Discussion Write Up
Day one of our discussion brought up the catharsis in King Lear (#4). I agreed that with Gloucester’s death there was not so much catharsis as there was sympathy and happiness. As readers, I think we were happier to see Gloucester put out of his misery “Pluck out his poor eyes” (3.7.58) and relieved at the fact that he died “smilingly” (5.3.201). I agreed that we readers were happy about Edgar’s ending since he had so much bad fortune throughout the play he deserved a break, which came in the form of him inheriting power. I thought Joe’s comment was interesting in pointing out that both Edgar and Kent were at the bottom of the wheel at the start of the play with Kent banished “Out of my sight” (1.1.157) by Lear simply for trying to help Lear; and Edgar is a “villain” (1.2.80) for no reason at all. For this reason, at the end of the play both Lear and Edgar’s wheel would turn so that they end up on top “you, to your rights” (5.3.302). Joe’s comment helped to see why Cordelia ended up dying. Although she was banished, her fortune was never exactly down since she never seemed depressed over that fact instead simply saying “farewell to you both” (1.1.277) to her sisters, thus eventually her wheel had to come down and that happened to be her death at the end of the play. Also, numerous people pointed out that Cordelia and Lear dying really was not that much as a tragedy because at least they ended up together. I found this point interesting and it makes sense to me to see it as more happy than sad.
I found the minor character discussion (#3) interesting since Nerman had a great point in showing the Kent was so loyal that he wished to die after Lear does “My master calls me, I must not say no” (5.3.324). I found t...
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...s a teenager and I had forgotten about this so this was another interesting fact why Hamlet is important to teach in high schools.
The question about why Tate’s version was more popular (#5) brought up interesting points. Kristina’s point that nowadays rarely do you see a movie where there is a sad ending strongly supported the reason that Tate’s play was so much more popular over Shakespeare’s. I know I liked the fact that Cordelia lives in Tate’s version since I felt she was most deserving as she loved her dad the most “I love your majesty” (1.1.94).
Although we did not really touch on question #1 I thought that the play ultimately left readers devastated because of who died. Cordelia was the most upsetting especially Lear’s reaction “she’s gone forever” (5.3.261) because at that time all Lear wanted was to be with her even if it was “Away to prison” (5.3.8).
I think it is pretty evident that the relationships that King Lear had with each of his daughters were completely different from one another. In the end, although they went through some rough times, Cordelia still remained his favorite daughter. I think this play is not only a good display of different father daughter relationship but also, it can be taken as lesson learned. It can teach people that pretending just to get your way won’t get you far.
to show Lear as being an old man and that he does not know what is
Shakespeare’s eminent play, Romeo and Juliet, depicts the journey of Romeo and Juliet until their tragic death. The idea of fate is displayed throughout the play through the use of foreshadowing, suggesting that the outcome is predetermined from the prologue. The rivalry between the Capulets and the Montagues influence the characters in the play deeply, creating peril in Verona. Furthermore, Romeo and Juliet’s excessive emotions cause the play to end in their inevitable deaths, which ends the “ancient grudge” between the “two households”. As the play progresses, the audience is presented with multiple possibilities as to how the unfortunate deaths of Romeo and Juliet are influenced.
opinions in Act 1, Scene 2. The aim of this is to build the suspense
Although Cohen provides a lot on insight about death in King Lear, I liked how Lawrence specifically focused on the suicide attempts and how they relate to the play. In a day and age where many people seem sensitive to talking about suicide, it was nice to see Lawrence’s openness in talking about it. I found that through his critique, I was able to consider suicide as a theme in King Lear, which I had been unable to address previously. The idea Lawrence suggested that really brought my attention to the theme of suicide was that death comes from outside the self. Although many people believe we have control over suicide, King Lear makes it apparent that while we can do things to speed up our deaths, we do not have full control over how and when we die since there is a force beyond us that influences our deaths. This is seen through Gloucester’s repeated attempts to kill himself. No matter how hard he tries to escape life on Earth, it appears that some other force has other plans for him. On the other hand, Goneril is successful at her suicide attempt because she has no feelings towards others. Unlike Gloucester, Goneril does not seek attention or purpose in her life, but would rather keep a low profile after killing Regan. Lawrence provides us with yet another way that Shakespeare highlights the predicament that comes with human existence. Ultimately, we only
... and reasons throughout the play. However, King Lear, Cordelia, and Edmund all had the same ending -- death. Shakespeare illustrates emotion and reason as the sides of a coin. He infers that in order to survive, one must achieve a balance within emotion and reason. If there was any disruptions to the balance, it will cost death to oneself. In the play, Shakespeare demonstrates that the personalities of all people, regardless of sex, social hierarchy, or age, are fluid and subject to change more than one would expect. Therefore, at times, it is necessary for a person to change to achieve for a better ending as Lear and Edmund. Shakespeare also demonstrates that the overtake of either emotion or reason will lead to one’s downfall. In the play, Shakespeare fully explores the motives behind the characters’ actions; thus, he develops a new understanding for human nature.
