King Lear

1
King Lear

• Critical Study Of Text

2
What Is This Unit About?

• This unit asks us to look at a text (King Lear)
  and how that text has been read and interpreted
  in different contexts.

3
New Criticism (or Formalist Criticism)

• In the past it was believed that a composer
  created a text and put all of the meaning into it
• All the reader had to do was to figure out what
  the writer meant
• This meant that the meaning of a text was always
  fixed and never changed

4
Themes Of King Lear

• Some ideas that Shakespeare may have wanted to
  explore are
• A) Vision Blindness
• References to eyes seeing are a recurring motif
  in the play. Some examples are
• Dearer than eyesight

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Themes Of King Lear (contd)

• See better Lear
• Old fond eyesIll pluck you out
• Gloucester having his eyes plucked out
• Get thee glass eyesto see the things thou dost
  not
• I have no want of eyes, I stumbled when I saw
• Your Task- Find some more quotes related to
  blindness, vision, the eyes etc

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Themes Of King Lear (contd)

• B) Truth, Deception Disguise
• No-one in the play is what they seem to be
• Goneril Regan seem loving but are not
• Cordelia seems unloving but is not
• Edmund seems loyal but is not
• Edgar seems treacherous but is not
• Kent returns in disguise
• Edgar returns in disguise

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Themes Of King Lear (contd)

• There are constant references to truth in the
  play, such as
• So young my Lord and true
• I can keep honest counsel
• That such a slave should wear a sword who wears
  no honesty
• He must speak truth
• On whose foolish honesty my practices ride
• Your Task- Find some more quotes that relate to
  truth, honesty or deception

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Themes Of King Lear (contd)

• C) Madness Reason
• There is a constant interplay between reason
  insanity in the play. Notice how The Fool often
  speaks most wisely. Some quotes that relate to
  this theme are
• -Be Kent unmannerly when Lear is mad
• -I would not be mad
• Thou should not have been old before thou east
  wise
• Reason in madness
• Your Task-Find some more quotes and examples
  related to madness reason.

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Themes Of King Lear (contd)

• D) Gods Or A Godless Universe (Order vs Chaos)
• King Lear is a bleak play and seems to question,
  at times, whether we live in a chaotic, Godless
  universe
• -Thy swearest thy gods in vain
• -As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods.
  They kill us for their sport
• The stars above us govern our condition
• Upon such sacrifices the gods themselves throw
  incence
• Your Task- Find some more quotes related to the
  Gods

10
Shakespeares Techniques Devices

• We now understand some of the ideas that
  Shakespeare explored in his text-but we must also
  understand how he communicated those ideas. Some
  dramatic techniques used by Shakespeare included
• -Dramatic Irony-e.g. we know that Goneril, Regan
  Edmund are sinister, but their fathers do not
• -Natural Sympathy-as chaos reigns in the human
  world it is reflected in the natural world
  through the eclipse, the storm etc

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Shakespeares Techniques Devices (contd)

• -Motifs-recurring ideas such as eyes
• -Symbolism-those motifs symbolise aspects of the
  human condition (e.g. the eye motif symbolises
  Lears blindness)
• -Imagery-e.g. Goneril Regan are often described
  using animal imagery-How sharper than a
  serpents tooth it is to have a thankless child,
  Shell flay thy wolfish visage, Sharp toothed
  unkindness, like a vulture, Tigers not daughter
  etc
• -Soliloquy-used to reveal a characters inner
  thoughts
• -Juxtaposition-e.g. of the Lear Gloucester
  stories
• Your Task- List each of the Dramatic Devices
  above and find one new example of each from the
  text

12
Reader Response Criticism

• In recent times, though, it has been accepted
  that the responder also makes meaning in a text
• Each responder will read a text differently and
  meaning will change.
• These ideas came (in part) from the work of
  Roland Barthes who declared that The Death Of
  The Author because, he said, meaning came from
  the connections of language and culture made by
  the Responder.

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Critical Perspectives-What Factors Affect The Way
A Person Reads A Text?

