kami
An iron homily
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KING LEAR- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS(under construction)
As this is the most popular text in this module, I decided to write this. This FAQ is designed to help HSC students studying King Lear for Module B: Critical Study of Texts for Advanced English. While I hope it proves to be helpful to anyone studying King Lear, these are my opinions and the opinions of those whom I have quoted and so I take no responsibility for the accuracy or validity of the statements below. Also I have not gone overboard with the quotes, since you actually should be reading and picking those out for yourself. Goodluck with your English!
WHAT ARE THE MODULE REQUISITES?
This module requires you to analyse your prescribed text in some depth, and look at how different times and how society’s perceive and value text differently through the influence of their times. Though I think WithoutWings really says it better so I have quoted it here:
CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON KING LEAR?
King Lear has often been thought of as one of the greatest tragedies Shakespeare ever composed. The date he wrote it is undetermined, but is generally accepted to be near 1600. At this time, there are two “original” versions composed by Shakespeare-the Quarto & the Folio. The Quarto has a slightly more meandering structure to it, while the Folio seems to be more edited, with certain passages eliminated or shortened.
Shakespeare’s play was written in a period when social order was beginning to change, where previously accepted ideologies were being challenged. Even so the play, criticising as it did certain social aspects, was somewhat risqué to perform in a time when royal approval was of the utmost importance. It should be noted that the play with its political allusions, gore and reference to disorder, were tailor made for Elizabethan/Jacobean audiences who would have understood the nature of the court and be somewhat desensitised to the violence.
Because King Lear does not re-affirm man’s dignity as many felt a real tragedy should, it was often criticised, especially in the Restoration period. This lead to a rewrite by a man known as Nahum Tate, who made the play less “ghastly” by editing out the Fool, and inventing a romance between Edgar and Cordelia which led to a happy ending.
It was a considerable amount of time before the play was restored to anything close to its original state. Until at least 1823, no producer dared to stray back to the original version due to the reception it was given by audiences.
SO WHAT VERSION SHOULD I USE?
You should use the new cambridge version along with several productions to supplement your understanding:
CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS?:
As Joe_m_2000 has already posted an excellent summary elsewhere, I will simply quote it here
WHO ARE THE CHARACTERS?
I have made these fairly brief, so you can basically get the main idea on who each character is.
King Lear
Lear, the man and the ruler, is one of the more complex figures in the play as there is some debate about what he truly realises, and whether he transforms from the arrogant autocrat who rewards flattery, to a man worth forgiving. Indeed the audience finds little to sympathise with initially, as Lear invites disaster upon himself by dismissing Cordelia because she “loves him according to her bond, no more, no less” as well as desiring to retain the grandeur and pleasure of rulership but none of the responsibilities. This also is an abuse of the Elizabethan world view of order.
The storm from Act III is a symbol of the inner tempest raging within Lear’s mind because of what has happened, and is a contrast to his awareness of what is wrong in the world. This ascension into reason via insanity is also a parallel to the sub-plot where Gloucester is painfully stripped of all power after which he gains an understanding of others.
Cordelia’s demise is the final blow for Lear, who dies of a shattered heart. Whether or not Lear has truly been redeemed or not is up for debate, but one thing is certain is that Lear has undergone great emotional change.
The elder sisters: Goneril and Regan
Much like in Cinderella, we are presented with two evil and spiteful sisters who are virtually identical in motive and behaviour, though Shakespeare has taken a degree of care to differentiate them.
They have ascended to power by deceit and flattery, and once they have gained this power they turn on their father, the source of this new found authority, and cast him out in a competition to see who can essentially underbid the other.
There are times in the play when Regan seems the most sadistic by far, with an inhumane bloodlust. She takes it upon herself to pluck out Gloucester’s eyeballs then throws him out, declaring “Let him smell his way to Dover”. Goneril is not without violence herself though, as she poisons her own sister in order to lay claim to Edmund. She even perhaps reflects Lear in a fashion with her death, as she suicides due to the loss of a loved one- though not with the same degree of redemption.