As is by now apparent, there are a multitude of parallel plots within Shakespeare's play King Lear. In each plot, a character's breach of loyalty condemned the character to certain death in the final scene of the play. Several of the characters who exhibited treachery and later died were King Lear, Cordelia, Edmund, and Goneril. Accordingly, Kent, the Fool, Edgar, and Albany all survived the play because they did not cast aside their loyalties.
about act 1 scene 5. I am going to consider the dramatic events of the
King Lear is at once the most highly praised and intensely criticized of all Shakespeare's works. Samuel Johnson said it is "deservedly celebrated among the dramas of Shakespeare" yet at the same time he supported the changes made in the text by Tate in which Cordelia is allowed to retire with victory and felicity. "Shakespeare has suffered the virtue of Cordelia to perish in a just cause, contrary to the natural ideas of justice, to the hope of the reader, and, what is yet more strange, to the faith of chronicles."1 A.C. Bradley's judgement is that King Lear is "Shakespare's greatest work, but it is not...the best of his plays."2 He would wish that "the deaths of Edmund, Goneril, Regan and Gloucester should be followed by the escape of Lear and Cordelia from death," and even goes so far as to say: "I believe Shakespeare would have ended his play thus had he taken the subject in hand a few years later...."3
King Lear as a Tragedy Caused by Arrogance, Rash Decisions and Poor Judgement of Character
ii. 48-50). Death, violence, and loss are woven all throughout the language, and in doing so, the physicality of such matters dominate the metaphorical world of the play. Perhaps the most tragic event in the play, the death of Cordelia allows the fullest expression of the tragedy’s address to personal morality. Like the other two daughters, Cordelia is an extension of Lear. Thus her death is an aspect of his own, allowing Lear to experience death and speak to the wrongness of it all. “No, no, no life! Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, and thou no breath at all? (Shakespeare V. ii. 306-308).” Both unnatural and inevitable, the unjust death of Cordelia embodies our sense that death is wrong and outrageous. Most of us are not kings, but it may be true that in each of us is a King Lear who is unwilling to give our kingdom, our sense of privilege, our rights we think we have earned. We expect to cling on to our existence, and pretend death does not exist. As we continue to explore the psychology behind death, we find, as we so often do, that Shakespeare has been there before
Each play has a sub-plot that combines with the main plot toward the end, and the two sub-plots contribute to the overall outcome of each story. Lear is a tragedy, where two men, one a king and the other a nobleman, are betrayed by their children. The main plot is that of King Lear, who gives his power over to two of his three daughters, who in the end turn their backs on him. After Lear is thrown out into a severe storm by Gonreil and Regan, his daughters, he curses them and tells the weather to do its worst. “But yet I call you servile ministers,/ That will with two pernicious daughters join/ Your high-engender'd battles 'gainst a head/ So old and white as ...
Perhaps Lear's most difficult moment to endure is when he discovers his youngest and most prized daughter, Cordelia, dead. His initial reaction is of unbearable pain, but, being in his current state of madness, some of the anguish is alleviated when he "realizes" that she is alive. The king overcomes his earlier mistakes only after losing the one daughter who truly loved him. It's debatable whether Lear is completely conscious of his loss, but more plausible to suspect he is not fully affected by it as he is no longer in his right mind. Finally, Lear has dealt with the consequences of his decisions and is redeemed.
An Analysis of Divine Justice in King Lear: What the Character’s Deaths revealed about Justice