William Congreve was born in Bardsey; West Yorkshire; England on January 24th 1670. He spent his childhood in Ireland; where his father; a Cavalier; had settled during the reign of Charles II. Congreve was educated at Trinity College in Dublin; there he met Jonathan Swift; who would be his friend for the remainder of his life. Upon graduation; he matriculated in the Middle Temple in London to study law; but felt himself pulled toward literature; drama; and the fashionable life. A great admirer of John Dryden William wrote some of the most popular plays of the Restoration including such classics as The Old Bachelor (1693); The Double Dealer (1694); Love for Love (1695); The Mourning Bride (1697) and The Way of the World (1700 and all by the age of 30. However by 1700 public tastes had turned their back on his high brow comedies and so he was restricted to the occasional poem and some translation (notably Moliegrave;res Monsieur de Pourceaugnac) and also turned from theatre to politics even collecting various minor positions in Tory Government despite being a Whig. William never married though enjoyed a long list of friendships with prominent actresses and noblewomen. By 1710; he suffered both from gout and from cataracts on his eyes. Congreve suffered a carriage accident in late September 1728; from which he never recovered and died in London on January 19th 1729; and is buried in Poets Corner in Westminster Abbey.
#2440916 in eBooks 2014-07-21 2014-07-21File Name: B00M1ZC8BG
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Wonderful PlayBy Autumn McKinney-BrooksLike I say about all Shakespeare: the Arden versions are my favorite. I own about a third of the Canon in them already. The footnotes are my favorite parts about it; and theyre great because I dont have to carry my Lexicon around everywhere.King Lear is a brilliant play; all around. Between the family ties; the love and lust; and just the crazy existential dialogue; its just a great read all-around.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. The covers are also beautiful; but the play on the rightBy Steve GIm a fan of the layout of Folger Shakespeare Library. The covers are also beautiful; but the play on the right; explanation of archaic terms on the left style is very helpful to the reader and makes getting into Shakespeare much easier.King Lear is a great tragedy. It is very enjoyable.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Old English makes this kind of work essential for modern readers of ShakespeareBy Marpa47This interpretation alongside the original makes for much easier reading; while making the original so readily available also gives one the texture of how the original felt. There is so much meaning and so much feeling contained in this play that the interpretation is essential unless one is able to interpret all the old English terms by oneself. So; I will certainly purchase further editions by this authors interpretations for more appreciation of the many plays of Shakespeare.
