Friday, March 9, 2018

King Lear: Oxford School Shakespeare (Oxford School Shakespeare Series) Reprint Edition by William Shakespeare (Author),‎ Roma Gill (Author) (Oxford University Press) (IBRClassicsReview) V




History

King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It depicts the gradual descent into madness of the title character, after he disposes of his kingdom giving bequests to two of his three daughters based on their flattery of him, bringing tragic consequences for all. Derived from the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman Celtic king, the play has been widely adapted for the stage and motion pictures, with the title role coveted by many of the world's most accomplished actors.

The first attribution to Shakespeare of this play, originally drafted in 1605 or 1606 at the latest with its first known performance on St. Stephen's Day in 1606, was a 1608 publication in a quarto of uncertain provenance, in which the play is listed as a history; it may be an early draft or simply reflect the first performance text. The Tragedy of King Lear, a more theatrical revision, was included in the 1623 First Folio. Modern editors usually conflate the two, though some insist that each version has its own individual integrity that should be preserved.

After the English Restoration, the play was often revised with a happy, non-tragic ending for audiences who disliked its dark and depressing tone, but since the 19th century Shakespeare's original version has been regarded as one of his supreme achievements. The tragedy is particularly noted for its probing observations on the nature of human suffering and kinship. George Bernard Shaw wrote, "No man will ever write a better tragedy than Lear."




King Lear and the Fool in the Storm by William Dyce (1806–1864) — the depiction of the heath a popular and critical fallacy of interpretation.[1]

Characters[edit]
Lear – King of Britain
Goneril – Lear's eldest daughter
Regan – Lear's second daughter
Cordelia – Lear's youngest daughter
Duke of Albany – Goneril's husband
Duke of Cornwall – Regan's husband
Earl of Gloucester
Earl of Kent – later disguised as Caius
Edgar – Gloucester's son
Edmund – Gloucester's illegitimate son
Oswald – Goneril's loyal steward
Fool – Lear's fool
King of France – suitor and later husband to Cordelia
Duke of Burgundy – suitor to Cordelia
Curan – courtier
Old man – tenant of Gloucester
Officer – employed by Edmund
Gentleman – attends Cordelia
Knights of Lear's retinue
Officers, Messengers, Servants, Soldiers, and Attendants

Synopsis


Cordelia in the Court of King Lear (1873) by Sir John Gilbert

Act I

King Lear of Britain, elderly and wanting to retire from the duties of the monarchy, decides to divide his realm among his three daughters, and declares he will offer the largest share to the one who loves him most. The eldest, Goneril, speaks first, declaring her love for her father in fulsome terms. Moved by her flattery Lear proceeds to grant to Goneril her share as soon as she has finished her declaration, before Regan and Cordelia have a chance to speak. He then awards to Regan her share as soon as she has spoken. When it is finally the turn of his youngest and favorite daughter, Cordelia, at first she refuses to say anything ("Nothing, my Lord") and then declares there is nothing to compare her love to, nor words to properly express it; she speaks honestly but bluntly, that she loves him according to her bond, no more and no less. Infuriated, Lear disinherits Cordelia and divides her share between her elder sisters.

The Earl of Gloucester and the Earl of Kent observe that, by dividing his realm between Goneril and Regan, Lear has awarded his realm in equal shares to the peerages of the Duke of Albany (Goneril's husband) and the Duke of Cornwall (Regan's husband). Kent objects to Lear's unfair treatment of Cordelia; enraged by Kent's protests, Lear banishes him from the country. Lear then summons the Duke of Burgundy and the King of France, who have both proposed marriage to Cordelia. Learning that Cordelia has been disinherited, the Duke of Burgundywithdraws his suit, but the King of France is impressed by her honesty and marries her nonetheless. The King of France is shocked by Lear's decision because up until this time Lear has only praised and favored Cordelia (". . . she, who even but now was your best object, the argument of your praise, balm of your age . . . ").[2]Meanwhile, Gloucester has introduced his illegitimate son Edmund to Kent.


King Lear: Cordelia's Farewell by Edwin Austin Abbey

Lear announces he will live alternately with Goneril and Regan, and their husbands. He reserves to himself a retinue of one hundred knights, to be supported by his daughters. Goneril and Regan speak privately, revealing that their declarations of love were fake, and that they view Lear as a foolish old man.