Animal imagery is constantly and consistently utilised to denegrate Goneril and Regan's gender throughout the play. And this makes them seem increasingly repellant throughout the play, as they seemingly betray their softer gender by behaving this way.
Cordelia
Much like Kent, Cordelia is one of the few people in the play who treasure honesty as she refuses to pander to Lear’s vanity and so compromise her sense of truth. However in a way her refusal to play the game of politics was also a flaw, as she rejects the commands of the king and so fails as a representative of the crown.
Later on in the play, Cordelia is repeatedly associated with imagery of the divine “The holy water from her heavenly eyes”. She is the embodiment of Christian virtue as she forgives and reconciles her father, in all respects in this stage she has become the perfect daughter. (A little nugget of *unconfirmed* knowledge, a mature age student in our class with a keen interest for history mentioned that Bethlehem was at some stage a hospice of sorts for the mad, and when you link that with Lear’s state and Cordelia’s saintliness…well it just makes you think of Mary, doesn’t it?).
Edmund
Edmund is the fiendish puppet master behind nearly everything that occurs. He is intelligent, attractive, and ambitious, lacks a conscience and has a preoccupation with his bastardy. Much can be intuited about Edmund solely from his soliloquy in Act 1.
Unlike the sisters, Edmund makes no attempt to himself or others to justify his evils- he does not seem even to be touched with any emotion whatsoever, and uses this to manipulate Goneril and Regan much like he manipulated Gloucester and Edmund. Edmund’s sole attempt at good in the entire play is his small effort at the last moment to prevent Cordelia and Lear’s death. This however is too little, too late in the eyes of any audience and fails to redeem him.
Edgar
Edgar is the male version of Cordelia - naive, virtuous and honest. Both have foolish fathers, cruel siblings and eventually both are forced into a form of exile.
As time goes on, Edgar's stature increases with him adopting a number of disguises and his outlook on life has by necessity changed due to this. This is made clear when at the conclusion he faces the challenge of dispelling the chaos that wracks the kingdom.
Kent
Kent is the one who sees clearly for Lear, as Lear cannot initially do so himself. He is also the epitome of loyalty, remaining true to Lear despite being exiled, and assuming a disguise to remain close to him and advise him.
In the first act, Kent much like Cordelia challenges Lear's blindness even if he must do so forcefully, however his efforts are rejected and a similar punishment is meted out to him that Cordelia is given.
Fool
While there are other characters in the play who try to make Lear see the truth, it is the Fool who is the greatest oponent of Lear's ignorance, pushing Lear to see further than what is dictated by ego with acidic wit and humour. He even insults Lear and gets away with it without punishment due to his lowly status.
In the middle of the play, the Fool in essence disappears- some say this is symbolic of the Fool being Lear's conscience and therefore no longer needed due to Lear's newfound awareness, but most likely certain scenes were lost due to all of the rewrites and editing of King Lear .
Gloucester
Much like Lear, Gloucester is flawed in his judgements, especially as regards to his offspring also like Lear, his lack of awareness leads to his own undoing. He does display worthwhile qualities however, such as his loyalty to the king which results in his torture and being blinded by Regan. It is this blindness which helps him gain an awareness of others plights". Gloucester also displays greater humility than Lear, for he laments about the misery he has caused Edgar and seeks Edgar's forgiveness which earns him the audiences respect..
WHAT ARE THE THEMES OF KING LEAR?(more to come)
Power & Powerlessness
It can be seen how power corrupted Lear's kingship. He is at first, an autocrat with the power centred on himself and his want to direct all actions himself, accepting no other viewpoint. He sees himself as a "dragon" who expresses his righteous "wrath" when questioned
Lear views his parcelling out portions of the kingdom as a great generosity, but it is done in the fashion he desires. He gives his elder daughters the power they crave but in "good time" , as they believe he should have awarded them their prominence far earlier.
