Thursday 6 December 2012
Wednesday 17 October 2012
RELEVANCY OF THE STORM/TEMPEST IN KING LEAR
What does the storm represent?
- Suffering- Divine justice
- God's punishment
- Lear's temper/inner turmoil - pathetic fallacy - Lear realizes that his daughters have turned against him because they are just after his power.
- Lear's building madness? - Lear argues with the storm. "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the cocks!". His efforts to converse with the storm implies that he has begun to loose touch with his sense of reality. Lear's behavior gradually worsens as the storm continues unabated. He gradually goes mad and becomes a "a weak despes'd old man".
- Political disarray
- More treachery ahead?
- Power of nature forces Lear to recognise own morality -
At the same time, the storm embodies the awesome power of nature, which forces the powerless King to recognize his own mortality and human frailty as well as to cultivate a sense of humility for the first time. He realizes that "man's life is as cheap as beasts". The storm shows the power of nature, which is a force that not even a King is safe from. He realizes that he is no different from a commoner and he has the same morality and frailties as every man.
- Reflection of Lear's internal confusion
More points
More points 2
Can we feel sympathy for King Lear?
In King Lear, Shakespeare presents Lear as a ruthless leader. His shallow, power-hungry personality is demonstrated in the very first act when Lear asks his three daughters; "Which of you shall we say doth love us most?". Although we can argue that Lear just wants to be doted on and worshipped, it can be suggested that Lear is eager to be loved. Shakespeare does not give us much background on Lear's early life or the troubles and traumas he may have faced, yet from assessing his current attitudes and desperate need to be appreciated, we can make assumptions that Lear is lonely, or insecure. We can feel some sympathy towards Lear here, however his increasing fury and irrational behaviour sway our opinion in the opposite direction. Cordelia refuses to shower her Father with love like her sisters previously did so, claiming "I am sure my love's More ponderous than my tongue". His decision to banish Cordelia - the one daughter that we could argue truly appreciates him - shows him to be selfish when he does not hear what he wants to hear and sees Cordelia to be betraying him. However we the audience can make our own judgements that Cordelia in fact loves him the most, and refuses to conform to his rules in order to gain some land. We can see she values her relationship with her Father more than a small part of a kingdom.
As the play progresses, we become more and more familiar with Lear and become increasingly aware of his odd nature and almost insane personality traits. His two other daughters, Goneril and Regan are frequently shown to be just as, if not more, ruthless than their Father. They profess a love for their Father to simply gain some land, and are willing to lie about their feelings for the man that raised them. This shows them to be extremely materialistic and superficial. They take advantage of their Father's instability and dementia by providing him with loving words that cure his need to be wanted, all for a bit of land. Goneril even abuses her Father by telling him what to do in Act 1 Scene 4. We can see the relationship between the characters has changed in comparison to the first act, when Lear was presented as a powerful figure in full control of his daughters, yet here we now see a role reversal, when Shakespeare presents Lear as a weaker character under the influence of his evil daughters. We can feel sympathy for Lear as we consider all the factors in his life that may affect his mental stability - the biggest reason being his two daughters.
We can also argue that the reason for Lear's 'breakdown' is due to the underlying regret for banishing the one daughter that truly cared for Lear. Cordelia is absent for the majority of the play and thus the majority of the storyline. It is this absence that we can consider to be a contributing reason for Lear's bizarre behaviour. From analysing Lear's behaviour, especially during the storm, it seems likely that Lear is not insane but is in fact just grieving the loss of a daughter. He also cries "In such a night as this! O Regan, Goneril, Your old kind father, whose frank heart gave all" which suggests to us that he feels sorrow for the abuse he has recieved from his daughters. Although he favoured Cordelia, he provided Goneril and Regan with the security they needed in life and wanted to continue this by offering them extra land, only to be taken advantage of in return. We can feel sympathy for Lear here, as we the audience can see him for what he really is - a struggling and grieving Father who made rash decisions in a desperate misery.
As the play progresses, we become more and more familiar with Lear and become increasingly aware of his odd nature and almost insane personality traits. His two other daughters, Goneril and Regan are frequently shown to be just as, if not more, ruthless than their Father. They profess a love for their Father to simply gain some land, and are willing to lie about their feelings for the man that raised them. This shows them to be extremely materialistic and superficial. They take advantage of their Father's instability and dementia by providing him with loving words that cure his need to be wanted, all for a bit of land. Goneril even abuses her Father by telling him what to do in Act 1 Scene 4. We can see the relationship between the characters has changed in comparison to the first act, when Lear was presented as a powerful figure in full control of his daughters, yet here we now see a role reversal, when Shakespeare presents Lear as a weaker character under the influence of his evil daughters. We can feel sympathy for Lear as we consider all the factors in his life that may affect his mental stability - the biggest reason being his two daughters.
