Mr. Clapp last night delivered the fifth of his lectures on Shakspere, his topic being "King Lear." He said in part:

Mr. White, a well-known Shaksperean critic, describes "King Lear" as of all Shakspere's plays the largest in conception, the noblest in design, and the highest in art. Although almost universally associated with the three other great tragedies of Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth, it differs from all three in its essential purpose. Hamlet is a play of inaction and indecision; Othello is the story of the down fall of a great soul through jealousy, Macbeth that of a man overcome by ambition. The distinction of "King Lear" lies in the fact that it displays the tragic power of retribution over characters whose faults are commonly regarded as superficial. The stern fate of the king is the result of vanity, which, by being fostered, became the prevailing power in his life. Indeed, the play may be termed a tragedy of retribution, not of death.

In arranging his characters Shakspere placed one set of virtues against a corresponding set of vices. Lear's two older daughters, Goneril and Regan, are contrasted to their younger sister Cordelia, and in the same way the character of Edgar, the Duke's lawful son, is contrasted with that of Edmund the bastard.