Lear English Handout

7/29/2019 Lear English Handout

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KING LEAR- Introduction1

Written between 1604-05. Many consider it Shakespeares best tragedy Shakespeares highest achievement as for the mastery of poetic drama. It has the power and the depth of the great tragedies. At the same time, it has been a source of disagreement among critics. Some

say it is an intellectual work, not written to be presented on stage, impossible to be staged. It was based, among other sources, on old stories from popular folklore and on the work of the historian Holinshed, about a king

from the 12th century. In the play the fight between Good and Evil is very clear, between two attitudes in relation to life, and between tow concepts of

human being and the relationship between human beings (society). These attitudes are implicit in the speeches and actions of the

characters during the play:Versus

The elizabethan concept of society: an ordered and divinelyconceived organism that reflected the hierarchy and the order ofthe rest of the universe.

In society the bonds and obligations, the combination oflove towards other people and ones duties towards otherpeople were divinely ordered. Such bonds included feelingssuch as love and respect of children towards their parents andvice-versa, of a countrys people towards their king and vice-versa.

The human community is united by such bonds. MAN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR A TRANSCENDENTAL,

SPIRITUAL LAW.

The bonds and obligations are nothing more than a plague ofcustom, or simply rules through which the powerful keep theirpower and the powerless conform to their situation.

The philosophy above was unorthodox or revolutionary, but ithad precedents in the 16th century. Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), in The Prince , discusses the fight for power in society,not as determined by God or a superior sense of morality, butas natural man placed in an arena (society) in which he fightsfor power and supremacy. In such view, nature does notimpose moral laws or guidance for its creatures, and man doesnot have to follow them. He can be completely amoral in thesatisfaction of his appetites and in his desire for power onstage that appeared as the new Machiavellian hero.

NATURAL MAN, IN THE WORST SENSE OF THE WORD:ANIMAL

MAIN CHARACTERS

Lear (King of Britain)Daughters: Goneril, married to the Duke of Albany (Servant Oswald) Regan, married to the Duke of Cornwall Cordelia, marries the King of France in Act 1Lears jester (Fool)

The Count of GloucesterSons: Bastard: Edmund Legitimate: Edgar (disguises himself as

Poor Tom and an anonymous knight)

The Count of Kent(Lears friend,disguises himself as aservant)

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TEXT

Act 1 Scene 1

Act I corresponds to the exposition (the presentation of the characters in such a way as to arouse the publics expectations) (p. 33) The division of the kingdom is related to the kings love ofhis sons-in law (p. 33) Glocester appears irresponsibly discussing the matter of his bastard sons conception (in his presence), undervaluing the

morals of the time and the role of family (for the elizabethans, the most cherished institution)

The theme of the division of the kingdom was considered bad luck at the time. In other plays it came followed by war and disorder,as the State was a divinely ordered institution.

(p. 35) Lear mentions his crawling towards death, reminding us of the character of Everyman from medieval morality plays.Everyman realizes that the things he had valued (riches, power, social position) have no importance at the end of his life.

(p. 36-37) Lears tragic flaw lies in not understanding the true sense of love, which he considers as something that can beexchanged for material things. He is also ego-centered: Which of you shall wesay doth love us most?

(p. 37-41) Compare the different ways the three sisters express themselves (carefully prepared speeches, rhetoric, objectivity) (p. 38) The meaning of nothing (no/ thing): love is not a material thing. The repetition gives dramatic force to the word. (p. 39) Nothing will come of nothing Lucretius, classical position towards materialism and the negation of spiritual love. (p. 39) Cordelia mentions the bond (a childs duty towards parents) - a system of love and duty that keeps the family united. (p. 41) Lear disinherits Cordlia in favour of Goneril and Regan irony, as both will use this episode as an excuse to destroy

their father.

(p. 43) Notice the authoritarian language (feudal lord) adopted by Lear and its contradiction: he wants to give up his power, butwants to keep the symbolic value of his majesty.

(p. 54) Notice the different attitudes of Cordelias two suitors, regarding her new status. (p. 57) The sisters speeches when they plan the fall of their father.

Act 1 Scene 2

1Based on Cliffs Complete Study Edition to King Lear. Edited by Sidney Lamb.


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(p. 59) Soliloquy a very useful convention of elizabethan drama, in which the actor, alone on stage, talks directly to the public,revealing the truth about himself. In this particular situation, it allows the villain to reveal his true intentions. Although his speech isbitter, he is proud of his status. A fascinating character, Edmund causes repulse and fascination at the same time (he ismarginalized from normal society).