An effect of power is that it isolates. The isolation of the person in power means that there is a flaw in the communication. The powerful (Lear & Gloucester) are flattered and decieved, so they make uninformed and ultimately disastrous decisions. Power also blinds us to our surroundings, which relates to isolation, for the person in power can be unaware of what is occuring and hold the wrong things as being important. Lear and Gloucester cannot see the truth about the children, and thus do not value them properly.
What happens when someone is powerful but loses all of this power? When power means all, then to be powerless is to be less than nothing. But until the person accepts that life is nothing, and accepts minimalistic life - rejecting all the trappings of power, then one cannot recieve any benefit from being powerless.
In the play, Lear gives away his position but has neglected to divest himself of the royal symbols of power, such as his company of knights and his love of giving orders. During the storm, he rids himself of his clothes which are his last remnants of authority, from then on he begins to recieve the clarity of the minimalist.
Seeing & Not Seeing
Being able to see yourself and your environment clearly is a key theme in King Lear.This theme is reflected in the play by the multitude of images and references to sight and blindness, light and dark, eyes and weeping. The earliest reference is when Lear reveals his "darker purpose", utterly failing to see the truth about his children. Kent attempts to dissuade the king of his folly and begs his master to let him remain the "true blank of thine eye". Lear instead sends Kent "Out of my sight" for he is unable to see fault or merit clearly. Lear does however have another critic in the personage of the Fool, who forces him to re-evaluate his actions more closely and sums up Lear's foolishness with a metaphor "So out went the candle and we were left darkling". As the head of state, Lear is the source of light and life in the kingdom and when he is burnt out, all those associated with him are "left darkling".
Following the storm, Lear's growth in perception is highlighted when he happens upon Gloucester. The dark humour of Lear's allusions to sight magnify the poignancy of Gloucester's pain. However it is also somewhat relieving as there is now reason within Lear's mania.(refer to Act 4 Scene 6).
CRITICAL READINGS(under construction)
Aristotelian Tragedy
Family Psychological Drama
Comedy of the Grotesque
Feminist
Nihilist
Liberal Humanism
Political Criticism
PRODUCTIONS (under construction)
Peter Brooks Production
Richard Eyre Production
PAST QUESTIONS (more to come)
How are all the various strands of power and powerlessness orchestrated by the dramatisation in King Lear?
In your response refer to at least two productions.
How might different productions dramatise the struggle between chaos and order in King Lear?
In your response refer to at least two productions
Two people who value your text in different ways and for different reasons are holding a conversation. Compose this conversation which should include consideration of the structure, staging, language, and ideas of the text.
In your response refer to two productions.
In King Lear, the narrative and its dramatisation present a connection between sexual insurbordination and anarchy, and the connection is given a clearly misogynistic emphasis. Can this feminist criticism of the play be supported by your study of King Lear? And how might this be addressed through different productions?
In your response refer to at least two productions.
Has your study of King Lear and its reception led you to believe that the play is essentially conservative or does it challenge issues of power?
In your response refer to at least two productions.
CAN YOU GIVE ME SOME LINKS TO WEBSITES? (more to come)
www.bbc.co.uk/education/bookcase/lear/eyre.shtml
this is a webpage containing an interview with Sir Richard Eyre about his production of King Lear.
www.bbc.co.uk/education/bookcase/lear/brook.shtml
this is a webpage containing an interview with Sir Richard Eyre about his production of King Lear.
http://www.humanities.ualberta.ca/mmorris/239/king_lear.htm
this a website by the University of Alberta in Canada, and has a general analysis of King Lear within. It should be noted that while the material is of good quality, it follows its own syllabus and this fact should be kept in mind.
http://harlos.sitesuite.com.au/12550.html
This is an interview/information page on the Harlos production at the Bondi Pavillion.
NOTE: This is only the first bit, I will have it all up *eventually* (grrr, night classes and and day classes) with themes, critical readings, three seperate productions(Brook, Eyre & *maybe* Harlos), a list of past paper questions and a couple of links to websites that I have found. Also if anyone has anything that they can contribute to this FAQ, please do! Caio!
