The Jewish King Lear : a comedy in America / Jacob Gordin ; translated by Ruth Gay ; with notes and essays by Ruth Gay and Sophie Glazer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gordin, Jacob, 1853-1909.

Contributor:

Gay, Ruth.

Glazer, Sophie

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Library (University of Pennsylvania)

Standardized Title:

Yudisher Ḳenig Lir. English

Language:

English

Yiddish

Subjects (All):

Jews--Drama.

Jews.

Genre:

Drama.

Physical Description:

xv, 171 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, [2007]

Summary:

The "Jewish King Lear," written by the Russian-Jewish writer Jacob Gordin, was first performed on the New York stage in 1892, during the height of a massive emigration of Jews from eastern Europe to America. This book presents the original play to the English-speaking reader for the first time in its history, along with substantive essays on the play' s literary and social context, Gordin' s life and influence on Yiddish theater, and the anomalous position of Yiddish culture vis-à -vis the treasures of the Western literary tradition. Gordin' s play was not a literal translation of Shakespeare' s play, but a modern evocation in which a Jewish merchant, rather than a king, plans to divide his fortune among his three daughters. Created to resonate with an audience of Jews making their way in America, Gordin' s "King Lear" reflects his confidence in rational secularism and ends on a note of joyful celebration.

Contents:

The Jewish King Lear

Dramatis Personae

Act I 3

Act II 21

Act III 35

Act IV 49

Essays

Why Do We Smile? 63

Inventing a Yiddish Theater in America 73

Jacob Gordin's Life 107

Reading The Jewish King Lear / Sophie Glazer 139.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [169]-171).

Translated from the Yiddish.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

9780300108750

0300108753

OCLC:

76183378