Gloucester's bastard son Edmund resents his illegitimate status, and plots to dispose of his legitimate older brother Edgar. He tricks his father with a forged letter, making him think that Edgar plans to usurp the estate. Kent returns from exile in disguise (calling himself Caius), and Lear hires him as a servant. At Albany and Goneril's house, Lear and Kent quarrel with Oswald, Goneril's steward. Lear discovers that now that Goneril has power, she no longer respects him. She orders him to reduce the number of his disorderly retinue. Enraged, Lear departs for Regan's home. The Fool reproaches Lear with his foolishness in giving everything to Regan and Goneril, and predicts that Regan will treat him no better.

Act II

Edmund learns from Curan, a courtier, that there is likely to be war between Albany and Cornwall, and that Regan and Cornwall are to arrive at Gloucester's house that evening. Taking advantage of the arrival of the duke and Regan, Edmund fakes an attack by Edgar, and Gloucester is completely taken in. He disinherits Edgar and proclaims him an outlaw.

Bearing Lear's message to Regan, Kent meets Oswald again at Gloucester's home, quarrels with him again, and is put in the stocks by Regan and her husband Cornwall. When Lear arrives, he objects to the mistreatment of his messenger, but Regan is as dismissive of her father as Goneril was. Lear is enraged but impotent. Goneril arrives and supports Regan's argument against him. Lear yields completely to his rage. He rushes out into a storm to rant against his ungrateful daughters, accompanied by the mocking Fool. Kent later follows to protect him. Gloucester protests against Lear's mistreatment. With Lear's retinue of a hundred knights dissolved, the only companions he has left are his Fool and Kent. Wandering on the heath after the storm, Edgar, in the guise of a madman named Tom o' Bedlam, meets Lear. Edgar babbles madly while Lear denounces his daughters. Kent leads them all to shelter.

Act III


A watercolour of King Lear and the Fool in the storm from Act III, Scene ii of King Lear

Edmund betrays Gloucester to Cornwall, Regan and Goneril. He reveals evidence that his father knows of an impending French invasion designed to reinstate Lear to the throne; and in fact a French army has landed in Britain. Once Edmund leaves with Goneril to warn Albany about the invasion, Gloucester is arrested, and Regan and Cornwall gouge out Gloucester's eyes. As he is doing so, a servant is overcome with rage by what he is witnessing and attacks Cornwall, mortally wounding him. Regan kills the servant, and tells Gloucester that Edmund betrayed him; then she turns him out to wander the heath, too.

Act IV

Edgar, in his madman's guise, meets his blinded father on the heath. Gloucester, sightless and failing to recognise Edgar's voice, begs Tom to lead him to a cliff at Dover so that he may jump to his death. Goneril discovers that she finds Edmund more attractive than her honest husband Albany, whom she regards as cowardly. Albany has developed a conscience — he is disgusted by the sisters' treatment of Lear and Gloucester -- and denounces his wife. Goneril sends Edmund back to Regan. After receiving news of Cornwall's death, she fears her newly widowed sister may steal Edmund and sends him a letter through Oswald. Now alone with Lear, Kent leads him to the French army, which is commanded by Cordelia. But Lear is half-mad and terribly embarrassed by his earlier follies. At Regan's instigation, Albany joins his forces with hers against the French. Goneril's suspicions about Regan's motives are confirmed and returned, as Regan rightly guesses the meaning of her letter and declares to Oswald that she is a more appropriate match for Edmund. Edgar pretends to lead Gloucester to a cliff, then changes his voice and tells Gloucester he has miraculously survived a great fall. Lear appears, by now completely mad. He rants that the whole world is corrupt and runs off.

Oswald appears, still looking for Edmund. On Regan's orders, he tries to kill Gloucester but is killed by Edgar. In Oswald's pocket, Edgar finds Goneril's letter, in which she encourages Edmund to kill her husband and take her as his wife. Kent and Cordelia take charge of Lear, whose madness quickly passes. Regan, Goneril, Albany, and Edmund meet with their forces. Albany insists that they fight the French invaders but not harm Lear or Cordelia. The two sisters lust for Edmund, who has made promises to both. He considers the dilemma and plots the deaths of Albany, Lear, and Cordelia. Edgar gives Goneril's letter to Albany. The armies meet in battle, the British defeat the French, and Lear and Cordelia are captured. Edmund sends Lear and Cordelia off with secret-joint orders from him (representing Regan and her forces) and Goneril (representing the forces of her estranged husband, Albany) for the execution of Cordelia.