• Different people will read a text differently
  because
• They live in different times (Context)
• They live in different places (Culture)
• They have different attitudes, values and beliefs
• They are male or female (Gender, Patriarchy,
  Feminism)
• They come from different classes in society
  (Marxism)

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Critical Perspectives-Flauberts Parrot (Julian
Barnes)

• The past is a receding coastline and we are on a
  boat. Along the side of the boat is a line of
  telescopes. Each telescope seems to show the
  whole, the unchanging truth. But this is an
  illusion, each telescope shows only a part of the
  whole

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Some Readings Of King Lear

• King Lear can be read in different ways
• A) Formalist Criticism-All the meaning of the
  text is found within the text. The text is only
  about the ideas that Shakespeare was interested
  in.
• B) Biographical Criticism-It is a text which
  reflects Shakespeares own life fears (e.g.
  about old age, dying etc)
• C) Historical Criticism-It is a text which
  reflects the values attitudes of the culture in
  which it was composed (e.g. The Feudal System,
  The Divine Right Of Kings etc)

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Some Readings Of King Lear

• D) Gender Criticism-It is a text about Patriarchy
  and what happens when men surrender power to
  women
• E)Mythological Criticism-It is a text which
  appropriates iconic, mythical stories (e.g.
  Cinderella, the myth of Paris, the myth of Psyche
  etc)
• F)Christian Criticism-It is a text about sin and
  redemption

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Some Readings Of King Lear

• G) Feminist Criticism-It is a text about a strong
  female hero (Cordelia) who challenges the
  patriarchal inequality of her society
• H) Freudean Criticism-It is a text that explores
  psychological issues related to incest parental
  abuse
• I) Marxist Criticism-It is a text that explores
  what happens when the wealthy and powerful lose
  their status

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Some Readings Of King Lear

• J) Existentialist Reading-Existentialism is the
  idea that, although there is no controlling force
  in the universe (i.e. no God), individuals have
  the power to make their own destiny.
• K) Reader Response Criticism-It is a text in
  which we have to find our own meaning based on
  our own context experiences.

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Some Interpretations Of King Lear

• Over time different people have read Lear in
  different ways
• -A retelling of a contemporary Court Case in
  which Brian Annesley was unjustly treated by two
  of his daughters but defended by his third,
  Cordell
• -A retelling of the Phillip Sydneys The Tale Of
  The Blind King Of Paphlagonia

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Some Interpretations Of King Lear

• -In 1681 Nahum Tate rewrote the ending of Lear.
  In this version Cordelias army was victorious
  and Lear returned to the throne. Edgar Cordelia
  married. This version was popular until the 18th
  century as it reinforced the prevailing (neo
  classicist) belief in a just ordered universe..
• -The Romantic Movement of the 19th Century
  returned to the original text applauded the
  emotion imagination of the play. Coleridge
  others saw it as a play about a test of love.

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Some Interpretations Of The Play

• -The end of the 19th Century and the early 20th
  Century saw the collapse of the existing world
  order (WW1 etc) and a new pessimism in world
  affairs. This period saw the first nihilistic
  reading of Lear, initiated by Algernon Swinburne.
  This reading suggested that the play questions
  the existence of order, justice and, ultimately,
  God.

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Some Interpretations Of The Play

• -In the 20th Century AC Bradley thought the play
  was purgative-a story of sin redemption. This
  was the first Christian interpretation of the
  play. RW Chambers took this further arguing that
  the conclusion of the play reflects the victory
  of divine will on earth.
• -John Holloway was also interested in the
  Christian dimension of the text and saw it as a
  mythical retelling of the Book of Job. He saw
  importance in the refusal (by several characters)
  to hide from the pain suffering of life.

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Some Interpretations Of The Play

• -In the 1960s Jan Kott wrote an essay claiming
  that Lear was an absurdist Drama. This essay
  heavily influenced Peter Brooks film version in
  the 1970s.

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Some Interpretations Of The Play

• -Freud saw the play as exploring the connection
  between love death in a mythological context.
  In Freuds reading Cordelia is the Goddess Of
  Death and the three sisters represent the Three
  Fates of Greek Mythology (responsible for life
  death). The play then, becomes a story about a
  man rejecting and then accepting death. At the
  end of the play then, although Lear carries
  Cordelia, Cordelia bears him away into death.