As this is the most popular text in this module, I decided to write this. This FAQ is designed to help HSC students studying King Lear for Module B: Critical Study of Texts for Advanced English. While I hope it proves to be helpful to anyone studying King Lear, these are my opinions and the opinions of those whom I have quoted and so I take no responsibility for the accuracy or validity of the statements below. Also I have not gone overboard with the quotes, since you actually should be reading and picking those out for yourself. Goodluck with your English!
WHAT ARE THE MODULE REQUISITES?
This module requires you to analyse your prescribed text in some depth, and look at how different times and how society’s perceive and value text differently through the influence of their times. Though I think WithoutWings really says it better so I have quoted it here:
Without Wings said:
CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON KING LEAR?
King Lear has often been thought of as one of the greatest tragedies Shakespeare ever composed. The date he wrote it is undetermined, but is generally accepted to be near 1600. At this time, there are two “original” versions composed by Shakespeare-the Quarto & the Folio. The Quarto has a slightly more meandering structure to it, while the Folio seems to be more edited, with certain passages eliminated or shortened.
Shakespeare’s play was written in a period when social order was beginning to change, where previously accepted ideologies were being challenged. Even so the play, criticising as it did certain social aspects, was somewhat risqué to perform in a time when royal approval was of the utmost importance. It should be noted that the play with its political allusions, gore and reference to disorder, were tailor made for Elizabethan/Jacobean audiences who would have understood the nature of the court and be somewhat desensitised to the violence.
Because King Lear does not re-affirm man’s dignity as many felt a real tragedy should, it was often criticised, especially in the Restoration period. This lead to a rewrite by a man known as Nahum Tate, who made the play less “ghastly” by editing out the Fool, and inventing a romance between Edgar and Cordelia which led to a happy ending.
It was a considerable amount of time before the play was restored to anything close to its original state. Until at least 1823, no producer dared to stray back to the original version due to the reception it was given by audiences.
SO WHAT VERSION SHOULD I USE?
You should use the new cambridge version along with several productions to supplement your understanding:
Be wary of using other scripts of the play as they may contain scenes which you should not quote in an essay.English Stage 6 Syllabus said:
CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS?:
As Joe_m_2000 has already posted an excellent summary elsewhere, I will simply quote it here
Joe_m_2000 said:
WHO ARE THE CHARACTERS?
I have made these fairly brief, so you can basically get the main idea on who each character is.
King Lear
Lear, the man and the ruler, is one of the more complex figures in the play as there is some debate about what he truly realises, and whether he transforms from the arrogant autocrat who rewards flattery, to a man worth forgiving. Indeed the audience finds little to sympathise with initially, as Lear invites disaster upon himself by dismissing Cordelia because she “loves him according to her bond, no more, no less” as well as desiring to retain the grandeur and pleasure of rulership but none of the responsibilities. This also is an abuse of the Elizabethan world view of order.
The storm from Act III is a symbol of the inner tempest raging within Lear’s mind because of what has happened, and is a contrast to his awareness of what is wrong in the world. This ascension into reason via insanity is also a parallel to the sub-plot where Gloucester is painfully stripped of all power after which he gains an understanding of others.
Cordelia’s demise is the final blow for Lear, who dies of a shattered heart. Whether or not Lear has truly been redeemed or not is up for debate, but one thing is certain is that Lear has undergone great emotional change.
The elder sisters: Goneril and Regan
Much like in Cinderella, we are presented with two evil and spiteful sisters who are virtually identical in motive and behaviour, though Shakespeare has taken a degree of care to differentiate them.
They have ascended to power by deceit and flattery, and once they have gained this power they turn on their father, the source of this new found authority, and cast him out in a competition to see who can essentially underbid the other.
There are times in the play when Regan seems the most sadistic by far, with an inhumane bloodlust. She takes it upon herself to pluck out Gloucester’s eyeballs then throws him out, declaring “Let him smell his way to Dover”. Goneril is not without violence herself though, as she poisons her own sister in order to lay claim to Edmund. She even perhaps reflects Lear in a fashion with her death, as she suicides due to the loss of a loved one- though not with the same degree of redemption.
