by William Shakespeareedited by David Bevington
anthologized in Four Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth
(New York: Bantam Classics, 1988)
Paperback, 200 Pages, Drama
ABCD Rating: BACKLIST
As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods;
They kill us for their sport.
(Act IV, Scene i, Lines 36-37)
From the Cover: King Lear is, in its picture of the tragic effect of human weakness and human cruelty, the most overpowering of the works of Shakespeare. It was written about 1605, in the middle of that period of his activity when he was interested, for whatever reason, in portraying the suffering and disaster that are entailed by defects of character, and the terrible cost at which such defects are purged away; and not even Hamlet displays these things so irresistibly. The germ of the story is found in the folk-lore of many ages and countries. Attached to the name of Lear, the legend assumed pseudo-historical form with Geoffrey of Monmouth in the Twelfth Century, was handed down through the long line of Latin and English chroniclers, appeared in collections of tales, found a place in Spenser’s Faerie Queene, and was dramatized by an anonymous playwright about ten years before the date of Shakespeare’s drama. To Shakespeare himself is due the tragic catastrophe which takes the place of the traditional fortunate ending, according to which the French forces were victorious, and Lear was restored to his kingdom. He first makes Lear go mad; invents the banishment of Kent and his subsequent disguise; creates the Fool; and, finally, connects with Lear the whole story of Gloucester and his sons.
My Review: Yet more required reading for school. This time, it was again for my British Literature Before 1800 class, and I have to say that my professor—Dr. Moss—has been a great teacher. He brings to life the Elizabethan Era in which Shakespeare wrote King Lear. Plays in the 1600s were not the “high art” that they are today. They were much more like the movies are today. Shakespeare’s goal, according to Dr. Moss, was not to create timeless art, but to put “butts in the seats” and food on the table. It was with this intention that Shakespeare wrote, what some consider to be, one of the greatest tragedies ever written. And, it is a very interesting play.
There are a lot of elements in Lear that, while obscure to a modern audience, would have been self-evident to the Elizabethan audience. The most prominent example of this is the undercurrent in King Lear that women in power (especially on the throne) are dangerous. Lear’s daughters Goneril and Regan embody this fact after Lear abdicates and divides his kingdom between them. (Interestingly, it is for this indictment of women in power that some scholars believe that the play (which dates between 1600 and 1606) was first performed only after Queen Elizabeth I’s death in 1603, since it would have not been prudent to perform the play during the Virgin Queen’s reign.) Another aspect of the play that would have been obvious to Shakespeare’s audience is King Lear’s abdication of the throne and division of the kingdom of Britain amongst his daughters. Besides the implication that women cannot rule (and the obvious connections to the plight of Henry VIII and his three daughters and no sons), a king cannot “just retire” as Lear does. Kingship is a divine appointment and one only vacates the throne when one dies. To do otherwise is an invitation to madness, as becomes evident in the play.
For a modern audience, however, there are some very poignant and relevant messages (at least in the beginning scenes and acts of the play) about dealing with a parent who is descending into senility, as Lear seems to be. He may even be suffering from Alzheimer’s, and there are modern productions that take it in these directions. This attests to the timelessness of Shakespeare’s dramas.
(If Shakespearean dialogue is not your thing, however, you can always experience King Lear in modern prose and read Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres. While not a one-to-one retelling of Lear, it is a contemporary deconstruction of Shakespeare’s play, and there are many similarities, including plot details and character development. The main characters in Smiley’s novel are reminiscent of Shakespeare’s: Larry is Lear, Ginny is Goneril, Rose is Regan and Caroline is Cordelia. Acres also addresses the major themes in the play, including: gender roles, appearances v. reality, generational conflict, hierarchical structures, madness and the powerful force of nature. Interestingly, it is told from the point of view of the oldest daughter Ginny. And, if reading isn’t your thing (1) you’re at the wrong blog, and (2) it was adapted for film in 1997, starring Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jason Robards.)
There are a lot of elements in Lear that, while obscure to a modern audience, would have been self-evident to the Elizabethan audience. The most prominent example of this is the undercurrent in King Lear that women in power (especially on the throne) are dangerous. Lear’s daughters Goneril and Regan embody this fact after Lear abdicates and divides his kingdom between them. (Interestingly, it is for this indictment of women in power that some scholars believe that the play (which dates between 1600 and 1606) was first performed only after Queen Elizabeth I’s death in 1603, since it would have not been prudent to perform the play during the Virgin Queen’s reign.) Another aspect of the play that would have been obvious to Shakespeare’s audience is King Lear’s abdication of the throne and division of the kingdom of Britain amongst his daughters. Besides the implication that women cannot rule (and the obvious connections to the plight of Henry VIII and his three daughters and no sons), a king cannot “just retire” as Lear does. Kingship is a divine appointment and one only vacates the throne when one dies. To do otherwise is an invitation to madness, as becomes evident in the play.
For a modern audience, however, there are some very poignant and relevant messages (at least in the beginning scenes and acts of the play) about dealing with a parent who is descending into senility, as Lear seems to be. He may even be suffering from Alzheimer’s, and there are modern productions that take it in these directions. This attests to the timelessness of Shakespeare’s dramas.
(If Shakespearean dialogue is not your thing, however, you can always experience King Lear in modern prose and read Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres. While not a one-to-one retelling of Lear, it is a contemporary deconstruction of Shakespeare’s play, and there are many similarities, including plot details and character development. The main characters in Smiley’s novel are reminiscent of Shakespeare’s: Larry is Lear, Ginny is Goneril, Rose is Regan and Caroline is Cordelia. Acres also addresses the major themes in the play, including: gender roles, appearances v. reality, generational conflict, hierarchical structures, madness and the powerful force of nature. Interestingly, it is told from the point of view of the oldest daughter Ginny. And, if reading isn’t your thing (1) you’re at the wrong blog, and (2) it was adapted for film in 1997, starring Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jason Robards.)
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