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Key Scenes-Act 1 Scene 1

• In Act 1 Scene 1 Lear abdicates the throne. He
  intends to divide the kingdom among his 3
  daughters but, when Cordelia refuses to speak of
  her love for him, he gives his kingdom to Goneril
  Regan.

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Key Scenes-Act 1 Scene 1

• Act 1 Scene 1-A Patriarchal Reading.
• Although Goneril Regan seem to be strong
  characters they are still dependent upon the King
  for their power, status wealth. From a
  Patriarchal perspective the play explores how
  women are dependent upon or marginalised and
  excluded by men. When Lear gives power to women,
  the natural order is disturbed and the world
  descends into chaos (symbolised by the storm, the
  eclipse etc)

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Key Scenes-Act 1 Scene 1

• Act 1 Scene 1-A Feminist Reading
• Feminism explores the role of women in texts. By
  refusing to publicly express her love for Lear
  Cordelia may be seen as a hero who challenges the
  gender inequalities of her time

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Key Scenes-Act 1 Scene 1

• Act 1 Scene 1-A Marxist Reading.
• Marxism explores the social roles of people in
  texts. By surrendering the throne Lear is thrown
  into a life of poverty. This also happens to
  Cordelia, Kent Edgar. A Marxist Reading, then,
  might argue that the text is an exploration of
  the different lives led by the rich and the poor.

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Key Scenes-Act 1 Scene 1

• Act 1 Scene 1-A Freudean Reading.
• A Freudean Reading seeks to understand the
  psychology of the characters. The play has
  undertones of incest. A Freudean Reading, then,
  might argue that Lear descends into madness
  because he is unable to cope with Cordelias
  rejection of him.

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Key Scenes-Act 1 Scene 1

• Act 1 Scene 1-An Intertextual Appropriation. The
  story of a Father who favours 2 daughters over a
  third is a recurring one in literature. Thus, it
  could be argued that King Lear is an
  appropriation of stories such as Cinderella,
  Paris, Psyche etc.

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Filmic Versions Of King Lear

• Remember that, when disussing Films, we need to
  discuss Film Techniques such as
• -Mis en scene
• -Cinematography
• -Editing
• -Narrative

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Different Versions Of Act 1 Scene 1-Peter Brook
1971

• General Introduction
• Note Brooks use of
• -Black White
• -Unusual Camera Angles
• -Shadow Darkness
• -Cold Winter landscapes
• These effects create a bleak, barren, Godless?
  world where man is at the mercy of nature.

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Act 1 Scene 1-Peter Brook 1971

• -The only production to show Lears
  subjects-contrast of wealth poverty, power
  powerlessness. Emphasises a Marxist
  interpretation
• -Silence of peasants in opening credits-may
  suggest that the poor are voiceless
• -Note close up of Lear (cinematography)-emphasises
  his seeming paralysis
• -Use of whispers grunts again emphasises Lears
  mental degeneration

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Act 1 Scene 1-Peter Brook 1971

• -Image of the throne as a coffin
• -Use of shadow, darkness (Mis en scene)-symbolic
  of death, evil
• -Goneril Regan shown in mid shot, Cordelia in
  long shot-emphasises her separation
• -Cordelia in different costuming-again
  accentuates her separation
• -Lears costume-bestial-picks up on Shakespeares
  animal imagery

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Act 1 Scene 1-RAN

• -RAN means Chaos-relates to Shakespeares theme
  of order vs chaos
• -Note change of context culture-RAN is set in
  Medieval Japan
• -Three daughters changed to three sons to reflect
  patriarchal nature of Japanese society
• -Note bright colours and beautiful
  landscapes-unlike the Brook version this is land
  worth dying for
• -Beauty of landscape emphasised through panning
  of camera long shots (cinematography)