Act V


Lear and Cordelia by Ford Madox Brown

The victorious British leaders meet, and the recently widowed Regan now declares she will marry Edmund. But Albany exposes the intrigues of Edmund and Goneril and proclaims Edmund a traitor. Regan falls ill, having been poisoned by Goneril, and is escorted offstage, where she dies. Edmund defies Albany, who calls for a trial by combat. Edgar appears masked and in armour, and challenges Edmund to a duel. No one knows who he is. Edgar wounds Edmund fatally, though he does not die immediately. Albany confronts Goneril with the letter which was intended to be his death warrant; she flees in shame and rage. Edgar reveals himself, and reports that Gloucester died offstage from the shock and joy of learning that Edgar is alive, after Edgar revealed himself to his father.

Offstage, Goneril, her plans thwarted, commits suicide. The dying Edmund decides, though he admits it is against his own character, to try to save Lear and Cordelia; however, his confession comes too late. Soon after, Albany sends men to countermand Edmund's orders, Lear enters bearing Cordelia's corpse in his arms, having survived by killing the executioner. Kent appears and Lear now recognises him. Albany urges Lear to resume his throne, but as with Gloucester, the trials Lear has been through have finally overwhelmed him, and he dies. Albany then asks Kent and Edgar to take charge of the throne. Kent declines, explaining that his master is calling him on a journey and he must follow. Finally, Albany (in the Quarto version) or Edgar (in the Folio version) implies that he will now become king.

Historicist interpretations

John F. Danby, in his Shakespeare's Doctrine of Nature – A Study of King Lear (1949), argues that Leardramatizes, among other things, the current meanings of "Nature". The words "nature," "natural" and "unnatural" occur over forty times in the play, reflecting a debate in Shakespeare's time about what nature really was like; this debate pervades the play and finds symbolic expression in Lear's changing attitude to Thunder. There are two strongly contrasting views of human nature in the play: that of the Lear party (Lear, Gloucester, Albany, Kent), exemplifying the philosophy of Bacon and Hooker, and that of the Edmund party (Edmund, Cornwall, Goneril, Regan), akin to the views later formulated by Hobbes. Along with the two views of Nature, Lear contains two views of Reason, brought out in Gloucester and Edmund's speeches on astrology (1.2). The rationality of the Edmund party is one with which a modern audience more readily identifies. But the Edmund party carries bold rationalism to such extremes that it becomes madness: a madness-in-reason, the ironic counterpart of Lear's "reason in madness" (IV.6.190) and the Fool's wisdom-in-folly. This betrayal of reason lies behind the play's later emphasis on feeling.

The two Natures and the two Reasons imply two societies. Edmund is the New Man, a member of an age of competition, suspicion, glory, in contrast with the older society which has come down from the Middle Ages, with its belief in co-operation, reasonable decency, and respect for the whole as greater than the part. King Lear is thus an allegory. The older society, that of the medieval vision, with its doting king, falls into error, and is threatened by the new Machiavellianism; it is regenerated and saved by a vision of a new order, embodied in the king's rejected daughter. Cordelia, in the allegorical scheme, is threefold: a person; an ethical principle (love); and a community. Nevertheless, Shakespeare's understanding of the New Man is so extensive as to amount almost to sympathy. Edmund is the last great expression in Shakespeare of that side of Renaissance individualism – the energy, the emancipation, the courage – which has made a positive contribution to the heritage of the West. "He embodies something vital which a final synthesis must reaffirm. But he makes an absolute claim which Shakespeare will not support. It is right for man to feel, as Edmund does, that society exists for man, not man for society. It is not right to assert the kind of man Edmund would erect to this supremacy."[17]

The play offers an alternative to the feudal-Machiavellian polarity, an alternative foreshadowed in France's speech (I.1.245–256), in Lear and Gloucester's prayers (III.4. 28–36; IV.1.61–66), and in the figure of Cordelia. Until the decent society is achieved, we are meant to take as role-model (though qualified by Shakespearean ironies) Edgar, "the machiavel of goodness",[18] endurance, courage and "ripeness".[19]


Three daughters of King Lear by Gustav Pope
Psychoanalytic and psychosocial interpretations[edit]