Edmund is an individual (he has a personal history), but he also reveals philosophical ideas (related to Machiavellian theories) Nature related to the fact that Edmund was conceived in a natural way, beyond social rules animal kingdom, without

morals, nature governed by physical desires, contradicting the elizabethan moral rules which say that society is a divine organism,orderly created.

(p. 61) The secondary plot comes into action function: mirror to the main plot. Both Lear and Gloucester go against theElizabethan principles regarding family duties. Lear demands love as filial duties. Gloucester treats family as a simple socialconvention the birth of Edmund is a kind of joke for him.

(p. 67) Opposition between the medieval beliefs of Gloucester and the renaissance skepticism (p. 71) Gloucester and Edgar are obtuse characters, but they follow a convention in elizabethan drama

Act 1 Scene 3

(p. 73) Gonerils tactic to provoke her father in his weak points (pride and anger) so that, furious, he will attack. This will justifythe daughters future retaliation.

Act 1 Scene 4

(p. 75) The impenetrable disguise, another elizabethan dramatic convention. Shakespeare, however, used it mostly in comedies.Lear is an exception. Several characters disguise themselves, literal or metaphorically. Kent servant; Egar peasant and

anonymous knight; Fool his costume acts as a shield; Lear insanity ( wild flower outfit). Function of disguise in the play: to survive in a world dominated by evil forces, it is necessary to disguise ones own identity. When

society functions normally, each one has his own identity and does his part. However, when the social order is inverted by evil oranti-social forces, people cannot act honestly, but must wear a mask to survive.

Gloucester will become blind and Lear metaphorically blind flaws in judgment (p. 81) First sign of some humility however further down that is neutralized by Lears anger and violence (a childish, naive

violence, if compared to the violence of the Machiavellian characters)

(p. 82) The Fool appears Shakespeares daring attitude on the same side as Lear, although the Fool criticizes the king andpoints out things Lear fails to see (the hidden side of Lears personality). The Fool shows the audience how Lear managed toinvert the natural order of things due to his flaws in judgment (lines 142, 160, 180) He has a chorus function. Lear ignores theFool.

(p. 89-91) Goneril enters and an open conflict starts. Goneril uses careful, precise language (based on reason). The Fool sees thedaughters intentions.

(p. 93) Lears answers are angry and emotional. (p. 97) Curse.Act 1 Scene 5

(p. 103-105) Dialogue between Lear and the Fool fragmented (resembles the stream of consciousness technique).


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KING LEAR ACTS 2 -5

Act 2 Scene 1

The combination of the sub plot and the main plot. The development of the character of Edmund the audience expects Edmund to follow the function of Machiavellian hero.

Machiavellis writings suggested (although that was not his intention) to Elizabethan playwrights, a particular type of villain whohad no scruples, was always involved in a fight for power, always taking advantage of his accurate and clear thinking skills, asopposed to other characters confusing thoughts (e.g. Iago, Richard III, Macbeth: they all resort to murder to get power).

Fascination - they are conscious of what they are doing. Today we wee this kind of rebel and non-conformist character in a morepositive way. But for the Elizabethan people, Edmund would represent serious danger for social organizations, for the family andfor the State, due to his amoral individualism.

(p. 111-113) Edmund considers everything that happens to him an opportunity for tactical advantage. He improvises brilliantlywith the opportunities the other characters give him.

(p. 115) IronyHe pretends to be the defender of strong bonds that join parents and children. (p. 117) He manipulates his fathers feelings about the situation of his birth: because he is a bastard, his word would not be taken

into account when compared to Edgars. The father, in response, declares him his loyal friend and inheritor of his properties.

Act 2 Scene 2

(p. 123) The offensive tone of this passage was very appealing to a certain section of the public the spectators who were in thecenter of the theatre, standing, and who loved rude words and violent action. Shakespeares value does not lie solely on his abilitywith lyrical poetry or elevated language, but also on his ability to highlight the value of street language and use it brilliantly in his

text. For Shakespeare, poetry was a wide-ranging and flexible concept. He is able to transform Kent s cursing and bad languageinto extremely vivid dramatic poetry.

Putting Kent in the stocks is the opportunity the daughters were waiting for to further provoke Lear. (p. 133) Gloucesters attitude in relation to punishment makes us see a different (positive) side of Gloucester. Hes basically a

good person, in spite of his stupidity or naivety. The scene ends with a certain positive touch, in spite of the sad happenings.There is a mention to Cordelia.