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Act 1 Scene 1-RAN

• -Note inclusion of Japanese culture. The use of
  traditional costumes, tea ceremonies, flute music
  (Mis en scene) etc reinforces Japanese culture.
• -Lear becomes Hidetora, Cordelia becomes Saburo,
  Taro Jiro represent Goneril Regan
• -Note shots of dark clouds-symbolic of natural
  disorder/chaos
• -Symbolism of three arrows being broken

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Act 1 Scene 1 Richard Eyre 1997

• -Begins with eclipse-symbolising disorder of
  natural world
• -Uses colours as motif-red orange symbolising
  the passion emotion of the play, black grey
  symbolising death, madness etc
• -A modern pastiche-incorporates elements of
  modern spy dramas (shadows, people spying on
  others etc) to capture the plotting intrigue of
  the play

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Act 1 Scene 1-Ricard Eyre

• -Recurring motif of eyes also emphasises the idea
  of spying, plotting, eavesdropping and
  accentuates Shakespeares theme of
  vision/blindness
• -Use of soliloquy (e.g. by Edmund) also
  emphasises the Machiavellian plotting (an
  intertextual allusion?) of characters
• -Again, note use of costumes (mostly black) to
  highlight Cordelias separation

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The Storm Scene

• At the end of Act 2 King Lear is rejected by
  Goneril Regan and, in a rage, runs out into a
  storm.
• He finds a hovel in which to take shelter
• How are we to interpret this?

40
The Storm Scene-Literary Symbolism

• Shakespeare may have used the storm to symbolise
  Lears inner anger and confusion.
• The disorder in the natural world would then
  represent the disorder in the human world.

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The Storm Scene-Divine Right Of Kings

• In Shakespeares time there was a belief in The
  Divine Right Of Kings-that monarchs were chosen
  by God
• Thus, when Lear gives up the throne to his
  daughters he upsets the natural order (symbolized
  by the eclipse, the storm etc)

42
The Storm Scene-A Patriarchal Interpretation

• In Shakespeares time women were excluded from
  power.
• Patriarchy (rule by men) was predominant.
• Thus, by surrendering power to women Lear upsets
  what was seen as the natural order throwing the
  world into chaos and confusion

43
The Storm Scene-A Marxist Reading

• When Lear gives the throne to Goneril Regan he
  falls from a position of status power to one of
  poverty
• Some claim the play is an exploration of what
  happens when people (Lear, Cordelia, Kent, Edgar
  etc) lose their power status
• This comes to a climax in the Storm scene when
  Lear takes shelter in a hovel

44
The Final Scene-What Ideas Did Shakespeare Want
To Communicate?

• 1) The Importance of returning the world to its
  natural order
• Read notes on The Chain of Being, The Divine
  Right of Kings, The Wheel of fortune
• Note the following quotes
• The wheel is come full circle
• I am the natural fool of fortune
• A poor man made tame to fortunes blows
• I am bound upon the wheel of fire

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The Final Scene-What Ideas Did Shakespeare Want
To Communicate?

• 2)The Restoration of Patriarchal Power
• Lear says of Cordelia Her voice was ever soft,
  gentle and low-an excellent thing in woman

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The Final Scene-What Ideas Did Shakespeare Want
To Communicate?

• 3) Christian Redemption Resurrection
• Note that the storm ends when Lear goes to pray
• Both Gloucester Lear are resurrected, they
  both believe that they have died and are then
  reborn
• Both Gloucester Lear are reconciled with their
  child

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The Final Scene-What Ideas Did Shakespeare Want
To Communicate?

• 3) Christian Redemption Resurrection
• Gloucester Lear both recognise their sin and
  seek forgiveness
• Even Edmond finds his inner goodness Some good
  I mean to do
• Note the change in the attitude to God. In the
  first 3 scenes God is often cursed and condemned.
  In the last 2 scenes the characters embrace God
  e.g. The gods are just

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The Final Scene-Oliviers Version

• Note
• -The setting of Stonehenge. This is circular and
  could represent the return to order, the wheel of
  fortune etc
• -The white costumes of Cordelia Lear-perhaps
  representing innocence, purity etc. They have
  rediscovered their Christian innocence
• -Edgar is presented as a hero figure. Notice the
  symbolism of light (again religious?)