Animal imagery is constantly and consistently utilised to denegrate Goneril and Regan's gender throughout the play. And this makes them seem increasingly repellant throughout the play, as they seemingly betray their softer gender by behaving this way.
Cordelia
Much like Kent, Cordelia is one of the few people in the play who treasure honesty as she refuses to pander to Lear’s vanity and so compromise her sense of truth. However in a way her refusal to play the game of politics was also a flaw, as she rejects the commands of the king and so fails as a representative of the crown.
Later on in the play, Cordelia is repeatedly associated with imagery of the divine “The holy water from her heavenly eyes”. She is the embodiment of Christian virtue as she forgives and reconciles her father, in all respects in this stage she has become the perfect daughter. (A little nugget of *unconfirmed* knowledge, a mature age student in our class with a keen interest for history mentioned that Bethlehem was at some stage a hospice of sorts for the mad, and when you link that with Lear’s state and Cordelia’s saintliness…well it just makes you think of Mary, doesn’t it?).
Edmund
Edmund is the fiendish puppet master behind nearly everything that occurs. He is intelligent, attractive, and ambitious, lacks a conscience and has a preoccupation with his bastardy. Much can be intuited about Edmund solely from his soliloquy in Act 1.
Unlike the sisters, Edmund makes no attempt to himself or others to justify his evils- he does not seem even to be touched with any emotion whatsoever, and uses this to manipulate Goneril and Regan much like he manipulated Gloucester and Edmund. Edmund’s sole attempt at good in the entire play is his small effort at the last moment to prevent Cordelia and Lear’s death. This however is too little, too late in the eyes of any audience and fails to redeem him.
Edgar
Edgar is the male version of Cordelia - naive, virtuous and honest. Both have foolish fathers, cruel siblings and eventually both are forced into a form of exile.
As time goes on, Edgar's stature increases with him adopting a number of disguises and his outlook on life has by necessity changed due to this. This is made clear when at the conclusion he faces the challenge of dispelling the chaos that wracks the kingdom.
Kent
Kent is the one who sees clearly for Lear, as Lear cannot initially do so himself. He is also the epitome of loyalty, remaining true to Lear despite being exiled, and assuming a disguise to remain close to him and advise him.
In the first act, Kent much like Cordelia challenges Lear's blindness even if he must do so forcefully, however his efforts are rejected and a similar punishment is meted out to him that Cordelia is given.
Fool
While there are other characters in the play who try to make Lear see the truth, it is the Fool who is the greatest oponent of Lear's ignorance, pushing Lear to see further than what is dictated by ego with acidic wit and humour. He even insults Lear and gets away with it without punishment due to his lowly status.
In the middle of the play, the Fool in essence disappears- some say this is symbolic of the Fool being Lear's conscience and therefore no longer needed due to Lear's newfound awareness, but most likely certain scenes were lost due to all of the rewrites and editing of King Lear .
Gloucester
Much like Lear, Gloucester is flawed in his judgements, especially as regards to his offspring also like Lear, his lack of awareness leads to his own undoing. He does display worthwhile qualities however, such as his loyalty to the king which results in his torture and being blinded by Regan. It is this blindness which helps him gain an awareness of others plights". Gloucester also displays greater humility than Lear, for he laments about the misery he has caused Edgar and seeks Edgar's forgiveness which earns him the audiences respect..
WHAT ARE THE THEMES OF KING LEAR?(more to come)
Power & Powerlessness
It can be seen how power corrupted Lear's kingship. He is at first, an autocrat with the power centred on himself and his want to direct all actions himself, accepting no other viewpoint. He sees himself as a "dragon" who expresses his righteous "wrath" when questioned
Lear views his parcelling out portions of the kingdom as a great generosity, but it is done in the fashion he desires. He gives his elder daughters the power they crave but in "good time" , as they believe he should have awarded them their prominence far earlier.
