Not All is Cheerless, Dark and Deadly in Shakespeare's King Lear

1333 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Kent is critical to King Lear

Not All is Cheerless, Dark and Deadly in King Lear

'All's Cheerless, Dark and Deadly' Are Kent's Words a Fair Summary of The Tragedy of King Lear?

Samuel Johnson asserted that the blinding of Gloucester was an 'act too horrid to be endured in a dramatic exhibition', and that he was 'too shocked' by the death of Cordelia to read the play again until he was given the task of editing it.1 Nor was Dr Johnson alone in finding himself unable to stomach the violence and apparent injustices that unfold in King Lear. The 18th century certainly found the play 'all cheerless' and preferred Nahum Tate's 1681 watered-down version of Shakespeare's original.

King Lear is a dark play, with the near triumph of the malcontent Edmund, the intense sufferings of Lear and Gloucester, and the seeming lack of justice at the piece's conclusion. Shakespeare locates his tragedy in an extreme and entropic universe that makes his audience uncomfortable, and indeed is supposed to. On its own, the sheer violence of Act III.7 bears witness to Kent's nihilistic utterance at the plays close. However, Lear's universe, as I have just stated, is one of extremes, and not merely negative ones. As A.C. Bradley notes:

There is in the world of King Lear the same abundance of extreme good as of extreme evil. It generates in profusion self-less devotion and unconquerable love.2

The play contains a cluster of characters that are unequivocally good. Kent, for instance, is a paradigm of devotion. In Act I.I he is publicly insulted and humiliated. In spite of Lear's threats, Kent remains determined to serve his master, even braving the storm to be near him. Cordelia too, is traduced and punished by Lear, and yet she is the...

... middle of paper ...

... condemned to short lives - 'nor live so long'. Edgar's closing words are disturbingly equivocal. They allude to the antithesis constantly at work in the play a mixture of hope and despair. Perhaps the couplet is ultimately nihilistic, and the play as a whole equally so. Redemption remains unattained. However, while I would agree that Kent's words that 'All's cheerless, dark and deadly' may be the overriding message of the tragedy, I do not believe that King Lear can be simply summed up in such a comment. To do such a thing would be to see the drama two-dimensionally to ignore the world of polarities, of good as well as evil, which Shakespeare creates in which to hold his play.

Works Cited:

1 Johnson as Critic, ed. John Wain, Routledge & Kegan Paul 1973, pp. 216-217

2 A. C. Bradley, Shakespearian Tragedy, Macmillan 1908, pp. 304 -305

Show More
Related

  • Free Essay: Restructuring Relationships Shakespeare's King Lear

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    The play of "King Lear" is about a search for personal identity. In the historical period in which this play is set, the social structure was set in order of things closest to Heaven. Therefore, on Earth, the king was at the top, followed by his noblemen and going all the way down to the basest of objects such as rocks and dirt. This structure was set up by the people, and by going by the premise that anything that is man made is imperfect, this system cannot exist for long without conflict.

    Read More

  • Sight and Blindness in Shakespeare's King Lear - Lack of Vision

    1470 Words  | 3 Pages

    When the audience is first introduced to Lear, he is portrayed as a raging, vain old man who can not see the purity of his daughter Cordelia's love for him from the insincerity of her sisters Goneril and Regan. In his fiery rage after disowning Cordelia, Lear commands to Kent, "Out of my sight!" (1.1.156). Kent fittingly implores the aging king to "See better, Lear; and let me still remain / The true blank of thine eye" (1.1.157-8). Kent recognizes love in its most noble form in the person of Cordelia, and is able to see through the hypocrisy of Lear's other two daughters. In beseeching Lear to "[s]ee better," Kent is, in effect, asking Lear to look beyond his vanity and inward pride to see the honesty of Cordelia, who refuses...