We can also argue that the reason for Lear's 'breakdown' is due to the underlying regret for banishing the one daughter that truly cared for Lear. Cordelia is absent for the majority of the play and thus the majority of the storyline. It is this absence that we can consider to be a contributing reason for Lear's bizarre behaviour. From analysing Lear's behaviour, especially during the storm, it seems likely that Lear is not insane but is in fact just grieving the loss of a daughter. He also cries "In such a night as this! O Regan, Goneril, Your old kind father, whose frank heart gave all" which suggests to us that he feels sorrow for the abuse he has recieved from his daughters. Although he favoured Cordelia, he provided Goneril and Regan with the security they needed in life and wanted to continue this by offering them extra land, only to be taken advantage of in return. We can feel sympathy for Lear here, as we the audience can see him for what he really is - a struggling and grieving Father who made rash decisions in a desperate misery.
Thursday 11 October 2012
The Royal Shakespeare Company's ideas of KEY MOMENTS in King Lear
Every director will choose their own key moments in King Lear depending on how they are interpreting the play. Here we've listed some important moments in the order in which they appear in the play:
- Lear divides his kingdom (Act 3 Scene 1)
King Lear announces his intention to divide his kingdom into three and asks which of his daughters loves him most. He banishes Cordelia and splits his land between his other two daughters. - Edmund deceives Gloucester (Act 1 Scene 2)
In parallel to Lear's actions, Gloucester is deceived by his son Edmund and doubts the loyalty of his other son, Edgar. - Lear is cast out (Act 2 Scene Two)
Enraged by his daughters' refusal to allow him to keep 100 knights to attend him, Lear and his Fool depart into the stormy night alone. - 'Poor Tom' (Act 3 Scene 4)
Lear, Kent and the Fool meet Edgar, disguised as Poor Tom, on the heath and are persuaded to take secret refuge in Gloucester's home. - Gloucester is blinded (Act 3 Scene 5)
Gloucester is accused of treachery by Goneril and Regan for having sent Lear to Dover to meet Cordelia's army. His eyes are pulled out and he is thrown out of his home unattended. Cornwall is killed by one of his own servants. - Cordelia searches for her father (Act 4 Scene 3)
As they prepare for battle, Cordelia and her army hear news of the mad king and set out to find him. - Gloucester and Lear are rescued (Act 4 Scene 5)
Gloucester, led by Poor Tom, is saved from suicide by his son's trickery. They then meet Lear and are reconciled. Lear is found and helped by Cordelia's troops. - Lear and Cordelia are reunited (Act 4 Scene 6)
The king recovers his wits and is reconciled with Cordelia. - Edmund's plot (Act 5 Scene 7)
Edmund reveals that he has seduced both sisters and that he intends to kill both Lear and Cordelia if his side wins the battle. - The tragic ending (Act 5 Scene 3)
Cordelia's army loses and both she and Lear are sent to prison. Edmond's plotting is exposed and he is killed by Edgar in a duel. Goneril kills herself after poisoning Regan. Cordelia is hanged on Edmund's instructions. Lear dies of grief when he learns that both Gloucester and the Fool are also dead.
Plot summary of King Lear for recapping and revision
(via SparkNotes)
Lear, the aging king of Britain, decides to step down from the throne and divide his kingdom evenly among his three daughters. First, however, he puts his daughters through a test, asking each to tell him how much she loves him. Goneril and Regan, Lear’s older daughters, give their father flattering answers. But Cordelia, Lear’s youngest and favorite daughter, remains silent, saying that she has no words to describe how much she loves her father. Lear flies into a rage and disowns Cordelia. The king of France, who has courted Cordelia, says that he still wants to marry her even without her land, and she accompanies him to France without her father’s blessing.
Lear quickly learns that he made a bad decision. Goneril and Regan swiftly begin to undermine the little authority that Lear still holds. Unable to believe that his beloved daughters are betraying him, Lear slowly goes insane. He flees his daughters’ houses to wander on a heath during a great thunderstorm, accompanied by his Fool and by Kent, a loyal nobleman in disguise.
