Gods/religion Flashcards
“Know that we have divided in three our country”
-goes against divine right of kings therefore going against god and starts the turmoil
-Shakespeare wanted to flatter king James who was a big believer in primogeniture and the DRoK
“These late eclipses in the sun and the moon portend no good to us”
-in greek tragedy one key component is external forces at work: here Gloucester believes these external forces have caused this whilst Edmond disagrees strongly with this
-Edmond is going against the elements of tragedy and this could be a metaphor for him going against society and the rules of society
-g believes in pagan religion. Of the tune
“Fortune goodnight, smile once more turn thy wheel”
-Kent refers to the wheel of fortune in pagan beliefs , the goddess fortuna would spin a wheel to decide people’s fate
-Kent is saying his future is in the hands of the gods
“Fortune that arrant whore never turns the key to the poor”
-the fool references the wheel of fortune and how fortune favours tue wealthy
-contradictory as Lear is technically wealthy but could reference his loss of power
“Let the great gods that keep this dreadful puffer over our head find out their enemies now”
-tragic element of external forces at work
-lear is angry at these external forces for leaving him in this position but ironically he is the one who put himself in this position
“As flies to wanton (unthinking)boys are we to the gods;they kill us for sport”
-simile of flies and boys with humans(flies) and gods(boys)
-Gloucester references the power of the gods and how they can take everything from you(everyone is equal in that sense)
- is he starting to doubt his pagan beliefs/religion?
-references being out of control(sort of how the country is out of control of the consequences of Lears actions)
“I am even the natural fool of fortune”
-Lear references his loss of fortune
-calling himself the fool shows how since he has lost his mental state he has almost taken the role of the fool as he spreads wisdom but with little mental stability
“The gods themselves throw incense”
-the Lear shows his love and respect of Cordelia
-to the audience the gods praising Cordelia would have been a shocking statements and emphasises her goodness
“The wheel is come full circle”
-Edmond references wheel of fortune and how he has assumed power then lost it
