Gloucester Flashcards
When Edmund is ‘injured’ in battle with Edgar
Glouc. ad Edmund share a line which presents Glouc’s resolve for Edm. to carry on his lineage
BUT Edmund speaks first which presents role reversal similar to that found in letter forged by Edmund
‘Stop, stop, no help?
Where’s the villain?’
‘the father should be as ward to the son and the son manage his revenue’
Lear when Gloucester leaves
Bc Glouc. reps upkeep of old order (foundation of hierarchy - gentry)
‘meantime we shall express out darker purpose’
Duality between Lear and Glouc. in the body politic
Lear is the head and Glouc. is heart of old order - they both break which leaves no hope for its survival
Lear: ‘O, let me not be mad, not mad’
Glouc: ‘O madam, my old heart is cracked, it’s cracked’
Gloucester tells Edmund all he needs to know to destroy him
Talks in prose to Edmund - places him as lesser when he’s Glouc’s successor and confidant - like Lear and G+R - they behave badly when treated as such
Archaic syntax attempts to reimpose old order and ironic - Edmund is unnatural!
‘Alack, alack, Edmund, I like not this unnatural dealing’
Gloucester being led by Edgar
Glouc is more upset about losing Edgar than his eyes bc he values metaphorical sight over actual sight, but deep irony is he doesn’t recognise Edgar
Thus Edgar doesn’t make himself known - Glouc has not repented - has no metaphorical or actual sight + therefore paralleled with Lear - they return to nothing
‘I have no way and therefore want no eyes’
‘I stumbled when I saw’
Gloucester being led by Edgar
Blind leading the blind proverb in Matthews - new order are metaphorically blind and leading each other into destruction and anarchy
Madmen = Old order (Lear and Gloucester)
Blind (metaphorically) = New order
Example the old order have made has led to how the new order are now - like Goneril and Regan
'’tis the times’ plague when madmen lead the blind’
Gloucester being led by Edgar
Less lines for second line and monosyllabic - nihilistic connotations
Disruption of natural order of old and new orders - plural ‘gods’
New order take on role of the gods - they play with their elders’ lives like they’re worth nothing - nihilism
‘as flies to wanton boys are we to the gods, they kill us for their sport’
Gloucester being found by Edgar, disguised as a Fisherman
Christian doctrine of bearing suffering which leads to rewards in heaven - resolves killing himself is not the way - step towards anagnorisis - need for Christianity over Paganism
Perhaps a message to JI? That England needs to become truly Protestant and move away from Popish practices in religion bc Catholicism = barbaric
‘henceforth I’ll bear affliction’
Gloucester after he and the ‘Fisherman’ find Lear
Presents how natural order has been transgressed - Lear embodies natural order as monarch and he is ruined bc he ruined nature - foretells the disintegration of the chivalric world into nothing
‘O ruined piece of nature, this great world shall so wear out to naught’
Gloucester commanding Edmund to show him the letter from ‘Edgar’
‘nothing’ is what the old order is reduced to - presents stubborn nature of old order - their refusal to adopt elements of new order to survive (hide = disguise and appearance v reality) so are reduced to nothing
Does’t need spectacles bc old order is firm and true so doesn’t need metaphorical sight (bc spectacles represent maturity and wisdom)
‘the quality of nothing hath not such need to hide itself. Let’s see: come, if it be nothing, I shall not need spectacles’
