King Lear Essay

Question 1

what is my overarching thesis for the essay?

Answer 1

King Lear (1606), as a tragedy, is a play of transformations and unexpected reversals, in which characters’ hamartia causes them to suffer through falling from their God-ordained place on the Great Chain of Being.

Question 2

what is a tragedy (as a drama genre)?

Answer 2

a genre of drama based on human suffering, mainly when someone of high order falls from grace, and undergoes unexpected personal reversals

Question 3

introduction.
finish the sentence: in dramatic irony, it is seen that the king’s _____________________.

Answer 3

the king’s breakdown of the divine chain of order sets in motion tragedy, encompassing Lear, his family, his country, and the cosmos

Question 4

as such, what is seen in both the main plot and the parallel sub-plot

Answer 4

we see depravity and madness in not only the main plot, mapping Lear and his daughters’ demise but mirrored in the parallel sub-plot of Gloucester and his sons

Question 5

what does Shakespeare’s vision of “the bond cracked twixt” father and child, as well as king and god, evoke?

Answer 5

Shakespeare’s vision of “the bond cracked twixt” father and child, as well as king and god, evokes pathos in the cathartic heightening of the ages men’s fall from high status to “nothing” but “unaccommodated man”

Question 6

what is my focus for my paragraph on King Lear?

Answer 6

the fatal flaw of hubris interferes with royal accountability and responsibilities, and clear judgment

Question 7

what is the context behind the paragraph on King Lear?

Answer 7

reflects the concerns of Jacobean audiences’ fears about the end of ‘the Golden Age’, and the rule of a new monarchy that could potentially bring despair and suffering to England.

Question 8

what is my first quote for King Lear’s paragraph?

Answer 8

“Thou art nothing… [you are] Lear’s shadow” (pg. 43, Act 1, Scene 4) - Fool to Lear when responding to Lear’s question of “Who am I?”

Question 9

“Thou art nothing… [you are] Lear’s shadow” techniques

Answer 9

motif of ‘nothing’, Fool represents Lear’s voice of reason, macro theme of the divine right of kings.

Question 10

“Thou art nothing… [you are] Lear’s shadow” analysis

Answer 10

Lear has become a shadow of his former self, ‘nothing’, a mere appearance of a king lacking authority and power due to his hubris destroying the Great Chain of Being.

Question 11

what is my second quote for King Lear’s paragraph?

Answer 11

“to be a comrade with the wolf and owl” (pg. 89, Act 2, Scene 4) - King Lear

Question 12

“to be a comrade with the wolf and owl” techniques

Answer 12

animalistic imagery & representation

Question 13

“to be a comrade with the wolf and owl” analysis

Answer 13

descent into ‘nothing’ further represented → says he would rather revert to his animalistic state than live without power, than live without his knights, symbolic of his power and authority → Great Chain of Being, humans toe the line between royalty and animals.

Question 14

what is my third quote for King Lear’s paragraph?

Answer 14

“O! let me not be mad, not mad” (pg. 53, Act 1, Scene 5) - King Lear

Question 15

“O! let me not be mad, not mad” techniques

Answer 15

motif of madness, dramatic irony, foreshadowing, catharsis, allusion

Question 16

“O! let me not be mad, not mad” analysis

Answer 16

calling upon the Gods to save him from madness, foreshadows his future fate – madness – considered to be the worst fate to befall someone.

Question 17

what is my critical quote for King Lear paragraph?

Answer 17

“the external storm… is itself a projection of his inner state” - D. A. Traversi

Question 18

“the external storm… is itself a projection of his inner state” analysis

Answer 18

lear’s inner fight against madness is representative of the kingdom’s descent into suffering and madness

Question 19

what is my focus for my paragraph on Gloucester?

Answer 19

legitimacy is challenged, and suffering begins when fatal flaws are emphasised through the breaking of societal order.→ seen through the introduction of Gloucester and his illegitimate “bastard” son, Edmond

Question 20

what is the context behind the paragraph on Gloucester?

Answer 20

introduction of Edmond’s illegitimacy and status of a “bastard” mirrors the uncertainty of Jacobean audiences’ regarding the legitimacy of King James’ divine right to the crown of England, especially in light of the 1605 plotting and treason to topple his reign

Question 21

what is my first quote for Gloucester’s paragraph?

