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“King Lear”. Background- Shakespeare. Born 1564; died 1616 Author, playwright , actor, and poet Usually credited with writing 37 plays and 154 sonnets
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Background- Shakespeare • Born 1564; died 1616 • Author, playwright, actor, and poet • Usually credited with writing 37 plays and 154 sonnets • Plays are divided into the early plays (e.g., The Taming of the Shrew),the comedies (e.g., Much Ado About Nothing), the histories (e.g., Henry V), the tragedies (e.g., King Lear), the problem plays (e.g., Measure for Measure), and the romance plays (e.g.,The Winter’s Tale)
Where did the story come from? • The story of King Lear originated 400 years before Shakespeare wrote his version. • Lear was a British King who reigned before the birth of Christ allowing Shakespeare to implement some polytheistic elements into the plot. • British mythology refers to a “Lyr” or “Ler” who was the basis of a King Lear story by Geoffrey of Monmouth in 1137 which Shakespeare used as a source as well as Raphael Holinshed’s “Chronicle of England, Scotland and Ireland”.
Shakespeare also “borrowed” plot and subplot ideas from Edmund Spencer’s “The Faerie Queen” and John Higgins’ “A Mirror for Magistrates” among others which he then interwove into the basic King Lear tale to create his own version, ignoring much of the older Monmouth storyline. • Scholars believe the play was written after “Othello” but before “Macbeth” assigning it a creation date of 1604-05.
Shakespeare also “borrowed” from a convenient contemporary true story of a gentleman of the court of Elizabeth I named Sir Brian Annesley whose daughters tried to have him declared insane in late 1603 so they could legally take control of his estate. His youngest daughter, named Cordell, intervened on his behalf.
Shakespeare’s Language • Many students find Shakespeare difficult to read and to understand. • If you understand his language, you can better understand his plays. • This plays are written in two forms: prose and poetry.
Figurative Language • Shakespeare uses figurative language as he speaks with metaphors, similes, and personification. Recognizing when his characters are speaking figuratively helps in understanding the play.
Verse • Most of Shakespeare’s plays are written in verse. A character who speaks in verse is a noble or a member of the Upper Class. Most of his plays focused on these characters. • The verse form he used is BLANK VERSE. There is no rhyme, but each line has an internal rhythm with a regular rhythmic pattern. The pattern he liked most was iambic pentameter – 10 syllable line with accent on every other syllable. It is most regular. He sometimes found it necessary to remove a vowel so that the rhythm would work.
An Opener: What’s Going On Here? • http://www.shmoop.com/king-lear/photo-lear-forrest.html • With a partner, view the pictures and construct a story.
Tragedy • Protagonist dies while defeating antagonist • In revenge tragedy, the protagonist is driven by desire to exact revenge, which leads to his/her demise • The tragic hero is dominated by a fatal flaw in character, which leads to his/her downfall • The tragic hero is held in high standing, making the downfall more tragic for the audience
Parallel Plots 1. Gloucester and his sons / Lear and his daughters 2. Suicide and the world view that demonstrates the belief that the souls of all who take their lives will be damned forever – punished for her wickedness 3. The attraction between some key characters -shows the attraction between like-minded individuals – It involves seeking in others for that which you possess in yourself
What’s the Significance of the Subplot? Lear has three legitimate daughters. Gloucester has one legitimate son and one illegitimate one. Evil is not confined either to gender or to being illegitimate. It can occur anywhere.
Who Do You Think You Are? • In King Lear, appearances, station, and how what others think influences our actions are examined through relationships found in family and service: father and child; nobleman and servant. Even though we believe that what we look like and what we say are reflections of who we are, Shakespeare, in King Lear, shows that appearances and words are ever deceiving and are not clear indications of the soul or the mind. Even though Goneril and Regan are of noble birth, they hardly show noble souls; and although Lear can hardly be considered to have a fair countenance, he does develop a most fair and loving soul.
Elizabethan World View • One of man’s most persistent characteristics is the desire to organize the world about him, so that he can understand and explain it. He sets out to create a world picture that is rational and meaningful to him. • The Elizabethans operated on TWO assumptions: • All activity takes place in a world with good moral order. • The universe is a Christian universe created and controlled by God. Order has its source in God. There is also evil, and its source is Satan, who revolted against the order of God, which subsequently brought about Man’s fall (from grace).
