1. J OURNEYS IN K ING L EAR Adapted from Geoff Sheehan (2011)

2. J OURNEYS IN K ING L EAR ‘homo viator’ = Man the traveller, between two worlds, on the way Physical & Mental travellers = Gloucester & Lear Undertake a journey toward establishing a sense of redemption / self-realisation

3. L EAR ’ S J OURNEYS KL:Who is it that can tell me who I am? Fool:Lear’s shadow (nothing) Castle – Hovel - Tent Finery – nakedness – simple white garment Arrogance – humility – love Crown – clothes – flowers (clothes of justice, judge’s hat) Grand blank verse – prose – natural blank verse (crawl towards death - pray do not mock me Self-ignorance – madness - understanding

4. LEAR’S J OURNEY T HROUGH I MAGERY Knows nothing but thinks he knows everything ‘thou art an O without a figure’ Appearance of everything but in fact nothing – false knowledge. ‘image of crown’ Becomes nothing Clothing & poor naked wretches Dies at beginning of understanding of perfection that is love

5. G LOUCESTER ’ S J OURNEY Castle – Dover – Tent Blind – blinded – ‘sees feelingly’ (off stage violence) ‘dies in bed’ - symbolic suicide – ‘redeemed through rebirth

6. S TORM SCENE We see in this scene the world reduced to the basic elements of 1. Earth - humus 2. Air – wind 3. Fire – lightening 4. Water – rain Be being reduced to the essence of nature, Lear learns concern for others – in other words, he learns what really ‘matters.’ (pun very much intended)

7. PATIENCE Patior (to suffer) Sustained through metaphor of the body: strained, twisted, pierced, buffeted, strain, strife, stretched