Meanwhile, an elderly nobleman named Gloucester also experiences family problems. His illegitimate son, Edmund, tricks him into believing that his legitimate son, Edgar, is trying to kill him. Fleeing the manhunt that his father has set for him, Edgar disguises himself as a crazy beggar and calls himself “Poor Tom.” Like Lear, he heads out onto the heath.
When the loyal Gloucester realizes that Lear’s daughters have turned against their father, he decides to help Lear in spite of the danger. Regan and her husband, Cornwall, discover him helping Lear, accuse him of treason, blind him, and turn him out to wander the countryside. He ends up being led by his disguised son, Edgar, toward the city of Dover, where Lear has also been brought.
In Dover, a French army lands as part of an invasion led by Cordelia in an effort to save her father. Edmund apparently becomes romantically entangled with both Regan and Goneril, whose husband, Albany, is increasingly sympathetic to Lear’s cause. Goneril and Edmund conspire to kill Albany.
The despairing Gloucester tries to commit suicide, but Edgar saves him by pulling the strange trick of leading him off an imaginary cliff. Meanwhile, the English troops reach Dover, and the English, led by Edmund, defeat the Cordelia-led French. Lear and Cordelia are captured. In the climactic scene, Edgar duels with and kills Edmund; we learn of the death of Gloucester; Goneril poisons Regan out of jealousy over Edmund and then kills herself when her treachery is revealed to Albany; Edmund’s betrayal of Cordelia leads to her needless execution in prison; and Lear finally dies out of grief at Cordelia’s passing. Albany, Edgar, and the elderly Kent are left to take care of the country under a cloud of sorrow and regret.
Perspectives on the McKellen/Nunn film version of King Lear
King Lear has been interpreted over its 400 year history with greater variety than any other play from Shakespeare. Described alternately as Shakespeare’s “Everest”, and his deepest plunge into the human soul, there is no intrinsic, coherent view of the play’s meaning. In attempting to stage King Lear, a director must decide at least three things: to emphasize the spectacle of Lear’s behavior, or his state of mind; how to characterize the changes in Lear’s state of mind as the play progresses; and how to portray Lear’s condition in the context of the human spirit —hopeful, or hopeless? Meaningful, or meaningless? Known or unknown? Should the 80 year-old king be be portrayed as majestic, yet enraged (as opposed to mad); childish and mad; or enfeebled by age to the point of senility; or somewhere in between?
Trevor Nunn chooses the last of these alternatives. This helps to makes sense of the play’s opening scenes, but it creates the most difficult task for the actor; Lear has to be clear and quite rational at crucial moments, he must develop and change, and he must in the end be responsible for what he says and does. On the human spirit Nunn chose a kind of agnosticism, symbolized most graphically by Edgar’s plea to heaven at the end, which goes unanswered. (The film cuts Edgar’s line, “the gods are just.”) But it is less a declaration of hopelessness than a suspicion. Nunn steers clear of both the unmitigated darkness of Peter Brook’s 1971 film version and the of the virtual beatitude ending Olivier’s 1985 film version. But he also avoids the hope of rebuilding the world one feels at the end of Kozintsev’s 1971 Russian film. The bodies pulled into the mist ending Ian Holm’s 1998 film create an impression much like Nunn’s, but Holm’s Lear is radically different from McKellen’s. Fortunately, we have all these films to see, each rewarding, each expanding our own sense of the play’s many possibilities. To this library we can only welcome Nunn’s prodigious effort.
Nunn’s film production departs considerably from his stage production, particularly the one at Stratford-on-Avon. The latter created a considerable degree of spectacle, including half the side-rear wall crashing down mid way through. The film is comparatively quiet. It is played with backgrounds dissolved in darkness until the beginning of Act IV when we see Gloucester, blinded, wandering towards Dover; suddenly the sky is bright and blank, the ground visible. Between this and persistent close-ups, the film loses a sense of spectacle but gains a sense of chiseled psychological space. While the film has cut at least a thousand lines from the full play, it has taken them from longer speeches, retaining all but one of the scenes, and all of the relevant action. (See the comparison of the play’s full text and that of the film for comparison. The British release of the film is half an hour longer, but still a good hour short of the play with every word.)
