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On Shakespeare and the Drama

Leo Tolstoy

Critical essay of 1906 examining King Lear scene by scene to argue that Shakespeare's fame is undeserved, the product of collective suggestion, and that his plays lack religious meaning. George Orwell answered it in 1947 with Lear, Tolstoy and the Fool.

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English

Translated by V. G. Chertkov e Isabella Fyvie Mayo · 34 chapters · 2 h reading

  1. 1Transcriber's Note1′
  2. 2G. BERNARD SHAW1′
  3. 3I5′
  4. 4II30′
  5. 5III4′
  6. 6IV20′
  7. 7V5′
  8. 8VI9′
  9. 9VII16′
  10. 10VIII8′
  11. 11By Ernest Crosby · 114′
  12. 12By Ernest Crosby · 25′
  13. 13By Ernest Crosby · 37′
  14. 14By Ernest Crosby · 45′
  15. 15By Ernest Crosby · 58′
  16. 16By Ernest Crosby · 63′
  17. 17(Extracts)3′
  18. 18Translated by AYLMER MAUDE1′
  19. 19HIGHLY COMMENDED1′
  20. 20Also Annotated List of Works1′
  21. 21LIST OF THE PLAYS1′
  22. 22INCLUDING ALSO1′
  23. 23Their High Literary and Dramatic Value1′
  24. 24Their Wide Range of Sentiment1′
  25. 25A CLEAR AND HOPEFUL EXPOSITION OF TOLSTOY'S TEACHINGS1′
  26. 26Essays by AYLMER MAUDE1′
  27. 27By LEO TOLSTOY1′
  28. 28What Count Tolstoy Says of the Translators and Translation1′
  29. 29FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY, Publishers NEW YORK and LONDON1′
  30. 30By COUNT LEO TOLSTOY1′
  31. 31OPINION OF THE PRESS1′
  32. 32Translated from the Original Manuscript, with an Introduction by AYLMER MAUDE1′
  33. 33A POWERFUL WORK FULL OF GENIUS AND ORIGINALITY1′
  34. 34Transcriber's Notes1′
On Shakespeare and the Drama by Leo Tolstoy — full text · The Conscious Library