All You Need To Know About King Lear!

1. All You Need To Know About King Lear!

2. New Criticism (or Formalist Criticism) • In the past it was believed that a composer created a text and put all of the meaning into it • All the reader had to do was to “figure out” what the writer meant • This meant that the meaning of a text was always fixed and never changed

3. Themes Of King Lear • Some ideas that Shakespeare may have wanted to explore are: • A) Vision & Blindness • References to eyes & seeing are a recurring motif in the play. Some examples are: • “Dearer than eyesight…”

4. Themes Of King Lear (cont’d) • “See better Lear…” • “Old fond eyes…I’ll pluck you out…” • *Gloucester having his eyes plucked out • “Get thee glass eyes…to see the things thou dost not” • “I have no want of eyes, I stumbled when I saw” • Your Task- Find some more quotes related to blindness, vision, the eyes etc

5. Themes Of King Lear (cont’d) • B) Truth, Deception & Disguise • No-one in the play is what they seem to be: • Goneril & Regan seem loving but are not • Cordelia seems unloving but is not • Edmund seems loyal but is not • Edgar seems treacherous but is not • Kent returns in disguise • Edgar returns in disguise

6. Themes Of King Lear (cont’d) • There are constant references to truth in the play, such as: • “So young my Lord and true” • “I can keep honest counsel…” • “That such a slave should wear a sword who wears no honesty…” • “He must speak truth…” • “On whose foolish honesty my practices ride…” • Your Task- Find some more quotes that relate to truth, honesty or deception

7. Themes Of King Lear (cont’d) • C) Madness & Reason • There is a constant interplay between reason & insanity in the play. Notice how The Fool often speaks most wisely. Some quotes that relate to this theme are: • -”Be Kent unmannerly when Lear is mad…” • -”I would not be mad…” • “Thou should not have been old before thou east wise…” • “Reason in madness…” • Your Task-Find some more quotes and examples related to madness & reason.

8. Themes Of King Lear (cont’d) • D) Gods Or A Godless Universe (Order vs Chaos) • King Lear is a bleak play and seems to question, at times, whether we live in a chaotic, Godless universe: • -”Thy swearest thy gods in vain…” • -”As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods. They kill us for their sport” • “The stars above us govern our condition” • “Upon such sacrifices the gods themselves throw incence” • Your Task- Find some more quotes related to the Gods

9. Shakespeare’s Techniques & Devices • We now understand some of the ideas that Shakespeare explored in his text-but we must also understand how he communicated those ideas. Some dramatic techniques used by Shakespeare included: • -Dramatic Irony-e.g. we know that Goneril, Regan & Edmund are sinister, but their fathers do not • -Natural Sympathy-as chaos reigns in the human world it is reflected in the natural world through the eclipse, the storm etc

10. Shakespeare’s Techniques & Devices (cont’d) • -Motifs-recurring ideas such as eyes • -Symbolism-those motifs symbolise aspects of the human condition (e.g. the eye motif symbolises Lear’s blindness) • -Imagery-e.g. Goneril & Regan are often described using animal imagery-”How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child”, She’ll flay thy wolfish visage”, Sharp toothed unkindness, like a vulture”, “Tigers not daughter etc” • -Soliloquy-used to reveal a character’s inner thoughts • -Juxtaposition-e.g. of the Lear & Gloucester stories • Your Task- List each of the Dramatic Devices above and find one new example of each from the text

11. Reader Response Criticism • In recent times, though, it has been accepted that the responder also makes meaning in a text • Each responder will read a text differently and meaning will change. • These ideas came (in part) from the work of Roland Barthes who declared that “The Death Of The Author” because, he said, meaning came from the connections of language and culture made by the Responder.

12. Critical Perspectives-What Factors Affect The Way A Person Reads A Text? • Different people will read a text differently because: • They live in different times (Context) • They live in different places (Culture) • They have different attitudes, values and beliefs • They are male or female (Gender, Patriarchy, Feminism) • They come from different classes in society (Marxism)

13. Critical Perspectives-Flaubert’s Parrot (Julian Barnes) • “The past is a receding coastline and we are on a boat. Along the side of the boat is a line of telescopes. Each telescope seems to show the whole, the unchanging truth. But this is an illusion, each telescope shows only a part of the whole”

14. Some Readings Of King Lear • King Lear can be read in different ways: • A) Formalist Criticism-All the meaning of the text is found within the text. The text is only about the ideas that Shakespeare was interested in. • B) Biographical Criticism-It is a text which reflects Shakespeare’s own life & fears (e.g. about old age, dying etc) • C) Historical Criticism-It is a text which reflects the values & attitudes of the culture in which it was composed (e.g. The Feudal System, The Divine Right Of Kings etc)

15. Some Readings Of King Lear • D) Gender Criticism-It is a text about Patriarchy and what happens when men surrender power to women • E)Mythological Criticism-It is a text which appropriates iconic, mythical stories (e.g. Cinderella, the myth of Paris, the myth of Psyche etc) • F)Christian Criticism-It is a text about sin and redemption

16. Some Readings Of King Lear • G) Feminist Criticism-It is a text about a strong female hero (Cordelia) who challenges the patriarchal inequality of her society • H) Freudean Criticism-It is a text that explores psychological issues related to incest & parental abuse • I) Marxist Criticism-It is a text that explores what happens when the wealthy and powerful lose their status

17. Some Readings Of King Lear • J) Existentialist Reading-Existentialism is the idea that, although there is no controlling force in the universe (i.e. no God), individuals have the power to make their own destiny. • K) Reader Response Criticism-It is a text in which we have to find our own meaning based on our own context & experiences.

