King Lear Research Paper
KING LEAR ESSAY
Question: “The genius of King Lear lies in the universality of the themes and issues it portrays.” Discuss.
Answer: The brilliance of the play, King Lear, by William Shakespeare, is a universally acknowledged play because of the unanimously known themes and issues it portrays and it uniqueness of it as opposed to other tragedies Shakespeare has written in the past. Many of the themes and values present in the novel are known worldwide such as family values, patriarchal society and hence, the roles of women in this type of society, power, hierarchy and self-respect, love, and deceit of others. All these values and themes play a very important role in shaping King Lear as a play, and also show what a remarkable story it …show more content…
In King Lear, these aspects are seen well as Gonerill and Regan take their power more seriously than anything else. Lear had thought that by giving Gonerill and Regan power, it would automatically be handed to their husbands, as they were the men, and they were to rule. Yet, it is noticed that Gonerill and Regan take complete advantage of this situation and make every attempt to control this power. This is seen in Act 2 scene 4, when Gonerill and Regan are first seen in Lear’s eyes as pairing up and realizes them for their evilness. Regan and Gonerill get rid of Lear’s soldiers and make Lear so weak that he is literally helpless. They take complete control of the kingdom and dismiss Lear’s soldiers to rule the land shown through Regan’s response to Lear’s “I gave you all”. She replies by saying “and in good time you gave it” showing her utter evil plots and her voracity for power. Lear curses the unnatural cruelty of them and rages against the upcoming storm scene. His rage is shown through the words, “You unnatural hags, I will have such revenges on you both” and runs out into the storm. In the 2005 Cut production, we see a feministic approach to King Lear called Queen Lere. This production shows the play in a more matriarchal view where characteristics such as the fool are taken out and Edmund and Edgar are women. This portrays the values of women in power; a sexual reference to the play with themes of family and love. The view uses a projected view of background to show scenes and their surroundings more
Question: “The genius of King Lear lies in the universality of the themes and issues it portrays.” Discuss.
Answer: The brilliance of the play, King Lear, by William Shakespeare, is a universally acknowledged play because of the unanimously known themes and issues it portrays and it uniqueness of it as opposed to other tragedies Shakespeare has written in the past. Many of the themes and values present in the novel are known worldwide such as family values, patriarchal society and hence, the roles of women in this type of society, power, hierarchy and self-respect, love, and deceit of others. All these values and themes play a very important role in shaping King Lear as a play, and also show what a remarkable story it …show more content…
In King Lear, these aspects are seen well as Gonerill and Regan take their power more seriously than anything else. Lear had thought that by giving Gonerill and Regan power, it would automatically be handed to their husbands, as they were the men, and they were to rule. Yet, it is noticed that Gonerill and Regan take complete advantage of this situation and make every attempt to control this power. This is seen in Act 2 scene 4, when Gonerill and Regan are first seen in Lear’s eyes as pairing up and realizes them for their evilness. Regan and Gonerill get rid of Lear’s soldiers and make Lear so weak that he is literally helpless. They take complete control of the kingdom and dismiss Lear’s soldiers to rule the land shown through Regan’s response to Lear’s “I gave you all”. She replies by saying “and in good time you gave it” showing her utter evil plots and her voracity for power. Lear curses the unnatural cruelty of them and rages against the upcoming storm scene. His rage is shown through the words, “You unnatural hags, I will have such revenges on you both” and runs out into the storm. In the 2005 Cut production, we see a feministic approach to King Lear called Queen Lere. This production shows the play in a more matriarchal view where characteristics such as the fool are taken out and Edmund and Edgar are women. This portrays the values of women in power; a sexual reference to the play with themes of family and love. The view uses a projected view of background to show scenes and their surroundings more