Table Of ContentKING LEAR
Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®,
GMAT®, and AP® English Test Preparation
William Shakespeare
PSAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit Scholarship
Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT is a registered trademark of the College
Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE, AP and Advanced Placement are registered
trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT is a
registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book
nor endorses this book, LSAT is a registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither
sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights reserved.
King Lear
Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®,
GMAT®, and AP® English Test Preparation
William Shakespeare
PSAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT® is a registered
trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE®, AP® and
Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither
sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management
Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a
registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses
this product. All rights reserved.
ICON CLASSICS
Published by ICON Group International, Inc.
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San Diego, CA 92121 USA
www.icongrouponline.com
King Lear: Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®, GMAT®, and AP® English
Test Preparation
This edition published by ICON Classics in 2005
Printed in the United States of America.
Copyright ©2005 by ICON Group International, Inc.
Edited by Philip M. Parker, Ph.D. (INSEAD); Copyright ©2005, all rights reserved.
All rights reserved. This book is protected by copyright. No part of it may be reproduced, stored in a
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PSAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the
National Merit Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book;
SAT® is a registered trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses
this book; GRE®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the
Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT® is a
registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither
affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law
School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights
reserved.
ISBN 0-497-25348-8
iii
Contents
PREFACE FROM THE EDITOR..........................................................................................1
PERSONS REPRESENTED................................................................................................3
ACT I................................................................................................................................5
ACT II.............................................................................................................................47
ACT III............................................................................................................................79
ACT IV..........................................................................................................................109
ACT V...........................................................................................................................145
GLOSSARY...................................................................................................................171
William Shakespeare 1
PREFACE FROM THE EDITOR
Designed for school districts, educators, and students seeking to maximize performance on
standardized tests, Webster’s paperbacks take advantage of the fact that classics are frequently
assigned readings in English courses. By using a running thesaurus at the bottom of each page, this
edition of King Lear by William Shakespeare was edited for students who are actively building
their vocabularies in anticipation of taking PSAT®, SAT®, AP® (Advanced Placement®), GRE®,
LSAT®, GMAT® or similar examinations.1
Webster’s edition of this classic is organized to expose the reader to a maximum number of
synonyms and antonyms for difficult and often ambiguous English words that are encountered in
other works of literature, conversation, or academic examinations. Extremely rare or idiosyncratic
words and expressions are given lower priority in the notes compared to words which are “difficult,
and often encountered” in examinations. Rather than supply a single synonym, many are provided
for a variety of meanings, allowing readers to better grasp the ambiguity of the English language,
and avoid using the notes as a pure crutch. Having the reader decipher a word’s meaning within
context serves to improve vocabulary retention and understanding. Each page covers words not
already highlighted on previous pages. If a difficult word is not noted on a page, chances are that it
has been highlighted on a previous page. A more complete thesaurus is supplied at the end of the
book; Synonyms and antonyms are extracted from Webster’s Online Dictionary.
Definitions of remaining terms as well as translations can be found at www.websters-online-
dictionary.org. Please send suggestions to [email protected]
The Editor
Webster’s Online Dictionary
www.websters-online-dictionary.org
1 P S A T ® i s a r e g i s t e r e d t r a d e m a r k o f t h e College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT® is a registered
trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE®, AP® and
Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither
sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management
Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a
registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses
this product. All rights reserved.
William Shakespeare 3
PERSONS REPRESENTED
LEAR, King of Britain.%
KING OF FRANCE.
DUKE OF BURGUNDY.
DUKE OF CORNWALL.
DUKE OF ALBANY.
EARL OF KENT.
EARL OF GLOSTER.
EDGAR, Son to Gloster.
EDMUND, Bastard Son to Gloster.
CURAN, a Courtier.
OLD MAN, Tenant to Gloster.
PHYSICIAN.
FOOL.
OSWALD, steward to Goneril.
AN OFFICER employed by Edmund.
GENTLEMAN, attendant on Cordelia.
A HERALD.
SERVANTS to Cornwall.
GONERIL, daughter to LEAR.
REGAN, daughter to LEAR.
CORDELIA, daughter to LEAR.
KNIGHTS attending on the King, OFFICERS, MESSENGERS, SOLDIERS, and
ATTENDANTS.
Thesaurus
attendant: (n) companion, follower, inattention. idiot, ass, booby, buffoon; (v) deceive,
assistant, escort, subordinate, duke: (n) lord, prince, hand, bamboozle; (n, v) joke, gull.
employee, guide, varlet; (adj) nobleman, fist, chief; (v) pass, box, ANTONYM: (n) savant.
accompanying, concomitant, deliver. oswald: (n) lee Harvey Oswald.
incidental. ANTONYMS: (n) earl: (n) baron, jarl, peer, thane, physician: (n) doctor, medico, doc,
superior, boss; (adj) absent, unrelated, viscount, banneret, chief, lord. medic, quack, surgeon, leech,
significant. employed: (adj) engaged, working, houseman, MD, allergist, intern.
attending: (v) attend; (n) presence, occupied, hired, used, made use of, servants: (n) staff, suite.
nursing, care, appearing, observation; rapt, affianced, earnest, betrothed. steward: (n) flight attendant, waiter,
(adj) concomitant, attendant, ANTONYMS: (adj) unemployed, keeper, warden, attendant, curator,
ministrant, in attendance, ancillary. unoccupied, idle. caretaker, administrator, janitor,
ANTONYMS: (n) nonattendance, fool: (n) blockhead, dunce, clown, chamberlain, stewardess.
William Shakespeare 5
ACT I
SCENE I. A ROOM OF STATE IN KING LEAR'S PALACE.%
[Enter KENT, Gloster, and Edmund.]
KENT.
I thought the King had more affected the Duke of Albany than Cornwall.
GLOSTER.
It did always seem so to us; but now, in the division of the kingdom, it
appears not which of the Dukes he values most, for equalities are so weighed
that curiosity in neither can make choice of either's moiety.
KENT.
Is not this your son, my lord?
GLOSTER.
His breeding, sir, hath been at my charge: I have so often blush'd to
acknowledge him that now I am braz'd to't.
KENT.
I cannot conceive you.
GLOSTER.
Sir, this young fellow's mother could: whereupon she grew round-wombed,
Thesaurus
acknowledge: (v) recognize, confess, ANTONYMS: (n) unsophistication, ANTONYMS: (n) emotionlessness,
accept, profess, own, admit, concede, vulgarity. indifference, disinterest.
appreciate, notice, declare, approve. conceive: (v) think, imagine, grew: (v) become, develop; (adj)
ANTONYMS: (v) ignore, overlook, comprehend, design, apprehend, grown.
reject, repudiate, snub, refuse, realize, discover, cogitate, appreciate, moiety: (n) mediety, portion, part,
renounce, abjure, disavow, disregard, invent, catch. ANTONYMS: (v) parcel, section, piece, bit, division,
refute. destroy, doubt, misunderstand, cut, class.
appears: (n) appearing. question, ruin. weighed: (adj) determined, deliberate,
breeding: (n) education, upbringing, curiosity: (n) curiousness, rarity, tared.
nurture, manners, reproduction, interest, curio, oddity, prying, whereupon: (adv) thereupon,
generation, propagation, culture, nosiness, peculiarity, novelty, hereupon, upon which, at what, at
fostering, cultivation, multiplication. marvel; (adj, n) prodigy. which.
Description:There are many editions of King Lear. This educational edition was created for self-improvement or in preparation for advanced examinations. The bottom of each page is annotated with a mini-thesaurus of uncommon words highlighted in the text, including synonyms and antonyms. Designed for school dist
