King Lear When we are born, we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools. - Lear, Act IV Scene 4 By Shakespeare What does that mean?

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare's Life ► Greatest writer in the English language ► Greatest play writer of all time ► Few known facts about Shakespeare’s life ► Renaissance period: renewed interest in Science, philosophy, and the arts ► A new way of life: focus on the individual and freedom of choice

William Shakespeare's Life ► Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564 ► Stratford-on- Avon: a small town about 90 miles northwest of London

William Shakespeare’s Life Shakespeare lived on Henley Street. Father was a glove maker and town’s mayor Mother was a distant relative of a wealthy family

William Shakespeare’s life ► At 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, a local farmer’s daughter ► At the time of marriage Anne was three months pregnant with their first daughter Susanna ► Two years later, they had twins Hamnet and Judith ► Hamnet dies at the age of 11

William Shakespeare’s life ► The next seven years are the “lost years” ► Shakespeare and London ► Joined a theater company as a traveling actor ► Shakespeare as a great play writer

William Shakespeare’s Life (The Late Years) ► In 1609, Shakespeare published his sonnets and a series of poems about love and friendship ► In 1613, Shakespeare retires back in his hometown of Stratford ► Shakespeare’s death is unknown ► Shakespeare dies on April 23, 1616

“Good Friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear To dig the dust enclosed here: Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And curst be he that moves my bones.”

Shakespeare’s Impact on Language ► Shakespeare's play have influenced literary works for hundreds of years ► Playing on words and their meanings, creating metaphors and images ► Contributed more words to the English language than any other writer

Words that First Appeared in Shakespeare’s Works ► Accommodation ► Assassination ► Dislocate ► Obscene ► Lonely ► Gloomy ► Suspicious ► Hurry

Our story begins a long, long time ago, in a place far, far away… ► Setting: England ► Time: ??

Where did the story come from? ► The story of King Lear originated 400 years before Shakespeare wrote his version. ► Lear was a British King who reigned before the birth of Christ allowing Shakespeare to implement some elements into the plot. ► British mythology refers to a “Lyr” or “Ler” who was the basis of a King Lear story by Geoffrey of Monmouth in 1137 which Shakespeare used as a source as well as Raphael Holinshed’s “Chronicle of England, Scotland and Ireland”.

► Shakespeare also “borrowed”  Edmund Spencer’s “The Faerie Queen”  John Higgins’ “A Mirror for Magistrates”  Gentleman of the court of Elizabeth I named Sir Brian Annesley ► Scholars believe the play was written after “Othello” but before “Macbeth” assigning it a “Macbeth” assigning it a creation date of creation date of

► King James I had come from Scotland to take the throne of England ► “divine right of kings” ► Worry about the times

King Lear Overview

Characters ► Lear – king of Britain ► Goneril – his eldest daughter ► Regan – his second daughter ► Cordelia – his youngest and favorite daughter ► Albany – Goneril’s husband ► Cornwall – Regan’s husband ► Kent – a faithful nobleman ► Gloucester – another loyal nobleman ► Edgar – Gloucester’s rightful son ► Edmund – a bastard of Gloucester ► Fool – a loyal clown who entertains Lear

Lear and his three daughters

At Lear’s castle… ► Lear decides to give up his throne and divide his kingdom among his three daughters ► Goneril, wife to the duke of Albany ► Regan, wife to the duke of Cornwall ► His daughter, Cordelia, has two suitors – the king of France and duke of Burgundy ► Lear asks his daughters how much they love him ► Goneril and Regan flatter, but Cordelia says that she loves him no more than a daughter loves her father “Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave my heart into my mouth: I love your majesty according to my bond; nor more nor less.”

► Angered, Lear disowns Cordelia and divides his kingdom between Goneril and Regan ► Lear gives Cordelia to the king of France, and though Cordelia is not happy about leaving her father with her sisters, she leaves England with her husband And this is the beginning of King Lear…

Foils ► A foil is a character who can be compared and contrasted to another character ► Used to clarify character traits and issues in the play

King Lear and Gloucester ► Old friends ► Both are betrayed by their children ► Neither has the wisdom to see through duplicious love ► Lear’s insanity leads him to clear perception; Gloucester’s loss of his eyes leads him to clear vision ► Both die after having been reunited with their faithful children

Goneril and Regan ► Equal in evil ► Neither sister has love for good beings ► Both sisters are attracted to Edmund ► Neither sister possesses compassion for love ► Exclusive thoughts of themselves ► Actively feed on the wickedness of the other

Edgar and Edmund ► Brothers; Edgar is legitimate; Edmund is illegitimate ► Clear opposition of good and evil, with good prevailing in the end ► As Edmund tries to push his father away; Edgar tries to protect his father from a distance

Kent and the fool ► Both try to speak the truth to King Lear; he is deaf to both characters ► Kent is part of the action until Lear’s death; the Fool exits the play as soon as his usefulness is exhausted ► Although they belong to different classes, they both show equal honor and loyalty

Major Themes Blindness vs Sight (or The Foolish vs the Wise) ► Some characters are described as “blind” to the realities of the world around them due to their ignorance, poor judgement or lack of insight.

Order vs. Chaos -- the question of Justice a. Lear (and we) learn that --life is awful --life is awful --there is not always a happy ending happy ending --there’s nothing we can do about it b. Job’s question: why do bad things happen to good people Major Themes (continued)

a. Can anything redeem this injustice / violence / suffering / meaninglessness of the world? suffering / meaninglessness of the world? 1. wisdom – this is the great gift of time and suffering (Lear finds wisdom when sees truth and stops valuing superficial (he seems mad but is wise  the new Fool 2. Lear’s journey Pride  rage  suffering/humiliation  madness  wisdom  death Order vs. Chaos-the question of Justice

► the real answer is goodness and honesty are rewards in themselves – that is what redeems/ justifies life Major Themes – Good vs. Evil

For example: Cordelia For example: Cordelia Cordelia chooses not to participate in a ridiculous and dishonest spectacle—this was not a flimsy decision when you realize what love means to Cordelia honesty duty duty loyalty loyalty Major Themes

► Good vs. Evil Good (the moral) is directly Good (the moral) is directly related to love, compassion, related to love, compassion, the soul the soul Evil (the immoral) is directly realted to selfishness, the realted to selfishness, the id, violence, the physical II. Major Themes (continued)

Major Themes (continued) Order vs. Chaos a. Chaos results from DIVISION (the kingdom, families, brothers, sisters, etc.) b. Woman must be obedient to man.

Motif ► is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story.

Motifs ► Clothing and Nakedness – A recurring image which may represent the following: -loss of status or identity -Clothing in disarray or nakedness can symbolize insanity -Nakedness can represent the discovery of one’s humanity, liberated from the trappings of civilization. ► Bird and Animal Imagery - A recurring use of birds and animals to symbolize human conditions and behaviors. Often the animals to which humans are compared are dark and violent to denote the bestiality within human beings who give way to evil impulses.

Symbols ► a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract

1. The Storm 2. Blindness and sight 3. The Fool 4. Nothingness 5. Nakedness and clothing Symbols

Other Important Literary Devices

Aside ► Brief speech in which a character turns from the person he is addressing to speak directly to the audience

Soliloquy ► A speech in which a character, alone on stage, addresses himself; dramatic means of letting an audience know a character’s thought and feelings

Dramatic Irony ► A discrepancy between what a character says or thinks and what the reader knows to be true