“Tell Them What They Want to Hear” In a world dependent on words for communication, each of us comes to value the spoken and written word. We can all readily identify with a child who “says what his parents want to hear.” So, in “Lear”, you can’t always trust what is said or what is recorded.
Ah, Deception • Elizabethans, three centuries ago, struggled with the same type of questions. In King Lear, Shakespeare offers a world where the natural and unnatural are intertwined, appearances and self-perception are confused, and words—written and spoken—are deceptive.
Morality Play or Classical Tragedy • True to Shakespearean tradition, King Lear borrows its tragic elements from several types of tragedies that were popular during the Elizabethan Renaissance. Even though King Lear is classified as a chronicle play (a type of drama which draws its English historical materials from the sixteenth-century chronicles—such as Holinshed’s), Shakespeare uses elements of tragedy sometimes called Classical tragedy, and the morality play.
Classical Elements To enhance this chronicle with a tragedy of character, Shakespeare incorporates a few classical elements: (1) the use of stock characters—a faithful male servant (Kent); (2) the employment of sensational themes drawn from Greek mythology, involving much use of “blood and lust;” and (3) stichomythia—dialogue that is conducted by two characters speaking in alternate lines (though strict regularity is not maintained). To balance the stock characters, Shakespeare also used characters that were consistently good or evil in their intent, echoing the pattern of a morality play. Edmund, Regan, and Goneril embody avarice, envy, anger, lust, and pride; while Edgar and Cordelia embody faithfulness and unconditional love.
Hamartia • As a tragedy, King Lear portrays a protagonist whose fortunes are conditioned by his hamartia. As defined by Aristotle, the protagonist of a tragedy should be a person “who is not eminently good or just, yet whose fortune is brought about by some error or frailty.” This error is not necessarily a flaw in character; hamartia can be an unwitting misstep in definite action or the failure to perform a definite action. • Lear’s hamartia is the impulsive division of his powers and kingdom before his death—more particularly, disowning Cordelia because she will speak “nothing.”
Themes - Note that the following themes demonstrate Shakespeare’s use of opposition. Many of his plays present the conflict between two extremes. In so doing, Shakespeare seems to urge readers to assess their own capacity to deal with life’s extremes. Perhaps it is in this process that a Shakespearean tragedy can help a reader learn to avoid undue suffering by finding a happy middle ground on which to live.
Appearances vs Reality Much of the play deals with the characters’ failures to understand the intentions of the people around them. The evil characters in particular make use of deceit and lies to achieve their goals. Other characters assume disguises for their own protection. Moral values in the play can be reversed; that which appears to be good may be evil, while that which is evil may actually be good. In Shakespeare’s tragedies characters often learn that appearances are deceiving.
Blindness and Sight (or The Foolish vs the Wise) • This theme is directly linked to the theme of “Appearances vs Reality”. Some characters are described as “blind” to the realities of the world around them due to their ignorance, poor judgement or lack of insight. Such characters are often referred to as fools for their inability to perceive reality correctly, while those with correct insight are described as wise. Great suffering ensues as these “blind” characters peel away layers of deception to discover the truth. Gloucester is literally blinded when he is deceived by false appearances; ironically, it is only when blinded that he learns to truly see.
Order vs Chaos • The Medieval concept of the Great Chain of Being is at work in King Lear. This view of the universe assumes that a strict moral order (having its source in God) binds all of creation together. This order demands love, honour and obedience from all beings to those who are of superior rank in the “Great Chain”. Woman must be obedient to man. Child must honour parent. Subject must be loyal to king. Evil seeks to destroy this order by breaking bonds of loyalty and love; the result is chaos. Evil is therefore considered to be unnatural since it opposes the natural order of the universe. In King Lear notice how chaos is demonstrated through tainted family relationships, political instability, and the mental deterioration of characters.