18. Some Interpretations Of King Lear • Over time different people have read Lear in different ways: • -A retelling of a contemporary Court Case in which Brian Annesley was unjustly treated by two of his daughters but defended by his third, Cordell • -A retelling of the Phillip Sydney’s The Tale Of The Blind King Of Paphlagonia

19. Some Interpretations Of The Play • -Freud saw the play as exploring the connection between love & death in a mythological context. In Freud’s reading Cordelia is the Goddess Of Death and the three sisters represent the Three Fates of Greek Mythology (responsible for life & death). The play then, becomes a story about a man rejecting and then accepting death. At the end of the play then, although Lear carries Cordelia, Cordelia bears him away into death.

20. Key Scenes-Act 1 Scene 1 • In Act 1 Scene 1 Lear abdicates the throne. He intends to divide the kingdom among his 3 daughters but, when Cordelia refuses to speak of her love for him, he gives his kingdom to Goneril & Regan.

21. Key Scenes-Act 1 Scene 1 • Act 1 Scene 1-A Patriarchal Reading. • Although Goneril & Regan seem to be strong characters they are still dependent upon the King for their power, status & wealth. From a Patriarchal perspective the play explores how women are dependent upon or marginalised and excluded by men. When Lear gives power to women, the natural order is disturbed and the world descends into chaos (symbolised by the storm, the eclipse etc)

22. Key Scenes-Act 1 Scene 1 • Act 1 Scene 1-A Feminist Reading • Feminism explores the role of women in texts. By refusing to publicly express her love for Lear Cordelia may be seen as a hero who challenges the gender inequalities of her time

23. Key Scenes-Act 1 Scene 1 • Act 1 Scene 1-A Marxist Reading. • Marxism explores the social roles of people in texts. By surrendering the throne Lear is thrown into a life of poverty. This also happens to Cordelia, Kent & Edgar. A Marxist Reading, then, might argue that the text is an exploration of the different lives led by the rich and the poor.

24. Key Scenes-Act 1 Scene 1 • Act 1 Scene 1-A Freudean Reading. • A Freudean Reading seeks to understand the psychology of the characters. The play has undertones of incest. A Freudean Reading, then, might argue that Lear descends into madness because he is unable to cope with Cordelia’s rejection of him.

25. Key Scenes-Act 1 Scene 1 • Act 1 Scene 1-An Intertextual Appropriation. The story of a Father who favours 2 daughters over a third is a recurring one in literature. Thus, it could be argued that King Lear is an appropriation of stories such as Cinderella, Paris, Psyche etc.

26. The Storm Scene • At the end of Act 2 King Lear is rejected by Goneril & Regan and, in a rage, runs out into a storm. • He finds a hovel in which to take shelter • How are we to interpret this?

27. The Storm Scene-Literary Symbolism • Shakespeare may have used the storm to symbolise Lear’s inner anger and confusion. • The disorder in the natural world would then represent the disorder in the human world.

28. The Storm Scene-Divine Right Of Kings • In Shakespeare’s time there was a belief in The Divine Right Of Kings-that monarchs were chosen by God • Thus, when Lear gives up the throne to his daughters he upsets the natural order (symbolized by the eclipse, the storm etc)

29. The Storm Scene-A Patriarchal Interpretation • In Shakespeare’s time women were excluded from power. • Patriarchy (rule by men) was predominant. • Thus, by surrendering power to women Lear upsets what was seen as “the natural order” throwing the world into chaos and confusion

30. The Storm Scene-A Marxist Reading • When Lear gives the throne to Goneril & Regan he falls from a position of status & power to one of poverty • Some claim the play is an exploration of what happens when people (Lear, Cordelia, Kent, Edgar etc) lose their power & status • This comes to a climax in the Storm scene when Lear takes shelter in a hovel

31. The Final Scene-What Ideas Did Shakespeare Want To Communicate? • 1) The Importance of returning the world to its “natural” order • * Read notes on The Chain of Being, The Divine Right of Kings, The Wheel of fortune • * Note the following quotes: • “The wheel is come full circle” • “I am the natural fool of fortune” • “A poor man made tame to fortune’s blows” • “I am bound upon the wheel of fire”

32. The Final Scene-What Ideas Did Shakespeare Want To Communicate? • 2)The Restoration of Patriarchal Power • *Lear says of Cordelia “Her voice was ever soft, gentle and low-an excellent thing in woman”

33. The Final Scene-What Ideas Did Shakespeare Want To Communicate? 3) Christian Redemption & Resurrection • * Note that the storm ends when Lear goes to pray • * Both Gloucester & Lear are “resurrected”, they both believe that they have died and are then “reborn” • *Both Gloucester & Lear are reconciled with their child

