In the early 17th Century, there were no copyright laws or strict rules of copyediting.  Errors and differences appear in many of Shakespeare’s texts from version to version, but King Lear is certainly the most extreme example.  Even its title is quite different depending on the version.  The First Quarto, published in 1608, and the First Folio, published in 1623, each have about 100 lines of text that do not appear in the other version.  The question is: which version is closer to Shakespeare’s intended work?  How can these two different versions be reconciled into one piece that embodies the nature and genius of King Lear?  Critics have discussed and debated these questions for years.  Numerous conflated texts of the play have been printed.

          So how different are the Quarto and Folio texts?  Looking at just Lear’s first speech in I.i.45-50, there is a large chunk of text that only appears in the Folio.  The Quarto lacks these lines, and so the audience does not see Lear’s choice to address the men well before their wives, his own daughters.  This section certainly supports the importance of one of the main issues of the play: why is it that three women are required to rule a land that only one man could control?  Here, Lear speaks first and foremost to the husbands of his daughters - not to his daughters themselves.  It is not until Line 58, a full 8 lines later, that Lear addresses one of his daughters by name.  Their identities are not their own, but they belong to their husbands.  Lear’s “daughters’ several dowers” are used to prevent “future strife,” and it is implied that Cornwall and Albany would wage war if they did not receive the dowry money (I.i.49).  This information is not included in the Quarto.  The point that the daughters have prices is not emphasized as much without this information.  Lear does not speak for several minutes before addressing his daughters.  The difference makes sense since the Quarto’s title includes mention of the daughters, while the Folio’s title does not.  Lear may belittle their importance, but in both versions their actions speak for themselves.  These women will not be silenced, and in the end are more powerful than their husbands.