The minimal sets and costuming reflect a number of periods, hence no period at all (guns appear from time to time amidst the candles and suggestions of a pre-Christian era). The film does retain Nunn’s most shocking innovation relative to Shakespeare (not to be disclosed here). And to remove any curiosity about the film’s most publicized but least interesting possibility, McKellen does appear to undress completely, but the film cuts him off at the waist; there is no spectacle here. For those fond of Waiting for Godot, look for the tree—the connection must be intended.
Finally, without giving a real review of the film until it has been broadcast on 25 March, it can be said that this film works, and any film of King Lear that works is a great film.
There are presently ten film versions of King Lear on DVD. Each is worthwhile, but each differs from the others, at times considerably. For a first film, one should not choose Orson Wells or Paul Scofield. Rather, one should see Ian Holm or Lawrence Olivier. However, after the first taste, one should see the Kozintsev Russian version, Scofield (really Peter Brook) in the darkest version, and Orson Wells (also directed by Brook) in a radically abbreviated version, but with the words spoken like no other.
Note that the McKellen version will likely be released in DVD this year. Next year Anthony Hopkins and Al Pacino will release their versions of King Lear for theaters, both in performances that begin life as screen plays, not stage plays.
Main Themes in Shakespeare's King Lear
(Discussed by the Royal Shakespeare Company)
- Act 1 Scene 1: Lear believes the saccharine professions of his older daughters and divides his kingdom between them, rejecting the truthful and devoted Cordelia; Kent is banished for his honesty.
- Act 1 Scene 2: Illegitimate Edmund expresses his bitterness about his social status and resolves to eliminate his legitimate half-brother, Edgar. He begins his campaign to discredit his brother in the eyes of his father, Gloucester.
- Act 2 Scene 1: Edmund furthers his plot against his brother: on the basis of Edmund's forged letter Gloucester rejects Edgar.
- Act 3 Scene 7: Gloucester is blinded and then told it was his son Edmund who betrayed him.
- Act 2 Scene 4: At Gloucester's house Regan and Goneril join forces in insisting that their father gives up all his servants. Lear leaves in stormy weather as the daughters bar the door against their father.
- Act 3 Scene 2: In concert with a violent storm on the heath, Lear rages against his daughters. He calls himself 'more sinned against than sinning.'
- Act 3 Scene 6: Increasingly incoherent, Lear insists on a mock trial to bring his evil daughters to account.
- Act 4 Scene 1: Edgar meets his blinded father and agrees to lead him to Dover. 'As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods,' says Gloucester.
- Act 5 Scene 3: Goneril poisons her sister and commits suicide, Edgar kills Edmund who has had Cordelia killed and Lear dies of a broken heart. Only a few survive.
- Act 1 Scene 4: Disguised as a peasant, Kent returns to Lear's service in order to protect him.
- Act 3 Scene 3: Despite his awareness that he is going mad, Lear feels pity for his Fool.
- Act 3 Scene 4: In the continuing storm Lear reflects on the poor and homeless who have no protection against such weather. Coming upon the naked Edgar as Poor Tom, Lear tears off his own clothes.
- Act 4 Scene 7: Lear and Cordelia are reconciled. 'No cause, no cause,' says Cordelia in response to her father's admission that she has some cause to hate him.
The natural order and the terrible consequences when the laws of nature are broken.
Some related scenes:
- Act 1 Scene 2: Illegitimate Edmund expresses his bitterness about his social status and resolves to eliminate his legitimate half-brother, Edgar.
- Act 2 Scene 1: Edmund furthers his plot against his brother: Gloucester rejects his son Edgar.
- Act 2 Scene 4: At Gloucester's house Regan and Goneril join forces in insisting that their father gives up all his servants.
- Act 3 Scene 2: In concert with a violent storm on the heath, Lear rages against his daughters.
- Act 4 Scene 7: War between the forces of good and evil is now fully engaged as Cordelia leads her troops against Goneril's army led by Edmund.
- Act 5 Scene 3: Goneril poisons her sister and commits suicide, Edgar kills Edmund who has had Cordelia killed and Lear dies of a broken heart. Only a few survive
Motifs
Nature as it mirrors the human condition; also as a force much greater and more authentic than human authority and as such a lesson in humility.
For example:
- 'Thou, Nature, art my goddess'
Act 1 Scene 2
- 'Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!'
Act 3 Scene 2
- 'Crack Nature's moulds, all germains spill at once, / That makes ingrateful man'
Act 3 Scene 2
- 'The tempest in my mind / Doth from my senses take all feeling else / Save what beats there'
Act 3 Scene 4
Blindness as highlighting the inner vision needed to tell substance from the superficial.