Act 2 Scene 3

(p. 137) Edgars situation disguise. He chooses absolute poverty a direct contrast with the luxury and power of Goneril andRegan. One of the themes of the play is that the good characters will have to suffer and be rejected before they see the light.Edgar will be transformed from a beggar into a king.

The character of PoorTom is based on a kind of mad person very well known by elizabethan audiences. Poor Toms wereinterns of a mental institution called Bethlehem (Bedlam). They usually stuck needles into their skins. They were allowed to leavethe institution to beg. When they came close to someone, they cried: Poor Tom is cold!

Act 2 Scene 4

This is a long scene with one of the climactic moments in the play: a direct and brutal conflict between father and daughter. The Fool has an important role chorus function (p. 139) He uses animal images to describe Kents situation (p. 143), sings a

song about the relationship between parents and children, (p. 143) laughs of Kents naivety when he says he doesnt know whyLear has such a few people with him (143), composes another song predicting the storm and confirms his loyalty to Lear.

Such songs and ironic comments have another dramatic purpose. Contrary to Edmund, Goneril and Regan do not makecomments about their own evil minds (there is no self-knowledge, as in Edmunds case). In a certain way, the Fool does thetalking about their evildoings, revealing to the public their cruelty.

(p. 149-151) Lears tragic suffering is highlighted in the scenes in which he recognizes that his daughter loves him, repeating hername, while she answers in a cold and euphemistic way, and soon after that she assumes a more direct discourse about herdisregard for her fathers advanced age.

(p. 153) Lear persists in his tragic flaw, when he reminds his daughter that she should feel grateful for the property she inherited(Lears moral blindness).

(p. 157) In his speech to Goneril, Lear realizes his true bond with his daughter despite being evil, shes my flesh, my blood, mydaughter.

(p. 159 - 161) The argument about the number of followers in Lears group, suggests the decrease of the symbolic importance ofthe king. He keeps his discourse of competition for paternal loveThy fifty yet doth double five-and-twenty, / and thou art twiceher love. The argument proceeds as a kind of duet, gradually increasing the pressure over the old king.

(161) This argument culminates in an important speech from Lear about need. In this passage, behind the arguments about thenumber of followers that Lear will be allowed to keep, is the amount of love that the daughters have for their father (represented bythe size of the group). The theme is therefore, linked to that of act 1.

Although Lear, logically thinking, does not really need 100 followers, what is being discussed here is the symbolic decrease of theimage of the king, relegated to an animal position by the daughters, while they bask in luxury and riches, even though those areunnecessary. (p. 161-163) . This speech ends in meaningless threats, showing the extent of Lears suffering.

Lears farewell verses point to his impending madness, as well as the thunder predicts the storm.


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Cornwalls final comment divide physically both groups, who are already symbolically divided. Lear, the Fool and Kent are thrown,without any kind of protection into the storm. Goneril, Regan, Edmund and Cornwall stay inside the castle, protected by theirpower.

Act 3 - Scene 11. Function of act 3: to show the tragic heros reversal in luck (periptea). How is the reversal physically and symbolically

represented in this passage? Shakespeare shows the storm and the physical and mental state of Lear firstly through thegentlemans speech and Kents reaction. Why does he do that? What is the symbolic function of the storm?

Act 3 Scene 22. (p.173)Lears lines show that Shakespeare had great mastery over the techniques of dramatic poetry to compensate for the

lack of technical resources of the elizbethan theatre. Give examples of: a) Stormy language; b) Words (related to naturalphenomena) being thrown into each other ; c) Grotesque personification of the elements (half people, half monsters); d)anger, histerics, madness; e) the beginning of a change in Lear, from arrogance to humility (he looks outside himself for thefirst time and changes from powerfulness to subjugation)

3. Compare Edmunds (Act 1, scene 2) and Lears (Act 3 scene 2) to Nature. What basic differences can you notice?Act 3 - scene 3

4. Purpose of this scene: to contrast the loyalty of Gloster to the betrayal of Edmund. Develop this theme.Act 3 - scene 4

5. Both plots come together in this scene. Meeting of three mad-fool characters the dialogues, although insane, showdramatic depth and intuitive perception. Develop this theme.

