King Lear context

Aristotle

Tragedy in theatre stemmed for arisotle

Tragic theatre

Tragic protagonist or hero

suffers a serious misfortune

First performance of King Lear

1606

Monarch

James I was the king in the jacobean era

Katherine O’Mahoney on suicide

The cultural values toward suicide in the seventeenth century - unforgivable. “Nothing is more damnable,nothing more ungodly than for a man to slay himself”

To a seventeenth century audience - suicide was the worst sin to commit. Goneril achieved the status of the ultimate villain&sinner

Goneril’s damnation

viewed as a punishment from God

King James’ book

1599 he wrote a book to his eldest child to not split up his land between his children

King lear - "That future strife may be prevented now" dramatic irony

what could this play be described as

A nihilistic play