Is Lear A Weak Play?

We tend to take Shakespeare at face value, probably just because the Bard’s work is so familiar. But a close look at, say, King Lear offers plenty of reminders that this is not an easy play to like at first reading. “Some were frustrated by its inconsistencies and contradictions… The biggest complaints, though, are stirred by the almost sadistic cruelty that pervades the text: It’s not an easy play to stomach.”