In the second half of the play, a brief scene of reconciliation between Lear and Cordelia seems to bring the king to a more lucid state. However, Cordelia is sent to her death by hanging soon after and Lear is unable to save her. Thus, during the play's dramatic conclusion, Lear dies not as a mad king but as a heartbroken father, screaming with Cordelia's body in his arms. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Through the four selected historical copies of King Lear: the Fourth (1608), the First Folio (1623), the Fourth Folio (1685), and the Works Pope version (1725): the passage after the entry of Lear with Cordelia's corpse in 5.3 undergoes several small adjustments. Although the content of Lear's short proclamation remains essentially the same, there are notable variations in spelling, arrangement, and punctuation. The title of the work also changes in the different versions, starting with “Historie” (1608), then moving on to “Tragedies” (1623) and “Tragedy” (1685), settling on “The Life and Death of King Lear ” (1725). The work is therefore no longer tied to a single constricting genre, creating a greater feeling of realism. In turn, the events, characters, and various motifs of King Lear feel more authentic, thus increasing the growing sense of ambiguity in each scene and allowing for greater freedom of interpretation on the part of readers and audiences. The first cited version, Quarto I, published “The Story of King Lear” in 1608. The above-mentioned scene takes place in the upper third of the page, quickly following the Duke's previous line. Lear then enters with Cordelia in his arms and 4 consecutive animalistic "howls" (1608). This fourfold repetition, if it completes the meter of the verse, equally lengthens its duration, just as two sentences of a monosyllabic word are read differently from an iamb. However, the meter is broken by an extra syllable in Lear's next line about how "[he]" (1608) would use the tongue and eyes of others. Other than that, the main punctuation marks present in this passage are commas. Full stops are used only twice: when Lear finishes his speech and Kent subsequently wonders whether this is “the Promist end” (1608). In the other three versions, Kent's line is isolated and is posed as a question. In the Fourth, however, he follows Lear's last line as a statement, thus limiting the emotional depth of this moment in the play. The First Folio publication of 1623 titled this work "The Tragedy of King Lear" and arranged the text in adjacent and divided columns. Lear's entrance with Cordelia's body occurs near the end of the page, after a break after the Albany line and dividing the passage over two pages. This further draws attention to this tragic moment, working almost as a brief cliffhanger. There are also two typos in this sheet: the page number printed as 38 instead of 308, and the incorrect line "O ye are men of stones" (1623). These errors are reminiscent of the manual labor involved in printing text with the possibility of human error. In this version of the work Lear “howle[s]” (1623) instead 3 times, and what was “would like” in the Fourth is contractedin “Il'd” (1623). This reverses the problem of the Quarto: the previous line now has one fewer syllable, while the next line adheres to iambic pentameter, similar to the Quarto Folio. Capitalization Variations Punctuation also comes into play, colons in particular, 3 to be exact, moving away from the monotonous tone and presentation of the Quarto. Consequently, the First Folio retains some elements present in the Quarto, particularly in the metrical arrangement of lines, while establishing new and distinctive stylistic qualities. In the Fourth Folio, published in 1685, the “Tragedy of King Lear” returns to the two-columnar format, recalling the First Folio. Lear's entrance once again occurs in the right-hand column, now positioned at the top of the page. This adds a sense of transition to the scene and differentiates it from events prior to this moment. Lear “howl[s]” (1685) 3 times, and the slightly altered contraction of “I'ld” (1685) is used, mirroring the same metrical discrepancy found in the First Folio. Likewise, there are again 3 colons in the text, like the First Folio. However, more words are emphasized with capital letters, creating almost a pair of opposites with "Tongues" and "Eyes", "Vault of Heaven" and "Earth", perhaps even "Lend" and "Mirror", regardless of whether something borrowed can still represent an accurate reflection of oneself, therefore also matching the paired columns of the page format. The dynamic arrangement of the passage in this version sheds light on both Lear's tumultuous emotions and the significant comparisons raised in his words. Finally, the Works Pope version provides an entirely new take on the tale of King Lear, as its title features neither “History” nor “Tragedy.” Published in 1725, the first page of the text states "The Life and Death of King Lear", abbreviated simply to "King Lear" in the page titles. The selected passage exists as an entirely new scene, Scene that "stones" as printed in earlier versions, parallel to his later phrase "If that breath of his tarnishes or stains the stone" (1725). The contraction of “I'd” also appears, which standardizes and regulates the meter in the first two lines of Lear. With the addition of the combination of dashes, semicolons, and exclamations, the extra syllable in the line “That vault of heaven should break; she's gone forever!” – a characteristic maintained in all four versions – becomes even more evident and powerful, especially when considering Lear's despondent state of mind. Additionally, the first word of the next page appears in the lower right corner of this publication. In this case, Kent's name is printed as he speaks next. This perhaps indicates how, while Lear has lost his most pious and devoted daughter, he still has the Earl of Kent, his most faithful servant, by his side. Unfortunately, Lear fails to realize this. As a result, although Lear realizes how much he appreciated Cordelia's honest loyalty, he is essentially more blind than ever to the other staunchly devoted people in his life. This is therefore his greatest folly. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion, in the four historical copies of Shakespeare's King Lear, Lear's reactions to Cordelia's death remain mostly the same in terms of content. Aside from small differences in spelling, repetition and punctuation, he still enters carrying Cordelia alone in his arms, following Albany's line and preceding Kent's, pronouncing,.