Loyalty vs Disloyalty This theme is directly linked to the concept of Order vs Chaos”. Shakespeare shows us that many characters are willing to use deceit and treachery for their own personal gain, even when it means being disloyal to someone that should be honoured and respected. These characters are depicted as evil, spreading disloyalty like a disease to bring chaos to an entire country. In contrast, there are characters who remain loyal, thus reminding us that the forces of goodness and virtue are always at work to restore a sense of order in the play. However, Shakespeare warns that there is no honour in blind loyalty to people who are corrupt and evil (Such as Oswald’s loyalty to Goneril).
Fate vs Free Will (or Fatalism vs Opportunism) This theme is common among the Greek tragedies that Shakespeare used as models for his Renaissance tragedies. The play asks readers to consider whether the course of our lives (reward and suffering) is determined by the gods, or whether we determine our own life paths through choice and making the most of our opportunities. Do fate and freedom maintain a delicate coexistence? Perhaps we should never completely depend on fate or surrender our capacity for freedom and choice.
Patience vs Passion (or Reason vs Emotion) Shakespeare warns us that allowing one’s extreme emotions or passions (esp. wrath , sorrow, or despair) to govern our actions without first being patient and being guided by rational thought can lead to pain and suffering. Characters often call upon patience to sustain them in adversity, though many are unable to control their overwhelming emotions. The Classical school of thought known as Stoicism espoused the belief that we can most effectively cope with death and suffering by facing them with calm and dignity and mastering the passions that can overwhelm us.
The Need for Humanity One of Lear’s greatest lessons results when he loses the title of “king” and discovers who he is as a human being. The play teaches us that we must all (especially those in power) have compassion for those who live in misery. In fact, it is this compassion and respect for other human beings that can be an active force for order and goodness in the world. On the other hand, evil dehumanizes. The evil characters in the play are not “humane” and this leads to their moral degeneration and general chaos. They are often portrayed as bestial or animal-like as they seek personal advancement and live by the law of the jungle (“survival of the fittest”). Shakespeare reminds us that our capacity to act morally is what distinguishes humans from beasts.
The Nature of Evil and Justice One of the purposes of tragedy is to explain the problem of evil in our world. What are the consequences of evil deeds? Some characters in King Lear cling to the belief that there is a universal power of justice (nemesis) that will punish evil deeds and restore moral order. The evil characters in the play do receive their just rewards. But Shakespeare does not give us a simple solution, since good characters also suffer. In the end, the play seems to suggest that evil and suffering in life are unavoidable. We must therefore accept their inevitability and be ready to face them with courage (Stoicism).
Motifs • Clothing and Nakedness– A recurring image which may represent the following: -loss of status or identity -Clothing in disarray or nakedness can symbolize insanity -Nakedness can represent the discovery of one’s humanity, liberated from the trappings of civilization. • Bird and Animal Imagery - A recurring use of birds and animals to symbolize human conditions and behaviours. Often the animals to which humans are compared are dark and violent to denote the bestiality within human beings who give way to evil impulses.
Letters- A recurring plot device used by characters to help them carry out evil deeds. Ironically, it is also because of these letters that these evil characters get caught. Symbols • The heath • The hovel • The castle • The coronet • The storm
Foils • A foil is a character who can be compared and contrasted to another character • Used to clarify character traits and issues in the play King Lear and Gloucester- • Old friends • Both are betrayed by their children • Neither has the wisdom to see through duplicious love • Lear’s insanity leads him to clear perception; Gloucester’s loss of his eyes leads him to clear vision • Both die after having been reunited with their faithful children
Goneril and Regan • Equal in evil • Neither sister has love for good beings • Both sisters are attracted to Edmund • Neither sister possesses compassion for love • Exclusive thoughts of themselves • Actively feed on the wickedness of the other
Edgar and Edmund • Brothers; Edgar is legitimate; Edmund is illegitimate • Clear opposition of good and evil, with good prevailing in the end • As Edmund tries to push his father away; Edgar tries to protect his father from a distance
Kent and the fool • Both try to speak the truth to King Lear; he is deaf to both characters • Kent is part of the action until Lear’s death; the Fool exits the play as soon as his usefulness is exhausted • Although they belong to different classes, they both show equal honour and loyalty
