A Midsummer Night's Dream vs King Lear: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Stage history, Textual Criticism, Poetry, Drama, Fiction
A Midsummer Night's Dream
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One night two young couples run into an enchanted forest in an attempt to escape their problems. But these four humans do not realize that the forest is filled with fairies and hobgoblins who love making mischief. When…
King Lear
“King Lear is widely regarded as Shakespeare's most intense, profound and powerful tragedy.”
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King Lear divides his kingdom among the two daughters who flatter him and banishes the third one who loves him. His eldest daughters both then reject him at their homes, so Lear goes mad and wanders through a storm. His…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- A Midsummer Night's Dream has the widest readership — 592087 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | King Lear | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (592087) | 3.9 (243115) |
| Hardcover | 3.8 (658) | 3.9 (340) |
| Google Books | — | 1.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (21) | 4.5 (47) |
| LiveLib | 4.7 (3) | — |
Reception
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | King Lear | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 592087 | 243115 |
| Editions | 1505 | 1614 |
| Citations | — | 10 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 231081 | 119559 |
| Reading it now | 12546 | — |
| Written reviews | 16790 | 9312 |
| Wikipedia attention | 60997 | 42705 |
| Pages | 87 | 183 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: A Midsummer Night's Dream or King Lear?
A Midsummer Night's Dream has the higher combined reader rating across sources (A Midsummer Night's Dream 3.9/5, King Lear 3.9/5).
Which is shorter to read: A Midsummer Night's Dream or King Lear?
A Midsummer Night's Dream is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: A Midsummer Night's Dream (87 pages, ≈ 1 h 37 m); King Lear (183 pages, ≈ 3 h 23 m).
Which is harder to read: A Midsummer Night's Dream or King Lear?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — A Midsummer Night's Dream: Demanding; King Lear: Demanding.
Have both books been made into films?
A Midsummer Night's Dream: 5 film adaptations; King Lear: 5 film adaptations.