6. Lear shows more sympathy towards the Other. Poor Tom is the human being living under inhuman conditions (animals,nature) outside civilization (p. 195). Compare Toms present life to his supposed previous life in court, in which animal

images are also used (p. 191).Act 3 - scene 5

7. This scene brings a little relief to the tension produced by the previous scene. Edmunds loyalty is not directed at his superiors(e.g. his father), but at himself. Develop this theme.

Act 3 - scene 68. Fake court sceneobsession with the theme justice. How does the dream of justice become, for Lear a grotesque parody?

Act 3 scene 79. Secondary plot crisis - Shakespeare defies the classical Greek practices when he shows violent scenes on stage, maybe to

show how far human evil can go. Gloucesters blindness: a symbol. References to the action of seeing all along the play (=truth), as in act 1 scene 1 (p. 45). Regan and Cornwalls are very brutal when they expel Gloucester. (p. 221). Explore thistheme.

Act 4 - scene 110. Gloucester, like Lear, realizes the universality of human suffering. Poor Tom takes the role of enlightening spirit during

Lears and Gloucesters purgatory. Explore this theme.Act 4 - scene 2

11. Evil bond (inverted) between Edmund and Goneril. Albany realizes how evil his wife really is (chorus function). Animalimages. Break of the bonds = chaos for elizabethan society. Natures self destructive qualities, when nature is not controlledby law and morality. Explore this theme.

Act 4 scenes 3 and 412. Scenes that better illustrate Cordelias personality as a model of goodness, forgiveness and charity. Examine the images

used to describe this character.Act 4 scene 5

13.Another inverted bond between Regan and Edmund. The audience already knows to what point the sisters evil can get, andis expecting to see them in action. This scene prepares the public for the mutual destruction of Goneril and Regan. Explorethis theme.

Act 4 scene 614. 1st part of the scene: The cliff verbally created by Edgar produces a sense of depth and a reaction from Gloucester.

Elizabethans believed in shock therapy as a way of curing d iseases. A devilish monster (evil hallucinations) would havemade Gloucester think of committing suicide. Develop this theme.

15. 2nd part of the scene: Lear appears wearing wild flowers. Shakespeare again assigns coherent meaning to something that, atfirst sight, sounds like madness (p. 263) A kind of summary of Lears life so far (p. 264). In a society without bonds, justicefails and nobody is found guilty or punished (animal imagery). Develop this theme.

16. 3rd part of the scene: Edgar protects his father against Oswald, disguised as a peasant (through his accent). Oswald iswearing luxurious costumes and has fine court manners, but he represents evil. Edgar represents the people. The revelation

of the content of the letter = rivalry between the sisters. Develop this theme.Act 4 scene 7

17. Reconciliation scene. The symbolic functions of sleep and music, as opposed to sleeplessness and the storm in the previousscenes. The awakening of Lear = Gloucesters recovery after his suicide. Metaphorical resurrection after death. A newhumility for Lear. Develop this theme.


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Act 5 scene 118. Contrast between the sisters seductive intentions and Edmunds coldness. The latter worries only about tactic advantage and

does not show loyalty, affection or even sexual desire. A contrast between the lack of union in this group (union followed bylack of union) and the union between Lear and Cordelia from the last scene (lack of union followed by union). Develop thistheme.

Act 5 scenes 2 and 319. Union and conclusion for both plots. First part of the scene: despite the defeat of Cordelias army, Lear feels a kind of

happiness. A positive vision of jailing, as compared the sufferings he has gone through. Develop this theme.20. Second part of the scene: dialogue between Albania and Edmund (who is pretending to be a good soldier). Regan, ironically,

expresses her love for Edmund as the effect of the poison Goneril gave her starts to take effect. The appearance of Edgar,preceded by trumpets (dramatic effect) = the re-establishment of order (bonds). A new disguise for Edgar (+ mention to hisprevious disguises), implying that law and order need a disguise to operate. When evil commanded, Edgar took the lowestpossible form of human life, but now he can reappear in all his nobleness. A change in attitude for Edmund an artifice usedby Shakespeare to keep the dramatic tension in the final scene (pathos the realization of love by Edmund). Develop thesethemes.

21. Third part of the scene: To some critics the death of Cordelia and Lear would suggest extreme pessimism on the part ofShakespeare as a response to human suffering (Edmund changes, but not in time to save Cordelia; Edgar and Kent do notreveal their true identities in the most conflicting moments to Gloucester and Lear). Other critics see Lears and Gloucesterslearning as a positive thing, their suffering would be ennobling, reflecting the heroism and dignity of human kind. Develop thistheme. What is your view of the play?

Documents

Lear English Handout