An effect of power is that it isolates. The isolation of the person in power means that there is a flaw in the communication. The powerful (Lear & Gloucester) are flattered and decieved, so they make uninformed and ultimately disastrous decisions. Power also blinds us to our surroundings, which relates to isolation, for the person in power can be unaware of what is occuring and hold the wrong things as being important. Lear and Gloucester cannot see the truth about the children, and thus do not value them properly.
What happens when someone is powerful but loses all of this power? When power means all, then to be powerless is to be less than nothing. But until the person accepts that life is nothing, and accepts minimalistic life - rejecting all the trappings of power, then one cannot recieve any benefit from being powerless.
In the play, Lear gives away his position but has neglected to divest himself of the royal symbols of power, such as his company of knights and his love of giving orders. During the storm, he rids himself of his clothes which are his last remnants of authority, from then on he begins to recieve the clarity of the minimalist.
Seeing & Not Seeing
Being able to see yourself and your environment clearly is a key theme in King Lear.This theme is reflected in the play by the multitude of images and references to sight and blindness, light and dark, eyes and weeping. The earliest reference is when Lear reveals his "darker purpose", utterly failing to see the truth about his children. Kent attempts to dissuade the king of his folly and begs his master to let him remain the "true blank of thine eye". Lear instead sends Kent "Out of my sight" for he is unable to see fault or merit clearly. Lear does however have another critic in the personage of the Fool, who forces him to re-evaluate his actions more closely and sums up Lear's foolishness with a metaphor "So out went the candle and we were left darkling". As the head of state, Lear is the source of light and life in the kingdom and when he is burnt out, all those associated with him are "left darkling".
Following the storm, Lear's growth in perception is highlighted when he happens upon Gloucester. The dark humour of Lear's allusions to sight magnify the poignancy of Gloucester's pain. However it is also somewhat relieving as there is now reason within Lear's mania.(refer to Act 4 Scene 6).
CRITICAL READINGS(under construction)
Aristotelian Tragedy
Family Psychological Drama
Comedy of the Grotesque
Feminist
Nihilist
Liberal Humanism
Political Criticism
PRODUCTIONS (under construction)
Peter Brooks Production
Richard Eyre Production
PAST QUESTIONS (more to come)
How are all the various strands of power and powerlessness orchestrated by the dramatisation in King Lear?
In your response refer to at least two productions.
How might different productions dramatise the struggle between chaos and order in King Lear?
In your response refer to at least two productions
Two people who value your text in different ways and for different reasons are holding a conversation. Compose this conversation which should include consideration of the structure, staging, language, and ideas of the text.
In your response refer to two productions.
In King Lear, the narrative and its dramatisation present a connection between sexual insurbordination and anarchy, and the connection is given a clearly misogynistic emphasis. Can this feminist criticism of the play be supported by your study of King Lear? And how might this be addressed through different productions?
In your response refer to at least two productions.
Has your study of King Lear and its reception led you to believe that the play is essentially conservative or does it challenge issues of power?
In your response refer to at least two productions.
CAN YOU GIVE ME SOME LINKS TO WEBSITES? (more to come)
www.bbc.co.uk/education/bookcase/lear/eyre.shtml
this is a webpage containing an interview with Sir Richard Eyre about his production of King Lear.
www.bbc.co.uk/education/bookcase/lear/brook.shtml
this is a webpage containing an interview with Sir Richard Eyre about his production of King Lear.
http://www.humanities.ualberta.ca/mmorris/239/king_lear.htm
this a website by the University of Alberta in Canada, and has a general analysis of King Lear within. It should be noted that while the material is of good quality, it follows its own syllabus and this fact should be kept in mind.
http://harlos.sitesuite.com.au/12550.html
This is an interview/information page on the Harlos production at the Bondi Pavillion.
NOTE: This is only the first bit, I will have it all up *eventually* (grrr, night classes and and day classes) with themes, critical readings, three seperate productions(Brook, Eyre & *maybe* Harlos), a list of past paper questions and a couple of links to websites that I have found. Also if anyone has anything that they can contribute to this FAQ, please do! Caio!
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