For example:
- 'All that follow their noses are led by their eyes but blind men'
Act 2 Scene 4
- 'I have no way, and therefore want no eyes; I stumbled when I saw'
Act 4 Scene 1
- 'What, art mad? A man may see how the world goes with no eyes. Look with thine ears'
Act 4 Scene 6
- 'Get thee glass eyes / And, like a scurvy politician, seem / To see things thou dost not'
Act 4 Scene 6
Parent / child relationships as reflecting the natural order of things and the consequences when this order is disrupted.
For example:
- 'Ingratitude, thou marble-hearted fiend, / More hideous when thou show'st thee in a child / Than the sea-monster'
Act 1 Scene 4
- 'Create her child of spleen, that it may live / And be a thwart disnatur'd torment to her'
Act 1 Scene 4
- 'I pray thee, daughter, do not make me mad'
Act 2 Scene 4
- 'But I shall see / The winged vengeance overtake such children'
Act 3 Scene 7
Clothing and nakedness as they support the idea of appearance versus reality, shallowness versus substance.
For example:
- 'Poor naked wretches, whereso'er you are, / That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm'
Act 3 Scene 4
- 'Let not the creaking of shoes nor the rustling of silks betray thy poor heart to woman'
Act 3 Scene 4
- 'You, sir - I entertain you for one of my hundred; only I do not like the fashion of your garments'
Act 3 Scene 6
- 'And bring some covering for this naked soul'
Act 4 Scene 1
- 'Robes and furr'd gowns hide all'
Act 4 Scene 6
- 'In palaces, treason; and the bond crack'd 'twist son and father'
Act 1 Scene 2
- 'Machinations, hollowness, treachery, and all ruinous disorders follow us disquietly to our graves'
Act 1 Scene 2
- 'If it be you that stirs these daughters' hearts / Against their father, fool me not so much / To bear it tamely'
Act 2 Scene 4
- 'Of Gloucester's treachery / And of the loyal service of his son'
Act 4 Scene 2
- 'Edmund, I arrest thee / On capital treason; and, in thine attaint / This gilded serpent'
Act 5 Scene 3
- 'If none appear to prove upon thy person / Thy heinous, manifest and many treasons'
Act 5 Scene 3
Madness as the consequence of upsetting the natural order; also as a form of wisdom in a topsy-turvy world.
For example:
- 'O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven'
Act 1 Scene 5
- 'I prithee, daughter, do not make me mad'
Act 2 Scene 4
- 'O fool, I shall go mad'
Act 2 Scene 4
- 'O, that way madness lies'
Act 3 Scene 4
- 'Enter Edgar disguised as a madman'
Act 3 Scene 4
- 'Thou say'st the King grows mad: I'll tell thee, friend, / I am almost mad myself'
Act 3 Scene 4
- 'Tis the time's plague when madmen lead the blind'
Act 4 Scene 1
- 'O, matter and inpertinency mix'd! / Reason, in madness'
Act 4 Scene 6
The natural order and the terrible consequences when the laws of nature are broken.
Some related scenes:
Motifs
For example:
Act 1 Scene 2
Act 3 Scene 2
Act 3 Scene 2
Act 3 Scene 4
Blindness as highlighting the inner vision needed to tell substance from the superficial.
For example:
Act 2 Scene 4
Act 4 Scene 1
Act 4 Scene 6
Act 4 Scene 6
Parent / child relationships as reflecting the natural order of things and the consequences when this order is disrupted.
For example:
Act 1 Scene 4
Act 1 Scene 4
Act 2 Scene 4
Act 3 Scene 7
Clothing and nakedness as they support the idea of appearance versus reality, shallowness versus substance.
For example:
Act 3 Scene 4
Act 3 Scene 4
Act 3 Scene 6
Act 4 Scene 1
Act 4 Scene 6
Act 1 Scene 2
Act 1 Scene 2
Act 2 Scene 4
Act 4 Scene 2
Act 5 Scene 3
Act 5 Scene 3
Madness as the consequence of upsetting the natural order; also as a form of wisdom in a topsy-turvy world.
For example:
Act 1 Scene 5
Act 2 Scene 4
Act 2 Scene 4
Act 3 Scene 4
Act 3 Scene 4
Act 3 Scene 4
Act 4 Scene 1
Act 4 Scene 6
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