Lecture Notes - King Lear

Story about a king who has all the power over a united nation gives it all away.

  • Most of Shakespeare’s plays are about gaining power, so this one is different. He willingly gives away the crown

  • Lear plan’s to equally distribute it to his three daughters.

  • The play questions if he can really give up power while he’s still alive when traditionally, you give up power when you have passed. What are the consequences?

Why does Lear want to give away the crown?

  • He wants to pass down the crown to his daughters before he dies

  • He is tired of the pressure and responsibility at his old age

Comparison from the beginning of the play to the end is clear. THis play is about swift change

  • KIng Lear goes from a man with all the power, cared and attended for, and fully clothed to a man who has gone mad, almost bare, and left completely alone.

  • Unity → division (family and nation wise)

  • Sanity → Chaos

  • Fertility → Sterility

  • Sight → blindness → A different kind of sight at the end

  • Lack of compassion/Lack of a responsible monarch → acknowledgement of what it truly means to be a monarch

Parallels

  • Two fathers with their children

  • 4 versions of a fool: Lear (becomes foolish), Gloucester (as well, True fool, and Cordelia

  • Madness: Lear (True ), Poor Tom (fake)

  • Blindness: Lear, Gloucester (physical)

Key Themes:

  • Some critics believe that the play is not centred around division, but disinheritance

  • Descent into madness

  • Blindness

    • Physical blindness: Gloucester is blinded. He says “I have no way and therefore want no eyes” (4.1.19)

    • Metaphorical Blindness: Unable to see the truth. Lear misjudges his daughters, kent. Gloucester misjudges his own sons.

    • Blindness can paradoxically lead to sight: “A man may see how this world goes with no eyes.” (4.6.148-9)

      • When Gloucester is blind, he finally realises that Edgar was the good son and did not betray him.

      • Lear realises that he has taken too little care of his subjects and figures out how to be a fairer ruler. Lear learns about compassion as well when he takes care of Poor Tom.

    • There is a lot of interesting word plays about blindness throughout the play.

    • Connected to identity within the play. When Lear cannot see, he questions his loss of status. The fool responds by saying that he is Lear’s shadow.

  • Family

  • Fear

  • Truth telling (plain speaking)

  • Man Vs Nature

    • Like during this storm when Lear is yelling at nature. Even with his title as a King, he is merely a human that nature does not bow to.

    • Lear seems to accept and embrace the wrath of nature.

    • To create the sound of thunder, they would sometimes roll and ball back and forth backstage. However, the storm was conveyed through the words of the actors as it would often be performed during the day.

    • It represents the limits of human power. The human becomes smaller.

  • Inversion of Hierarchy

    • Like how the children end up having more power than parents for a while.

  • Nothingness

    • Paradoxically, nothingness can equate to everything. “Nothing will come of nothing.” (1.1.88)

Imagery:

  • Circles

    • Suggests cycles and eternity

    • The fifth element: quintessence

    • Associated with the divine, something pure and perfect. SOmething that cannot be divided. However, Lear in the play divides his nation.

Cultural/Historical Context:

  • James I was always interested in uniting Britain and Scotland to be one nation.

  • Elizabeth I’s first rainbow dress features a lot of eyes and ears on her cloak → Represents the monarchy as having eyes and ears everywhere and knowing what is going on within the nation they govern. Therefore, the fact that King Lear loses his eyesight makes him seem even more foolish.

Extra Notes:

  • The original play was most likely first performed at court in 1606.

  • A massive revision was made in 1623 where 300 lines were removed and about 100 were added in.

  • Many aspects of the play was inspired by other things. e.g, the parallel plot was inspired by…. NOOO

  • The lowest point of the play (and also the most brutal) is when Gloucester’s eyes are plucked out.

QS TO ASK YOURSELF:

  • What are some of the key movements and patterns in one play

  • What are some of the mirroring effects that take place?

  • Who is speaking at the time and how does that affect the scene? Why would it be different if a different character spoke?

ASSESSMENT DETAILS: Close Reading Essay

  • Worth 20%

  • Due at the end of WK 5

  • 1000 words max

    • AI Generated essay analysis (300 words)

    • Close Reading Essay (700 words) We analyse our scene of choice

Part 1:

Analyse what the Ai has come up with and comment on how the essay could be improved. Do not rewrite it, just point out what is wrong with it.

Part 2:

  • Word count includes quotes

  • Choose a scene or a substantive speech (I’m choosing King Lear)