King Lear provides a basis for "the primary enactment of psychic breakdown in English literary history".[20] The play begins with Lear's "near-fairytale narcissism".[21]

Given the absence of legitimate mothers in King Lear, Coppélia Kahn[22] provides a psychoanalytic interpretation of the "maternal subtext" found in the play. According to Kahn, Lear's old age forces him to regress into an infantile disposition, and he now seeks a love that is traditionally satisfied by a mothering woman, but in the absence of a real mother, his daughters become the mother figures. Lear's contest of love between Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia serves as the binding agreement; his daughters will get their inheritance provided that they care for him, especially Cordelia, on whose "kind nursery" he will greatly depend.

Cordelia's refusal to dedicate herself to him and love him as more than a father has been interpreted by some as a resistance to incest, but Kahn also inserts the image of a rejecting mother. The situation is now a reversal of parent-child roles, in which Lear's madness is a childlike rage due to his deprivation of filial/maternal care. Even when Lear and Cordelia are captured together, his madness persists as Lear envisions a nursery in prison, where Cordelia's sole existence is for him. It is only with Cordelia's death that his fantasy of a daughter-mother ultimately diminishes, as King Lear concludes with only male characters living.

Lear and Cordelia in Prison — William Blake circa 1779

Sigmund Freud asserted that Cordelia symbolises Death. Therefore, when the play begins with Lear rejecting his daughter, it can be interpreted as him rejecting death; Lear is unwilling to face the finitude of his being. The play's poignant ending scene, wherein Lear carries the body of his beloved Cordelia, was of great importance to Freud. In this scene, Cordelia forces the realization of his finitude, or as Freud put it, she causes him to "make friends with the necessity of dying".[23] Shakespeare had particular intentions with Cordelia's death, and was the only writer to have Cordelia killed (in the version by the Nahum Tate, she continues to live happily, and in Holinshed's, she restores her father and succeeds him).

Alternatively, an analysis based on Adlerian theory suggests that the King's contest among his daughters in Act I has more to do with his control over the unmarried Cordelia.[24] This theory indicates that the King's "dethronement"[25] might have led him to seek control that he lost after he divided his land.

In his study of the character-portrayal of Edmund, Harold Bloom refers to him as "Shakespeare's most original character".[26]

"As Hazlitt pointed out", writes Bloom, "Edmund does not share in the hypocrisy of Goneril and Regan: his Machiavellianism is absolutely pure, and lacks an Oedipal motive. Freud's vision of family romances simply does not apply to Edmund. Iago is free to reinvent himself every minute, yet Iago has strong passions, however negative. Edmund has no passions whatsoever; he has never loved anyone, and he never will. In that respect, he is Shakespeare's most original character."[26]

The tragedy of Lear's lack of understanding of the consequences of his demands and actions is often observed to be like that of a spoiled child, but it has also been noted that his behaviour is equally likely to be seen in parents who have never adjusted to their children having grown up.[27]

Christianity


A 1793 painting of King Lear and Cordelia by Benjamin West.

Critics are divided on the question of whether or not King Lear represents an affirmation of a particular Christian doctrine.[28]Among those who argue that Lear is redeemed in the Christian sense through suffering are A. C. Bradley[29] and John Reibetanz, who has written: "through his sufferings, Lear has won an enlightened soul".[30] Other critics who find no evidence of redemption and emphasise the horrors of the final act include John Holloway[31] and Marvin Rosenberg.[32] William R. Elton stresses the pre-Christian setting of the play, writing that, "Lear fulfills the criteria for pagan behavior in life," falling "into total blasphemy at the moment of his irredeemable loss".[33]


Fairy tales

In the first edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen by the Brothers Grimm, the Anhang (appendix) entry to No. 71 Princess Mouse-skin included a note: "as the father here, so asks King Lear his daughter". The English translation of this story by Oliver Loo begins as follows: "A king had three daughters; thereon he wanted to know, which loved him most, let them come in front of him and asked them. The eldest spoke, she loved him more, than the whole kingdom; the second, more than all the precious stones and pearls in the world; but the third said, she loved him more than salt. The king was so upset, that she compared her love of him with such a small thing, gave her to a servant and commanded, he should take her into the forest and kill her."[34]


