King Lear Powerpoint

Shakespeare general info

- 1564-1616

-born in Stratford-upon-Avon

-wife was Anne Hathaway

-actor, playwright, and poet

What was the English Renaissance and when did it occur

1500-1650

means rebirth (of learning)

-renewal of interest in classical antiquity (ancient past)

What happened during the Renaissance?

-humanities flourished

-emphasized the importance and potential of an individual

-age of new geographical and intellectual discoveries

Globe Theatre

-amphitheater (open air)

-alongside Thames River

-young men played women's parts

Shakespeare was part-owner, actor, and resident playwright

What was the Divine Right of Knights

belief that God ordained (appointed) one to rule over the nation

What did Shakespeare rely on his audience to accept?

that King's successes or failures reflected the kingdom

Great Chain of Being in Latin

ladder of nature

What was the Great Chain of Being

A hierarchy of the universe- God, angels, men, women, animals, plants, and inanimate objects (metals, stones, and the 4 elements, which was the material basis of the world)

How was the Great Chain of Being taken in a religious way?

people thought God made a determined hierarchy, and believed it gave a sense of order and balance to the world. they strongly believed in the power rand influence of stars, fate, and the gods

what was Humors

a system of medicine that told u about the human body. adopted by ancient greek & roman physicians and philosophers.

what did physicians believe illness resulted from according to their system?

that illness was caused from an imbalance in the patient's humors

did the belief of humors stay around forever?

no, it fell of in the 1850's

when did the Great Chain of Order start becoming chaotic

when children started ruling their parents and when subjects controlled rulers

what added to the disorder of the Great Chain of Being?

it was reflected in stars, humans, animals nature, and more

what was a man now perceived as in this chaos?

a microcosm (being described as small within a community)

when was King Lear written

1605 or 1606

where has King Lear appeared in?

English folktales and in Holinshed's Chronicles (chronicles of British history in 16th century/1500s)

what is the time/temporal setting of King Lear

8th century BCE

what reflected the temporal setting of the play?

Great Chain of Being

when did the Great Chain of Being start to fall out of favor

during the renaissance

what does the play reflect movement towards

new order and disorder from imbalance (the whole like going against standards of society)

Iambic pentameter

five feet of unstressed/ stressed syllables

blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

prose

just regular speaking-no metrical rhyme or meter. What is spoken by the common and non-royal citizens of the play

Pun

play on words

double entendre

word or phrase open to two different interpretations, one of which is sort of dirty

aside

a brief remark to only one character and no one else can hear him, or to the audience and the characters on stage can't hear him

monologue

long speech made by a character

soliloquy

character speech (long one) only heard by the audience

titular

denotes a person or thing from whom or which the name of an artistic work is taken (ie King Lear is name, but also title)

stocks

common punishment used on criminals (Cornwall ordering Kent to stocks, disrespectful to Lear)

What was Kent's disguise name?

Caius

What was Edgar's disguise role?

Poor Tom

Where does Poor Tom originate from?

Tom o' Bedlam- a beggar who escaped or was discharged from Bedlam (the mental hospital) or pretends to be so that they can beg for money

Duke meaning in Latin

leader

what is a Duke

highest ranking nobility below the monarch

Earl originate

Old English- eorl- man of noble birth or rank

what is a Earl (rank)

lower than duke

Steward origin

Old English stiweard- household

what is a steward

one who supervised the lord's estate/household

what is the significance of weather in literature

-establishes a mood and foreshadows events (usually a signal)

- in this play, the storm parallels Lear's state of mind

Machiavellian

eponym for someone who is cunning, scheming, and ruthless, esp in politics. Belief in using any justified means to maintain political power. Basically being desperate to do anything to get to the top. edmund is an example of this

niccolo machiavelli

italian diplomat, philosopher, author, and historian born in 1469. wrote The Prince.

what is a theme, and what are some other themes that fall within that theme?

betrayal: children, old age, madness, justice

doubling

to create oppositions or parallels, creates necessary foils. draws connections to things and focuses us to change our perspective.

what are examples of doubling in the play

-fools contrasted with the wise men

-reason w/ nature

-upper class w/ lower class

-family vs society

-false service w/ true service

-false love w/ genuine love

what is literary criticism

the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. usually in the form of a critical essay.