Answer 21

“the whoreson must be acknowledged” (pg. 3, Act 1, Scene 1) - Gloucester

Question 22

“the whoreson must be acknowledged” analysis

Answer 22

introduction of Edmond, presents his status of bastardy as an illegitimate son, also introduces Gloucester’s fatal mistake of adultery, creating a Machiavellian son, whose greed for power and ‘legitimacy’, produces a spiral of suffering to befall Gloucester

Question 23

what is my second quote for Gloucester’s paragraph?

Answer 23

“this villain… there’s son against father” (pg. 27, Act 1, Scene 2) - Gloucester

Question 24

“this villain… there’s son against father” techniques

Answer 24

dramatic irony

Question 25

“this villain… there’s son against father” analysis

Answer 25

Gloucester’s fatal flaw in trusting Edmond, emphasises his moral blindness and gullibility in mistaking Edgar as the villain, rather than the “prince of darkness”, who is illegitimate Edmond, whose betrayal is the reason for his physical blinding.

Question 26

what is my third quote for Gloucester’s paragraph?

Answer 26

“because I would not see thy… pluck out his poor eyes” (pg. 129, Act 3, Scene 7) - Gloucester

Question 27

“because I would not see thy… pluck out his poor eyes” techniques

Answer 27

dramatic irony, foreshadowing

Question 28

“because I would not see thy… pluck out his poor eyes” analysis

Answer 28

foreshadows the fate of Gloucester, who suffers brutally literal blindness rather than metaphorical, highlighting the parallels between the main plot and sub-plot in their fall from grace

Question 29

what is my mini quote for Gloucester’s paragraph?

Answer 29

“prince of darkness” (pg. 135, Act 3, Scene 4) - Edgar

Question 30

what does the mini-quote for Gloucester link into?

Answer 30

links to the notion of legitimacy during the analysis of quote 2 → Edmond is illegitimate but referred to as ‘prince’ due to his greed & cunningness.

Question 31

what is my focus for my paragraph on Goneril & Regan?

Answer 31

depravity and greed are seen to flourish in the unwinding of the wheel of fortune and the destruction of the Great Chain of Being → seen in the cunningness of the sisters, Goneril and Regan

Question 32

what is the context behind the paragraph on Goneril & Regan?

Answer 32

contradicts 17th-century traditional gender roles and the notion of femininity due to the animalistic traits and attributes the sisters possess.

Question 33

what is my first quote for Goneril & Regan’s paragraph?

Answer 33

“Thy sister’s naught… sharp-toothed unkindness, like a vulture.” (pg. 85, Act 2, Scene 4) - Lear to Regan

Question 34

“Thy sister’s naught… sharp-toothed unkindness, like a vulture.” technique

Answer 34

animalistic imagery and representation

Question 35

“Thy sister’s naught… sharp-toothed unkindness, like a vulture.”analysis

Answer 35

originating from their rise to power during their success in the love test, the audience sees the sisters’ decline from nobility. Goneril’s ‘betrayal’ of Lear calls for Lear to refer to her as “a vulture”, characteristically benefiting from another’s misfortune, representing Goneril’s depravity, contrasting royal attributes.

Question 36

what is my second quote (+ mini quote) for Goneril & Regan’s paragraph?

Answer 36

“see thyself, devil” “ tigers, not daughters” (pg. 141, Act 4, Scene 2) - Albany

Question 37

“see thyself, devil” techniques

Answer 37

biblical allusion, the motif of seeing/blindness/eyes

Question 38

“tigers, not daughters” techniques

Answer 38

animalistic representation

Question 39

“see thyself, devil” analysis

Answer 39

biblical allusion to the ‘devil’ referring to her moral deformity and downfall into depravity and wickedness, breaking feminine notions of kindness

Question 40

“tigers, not daughters” analysis

Answer 40

highlights sisters downfall from nobility, to being one with the fauna, exerting their animalistic instincts and elements.

Question 41

what is my critical quote for Goneril & Regan’s paragraph?

Answer 41

“human tendency to evil… can reduce humanity to bestial condition.” - Frank Kermode

Question 42

“human tendency to evil… can reduce humanity to bestial condition.” analysis

Answer 42

reflecting the sister’s descent into depravity and cunningness in the event of gaining great power and wealth. humanity toeing the line between nobility and animals. evil = devil

Question 43

conclusion. what does King Lear represent regarding Jacobean fears in light of the rule of a new monarch?

Answer 43

In light of the rule of a new monarch, notions of tragedy are explored, emphasising the concerns of Jacobean audiences’ around misfortune from the end of the Golden Age, reflected through the journey of suffering until the “promised end”. Thus, royal accountability and notions of legitimacy and depravity disrupting social order are emphasised throughout Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’ (1606).