34. The Final Scene-What Ideas Did Shakespeare Want To Communicate? 3) Christian Redemption & Resurrection • *Gloucester & Lear both recognise their sin and seek forgiveness • *Even Edmond finds his inner goodness “Some good I mean to do” • *Note the change in the attitude to God. In the first 3 scenes God is often cursed and condemned. In the last 2 scenes the characters embrace God e.g. “The gods are just”

35. King Lear Themes

36. Nothingness • Cordelia has nothing to say to her father when he requests she praise him with her love. • King Lear has nothing to give Cordelia because she has no words for him. • Kent has no job because he disagreed with King Lear. • Burgundy has no wife because Cordelia comes with no dowry.

37. Nothingness • Edmund has no title and will do anything to get one • Goneril, Regan, & Edmund have no morals • Gloucester has no eyes • Edgar has nobody he can trust • It is unnatural that King Lear would give up his land and authority before he died. • Gloucester committed an unnatural act by committing adultery under the stars.

38. Blindness • When many characters can literally see, they are figuratively blind BUT when they are literally blind, they can, for the first time, figuratively see • King Lear is figuratively blind to the fact that Goneril and Regan are lying to him about how much they love him • King Lear is figuratively blind to the fact that Cordelia truly loves him • King Lear is figuratively blind to the fact that Kent only has his best interest at heart. • Gloucester is figuratively blind to the fact that Edmund is dishonest and the fact that Edgar is always faithful

39. Blindness • Albany is figuratively blind to the fact that Goneril is an evil woman because of his great devotion to her. • Gloucester is literally blinded because Cornwall, Regan, and Goneril consider him a traitor for helping King Lear after they threw Lear out into the tempest.

40. Ingratitude of Others • Goneril & Reagan are ungrateful for all their father has given them • King Lear is ungrateful for being taken care of by his daughters • Burgundy is ungrateful for the gift of Cordelia which he was offered • Edmund is ungrateful for the fact that his father loves him and accepts him as a legitimate son

41. Appearances vs Reality • At the beginning of the play, the Lears and other characters are presented as normal and caring. But as Shakespeare rubs away the pretty veneers of the characters, we find greed, betrayal, lust for power, and cruelty. In other words, they are anything but normal and caring.  

42. Loyality • King Lear is disloyal to Cordelia, yet she is loyal to King Lear • King Lear is disloyal to Kent, yet he is loyal to King Lear • Goneril & Regan are disloyal to King Lear and he treats them poorly too. • Goneril is disloyal to Albany, yet he is loyal to her until he discovers her attempt on his life. • Gloucester is disloyal to Edgar, yet Edgar remains loyal to Gloucester • Edmund is disloyal to Gloucester, yet Gloucester is loyal to Gloucester • Edmund is disloyal to both Goneril and Regan.

43. Justice • Greed and lust result in the character’s downfall • Duke of Cornwall has Kent placed in the stocks and Gloucester’s eyes plucked out so towards the end of the play, he is killed. • Lear banishes Cordelia and Kent then so Lear driven out into the storm by his own wicked daughters • Q: How is justice served for Cordelia?

44. Hospitality • Being a good host is essential during the Elizabethan era…do you remember Capulet? • Goneril and Regan are not gracious hosts • King Lear is not a good guest • Cornwall and Regan are not good guests whilst in Gloucester’s home.

45. Madness and Insanity • The inclusion of madness and insanity in the play is Shakespeare’s comment on Elizabethan society and the clear lack of morality during this era. • It is especially significant that those characters who go mad are of great nobility. Thus, a comment on the ignorance of the monarchy and the lack of concern the monarchy has for lower class society. • Also, note that characters such as Mad Tom and the Fool are representative of the unrecognized wisdom of the lower class.

46. Nature • The storms act as pathetic fallacy. When the tempest is in full force, it is a reflection of the inner turmoil/torment that King Lear is forced to suffer. • The nature of the stars, under which Edmund is conceived, dictates that illegitimate children will be as evil as the Elizabethans believed astrology and witchcraft to be.

47. Guilt • Both King Lear and Gloucester live rich lives, with no understanding of the suffering those living in poverty experience on a daily basis. It is only after all has been taken from these two men that they finally feel guilty for ignoring the plight of the poor and forgotten. • Once King Lear and Gloucester recognize the error of their ways, they feel such great grief and guilt for what they have done to their honorable children, that their betwix’d emotions were the ultimate cause of each of their deaths.

48. Age & Wisdom • Advanced age and wisdom do not go hand-in-hand. • Lear is probably about 80, but he is often childish in his judgments until suffering reforms him. Shakespeare's depiction of Lear may have been, in part, an attempt to discredit or satirize the tendency of people in Elizabethan England automatically to revere elders and authority figures. 

49. The truth • Telling the truth can deeply wound the listener as well as the speaker. • Cordelia wins our admiration because she is forthright and sincere. However, her honesty offends her father, and he disowns her. • The Earl of Kent, a loyal subject of Lear, suffers banishment for speaking up for Cordelia.

50. 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)