    Read More

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ( Ocd )

    2260 Words  | 5 Pages

    Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a disease that a lot of people suffer with in society especially young adults. While it is not a disease that is deadly, it does affect the victim in every day aspects of their life and can ultimately control their lives. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health as, “… a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over”. The thoughts that individuals have when suffering through Obsessive Compulsive Disorder cannot be restrained and really can disturb the individual. Thoughts or actions that people may have can range from worrying about daily occurrences, such as washing their hands, to having thoughts of harming people that are close to them. People tend to have these reoccurring compulsions because they believe by doing them or thinking them, they will either prevent something bad from happening or because it eliminates stress that they have. This disease can last a lifetime and can be very detrimental and disabling to how one lives their lives. Individuals can start to see signs of OCD in either late adolescence or even early adulthood and everyone is susceptible. When it comes to classifying this incurable disease, there is much debate on whether or not it a type of anxiety (Abramowitz, Taylor, & McKay, 2009). It is important to be able to understand this mental disorder since so many people are diagnosed with it. While there are treatments for OCD, there are no cures yet. Treatments could range anywhere from taking prescribed medication to just going to therapy and counseling fo...

    Read More

  • Experiment of Perceptual Settings

    1278 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Webster dictionary determines perception to be knowledge by the senses and/or life that have an influence on people’s perception (Parker, 2010). The way people perceive things is based on their five senses. The sense of sight was the main sense used in the following experiment, as well as a person’s memory. Eyes tell people what they want to see and want to know. They tell you how to conceive a person and their behaviors as well as their reactions. It essentially judges the world around you. One is able to perceive how a person reacts to certain situations entirely by watching them. Perception applies to the interpretation of what we take in through our senses, in terms of optical illusions. Optical illusions happen because our brains are trying to define what it is that we envision and make sense of the world around us. If perception has no foundation in a person’s experience, a person may literally not perceive it. Perception is a method by which people set up and define their sensory impressions to give significance to their environment”. Critical thinking is something we all do, because the regularity may range from person to person.

    Read More

  • Transformation of Lear in Shakespeare's King Lear

    1682 Words  | 4 Pages

    The first stage of Lear’s transformation is resentment. At the start of the play it is made quite clear that Lear is a proud, impulsive, hot-tempered old man. He is so self-centered that he simply cannot fathom being criticized. The strength of Lear’s ego becomes evident in the brutal images with which he expresses his anger towards Cordelia: “The barbarous Scythian,/Or he that makes his generation messes/To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom/Be as well neighboured, pitied, and relieved,/As thou may sometime daughter.” (1.1.118-122). The powerful language that Lear uses to describe his intense hatred towards Cordelia is so incommensurable to the cause, that there can be only one explanation: Lear is so passionately wrapped up in his own particular self-image, that he simply cannot comprehend any viewpoint (regarding himself) that differs from his own (no matter how politely framed). It is this anger and resentment that sets Lear’s suffering and ultimate purification in motion.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Movie Girl Interrupted

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    OCD has symptoms such as compulsive hoarding, extreme anxiety, depression, and food aversions. It currently has no sure cause but it has said to be a product of genetics or abnormalities in the brain and serotonin levels as controlling serotonin tends to help in treatment of OCD. Obsessive Compulsive disorder is seen in 2.3% of Americans. It’s more prominent in adults than in children.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's King Lear - A World too Cruel?

    1688 Words  | 4 Pages

    Despite its undeniable greatness, throughout the last four centuries King Lear has left audiences, readers and critics alike emotionally exhausted and mentally unsatisfied by its conclusion. Shakespeare seems to have created a world too cruel and unmerciful to be true to life and too filled with horror and unrelieved suffering to be true to the art of tragedy. These divergent impressions arise from the fact that of all Shakespeare's works, King Lear expresses human existence in its most universal aspect and in its profoundest depths. A psychological analysis of the characters such as Bradley undertook cannot by itself resolve or place in proper perspective all the elements which contribute to these impressions because there is much here beyond the normal scope of psychology and the conscious or unconscious motivations in men.