References

1^ See Gwilym Jones, Shakespeare's Storms (MUP, 2015), pp. 59-78. ISBN 1526111853
2^ Greenblatt, Stephen and Cohen, Walter and Jean E, Howard and Katharine Eisaman, Maus (2009). The Norton Shakespeare Based on the Oxford Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc. p. 1268. ISBN 9780393933130.
3^ Jackson 1995, p. 459.
4^ Ekwall 1928, p. xlii.
5^ Stevenson, W. H., "A note on the derivation of the name 'Leicester'", in: The Archaeological Journal, Volume 75, Royal Archaeological Institute, London, 1918, pp. 30–31
6^ Soula Mitakidou and Anthony L. Manna, with Melpomeni Kanatsouli, Folktales from Greece: A Treasury of Delights, p 100 ISBN 1-56308-908-4; see also D. L. Ashliman, "Love Like Salt: folktales of types 923 and 510"
7^ McNeir 1968.
^ Jump up to:a b Harold Bloom. Bloom's Shakespeare Through the Ages: King Lear. Infobase Publishing, p.53, 2008.
8^ Frank Kermode, 'King Lear', The Riverside Shakespeare (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974), 1249.
9^ R.A. Foakes, ed. King Lear. London: Arden, 1997, 89–90.
10^ Kermode, Riverside, 1250.
11^ Naseeb Shaheen Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays (Newark, 1999, 2011), p. 606
12^ The 1619 quarto is part of William Jaggard's so-called False Folio.
^ 13 to:a b c Harold Bloom. Bloom's Shakespeare Through the Ages: King Lear. Infobase Publishing, p.xii, 2008.
14^ Taylor & Warren 1983.
15^ Shakespeare and Foakes p.107.
16^ John Danby, Shakespeare's Doctrine of Nature: A Study of King Lear (London, 1949), p.50
17^ Danby, p.151
18^ Danby, p.50
19Transformation and Suspended Reconsolidation". Critical Survey. Berghahn Books. 13 (3): 19–39. eISSN 1752-2293. ISSN 0011-1570. JSTOR 41557126 – via JSTOR. (Registration required (help)).
20^ Brown, Dennis (2001). ""King Lear": The Lost Leader; Group Disintegration, Transformation and Suspended Reconsolidation". Critical Survey. Berghahn Books. 13 (3): 19–39. eISSN 1752-2293. ISSN 0011-1570. JSTOR 41557126 – via JSTOR. (Registration required (help)).
21^ Kahn, Coppèlia. "The Absent Mother in King Lear". Rewriting the Renaissance: The Discourses of Sexual Difference in Early Modern Europe. Eds. Margaret Ferguson, Maureen Quilligan, and Nancy Vickers. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1986. p. 33-49.
22^ Writings on Art and Literature by Sigmund Freud, Foreword by Neil Hertz, Stanford University Press (page 120)
23^ McLaughlin, John. "The Dynamics of Power in King Lear: An Adlerian Interpretation." Shakespeare Quarterly 29 (1978): 39.
24^ Croake, James W. (1983). "Alderian Family Counseling Education". Individual Psychology: The Journal of Adlerian Theory, Research & Practice. 39: 247 – via EBSCOhost.
^ 25 to:a b Harold Bloom. Shakespeare Through the Ages: King Lear, pg. 317.
26^ Kamaralli, Anna (22 December 2015). "Thou hadst better avoid getting teary – and King Leary – this Christmas". The Conversation. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
27^ Peat, Derek (1982). "And That's True Too: King Lear and the Tension of Uncertainty", in Aspects of King Lear edited by Kenneth Muir and Stanley Wells. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 43–53. ISBN 978-0-521-28813-2.
28^ Bradley, A. C. (1991). Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. London: Penguin. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-14-053019-3.
29^ Reibetanz, John (1977). The Lear world : a study of King Lear in its dramatic context. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 108.
30^ Holloway, John (2005). The Story of the Night: Studies in Shakespeare's Major Tragedies. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-01033-8.
31^ Rosenberg, Marvin (1992). The Masks of King Lear. Newark DE: Univ of Delaware Press. ISBN 978-0-87413-485-8.
32^ Elton, William R. (1988). King Lear and the Gods. Lexington KY: University Press of Kentucky. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-8131-0178-1.
33^ The Original Grimm Fairy Tales Translated by Oliver Loo, 2014, ISBN 978-1-312-41904-9


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