'This great stage of fools': Martha Graham's dance 'Notes for a Study of Lear'.

The article focuses on Martha Graham’s *Notebooks* (1973), a collection of her notes from the late 1940s to the 1960s, with particular attention to fifteen pages dedicated to Shakespeare’s *King Lear* in preparation for her choreography *The Eye of Anguish*. These notes reveal Graham’s deep engagement with the play’s themes, especially the complex figure of the Fool and the meta-theatrical concept of the “stage of fools,” which she linked to her own artistic identity and creative process. The study examines the textual layout and dating of the notes, Graham’s interpretation of the Lear-Fool relationship, and her choreographic intentions, highlighting her integration of literary, mythological, and cultural references into dance. Although *The Eye of Anguish* was not a major success and Graham did not perform in it, the notes provide valuable insight into her method of adapting literary works into dance and her exploration of inner psychological landscapes through choreography.