    Read More

  • Loyal Characters in Shakespeare's King Lear

    864 Words  | 2 Pages

    King Lear is a play about loyalty. "Goodness" is portrayed by the characters as selflessness. Each "good" character displays loyalty through selfless actions. Cordelia selflessly does not attempt to rob Lear of his wealth by flattering him. Even though she risks banishment, she selflessly refuses to indulge her father's foolish wishes. Edgar, too, is selfless in his actions by leading his father to safety even when he knows Gloucester does not recognize him and will not appreciate that he was, in fact, the truly loyal son. Finally, Kent, Lear's Selfless servant, risks his life to protect his king even after he has been mistreated.

    Read More

  • King Lear as a Tragedy Caused by Arrogance, Rash Decisions and Poor Judgement of Character

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    King Lear as a Tragedy Caused by Arrogance, Rash Decisions and Poor Judgement of Character

    Read More

  • Wisdom and Foolishness in Shakespeare's King Lear

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tragedies are dominated by contrasts and conflicts between various entities such as, good and evil, legitimate and illegitimate, appearance and reality and so on. Another contrast is between wisdom and foolishness. If one associates foolishness with madmen and fools one will be surprised to find that in a tragedy such as King Lear this is not the case. Shakespeare portrays, the sane characters such as Kent and Cordelia as fools by virtue of loyalty, love and their willingness to speak the truth. On the otherhand, the Madman, Tom o’Bedlam and the fool are depicted as the true figures of wisdom. Moreover mirroring all this is King Lear’s transition from foolish behaviour through madness achieving wisdom.

    Read More

  • Error in Human Reasoning

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to the laws of probability, T must be more probable than the combination of T and F. Thus, the question arises as to why we reason this way. As Professor Kellman explained in his lectures, we commit this fallacy because of our association of the word "feminist" with the biographical description of Linda. Apparently, we ignore the most basic laws of probability, and rely on our ability to associate certain characteristics with likely careers and hobbies of an individual.

    Read More

  • The Processes of Visual Perception and Visual Sensation

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many different Visual Perception principles in perception. The main principles are Gestalt. Gestalt is a German word meaning 'form' or 'shape'. Gestalt psychologists formulated a series of principles that describe how t...

    Read More

  • Theme Of Death In King Lear

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    In acceptance of helplessness, the characters ironically experience growth, joy, and hope. If the world of Lear is chaotic, painful, and alien, it also stimulates growth. The king with no kingdom discovers the superficial authority that was his kingship, and understood “They flatter’d me like a dog...they told me I was everything. ‘Tis a lie” (Shakespeare IV. vi. 96-105). When Lear had finally accepted his inability to change a situation, he looks upon his life with a new-found wisdom. Lear’s progress to acceptance is also marked by the shift of dependence from evil children to good, from Regan and Goneril to Cordelia. The schematic character groupings of good and evil invites us to see the children on a metaphorically level of shifting stages. When Lear is reunited with Cordelia, though he is faced with impending death, he blissfully proclaims “Come, let’s away to prison...so we’ll live / And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh / At gilded butterflies” (Shakespeare V. iii. 8-19). Lear is, for the first time in the play, truly happy. The King beautifully expresses an idea of acceptance against uncontrollable forces. The prison that Lear speaks of is not a literal one, but rather his response to the approaching end of his life, as it should be for all of us, to pray, to sing, to tell tales, to laugh, to be above the battle of life. Similarity, Gloucester,

    Read More

  • The Importance of the Earl of Kent in Shakespeare's King Lear

    1478 Words  | 3 Pages

    The actions of Kent are connected to the main plot of the play. He is present in almost all of the scenes in which Lear shows his descent from power into madness. The reader is able to make connections in the plot because of the presence of Kent. The reader also sees the strong moral messages of the plot through the character of Kent. Kent is the embodiment of honor and duty. These themes are needed in order to keep the story complete.

    Read More

  • Comparing Lear and Gloucester in Shakespeare's King Lear

    1980 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. The Tragedy of King Lear. New York: Washington Square, 1993. Print.

    Read More

More about Not All is Cheerless, Dark and Deadly in Shakespeare's King Lear

Open Document