Reading King Lear
1. Take notes on the following motifs by marking
down the motif(s), speaker(s), act, scene, lines.
Example notes from 1.1:
Gloucester,
parenthood/sex/unfaithfulness, 1.1.8-24
Goneril, Regan, Cordelia, saying v. truth, 1.1.60+
Cordelia, Lear, “nothing” 1.1.96
Lear, appetite/savagery 1.1.131, 136
Kent,
loyalty, madness, flattery, wisdom, emptiness, hollowness,161-174
What
is the relationship between literal and figurative imagery, on the one hand,
and thematic development on the other?
Is
what is said understood? Is what is
said true? (flattery, lies, etc.)
Is
what is seen or (otherwise sensed:
touched, smelled) understood? Is it true?
(Eyes
are very important!)
What
is natural? What is unnatural (or monstrous)?
What
is sane? What is mad?
What
is wisdom? (What is reasonable?) What
is foolishness? (What is excessive?)
What
is loyalty and faithfulness? What is
betrayal and unfaithfulness?
What
is kindness? What is cruelty?
How
are these related to age and youth?
How
are these related to parents and
children?
How
are these related to rank and status?
How
are these related to property and wealth?
How
are these related to the line between animals
and humans?
How
are these related to storms and calms?
How
are these related to planets, stars, fates?
What
is the significance of nothingness, emptiness,
hollowness, loss, and nakedness in the play?
What
is the significance of eating,
appetites, consuming in the play?
What
is the significance of sex and lust
in the play?
What
is the significance of blood (both
as a signifier of family and of violence)?
All of the aforementioned motifs interact, weaving in and out of each other to form a matrix of association. So when Lear denies Cordelia her inheritance, he doesn't say "get away from me; you're no longer my daughter" (in Elizabethan English and iambic pentameter). He evokes several motifs and images that are echoed in other parts of the play: "Thy truth, then, be thy dower" "For by the sacred radiance of the sun... by all the operation of the orbs" "paternal care" "property of blood" "gorge his appetite" "avoid my sight" (1.1.120-139).
Also be on the look out for inversions: the natural becoming unnatural, the truth that is false, the sight that is a lie, the fool that is wise, etc. & look out for parallels. ("Monster" is tagged on both Cordelia and Edgar in Act One.) Look out for motif-words with ambiguous multiple or shifting meanings (especially "nature" and "nothing"). Listen for playfulness and for echoes. Figurative associations often haunt the literal meanings. And repetitions often reveal the play's obsessions.
2. Choose a particular monologue or passage of dialogue to analyze. (1) In your analysis demonstrate an understanding of the passage’s meaning within its context. (2) Also, identify and discuss the significance of (at least two) motifs within the passage. What does the use of the motifs reveal, particularly about characters, conflicts, and themes? (3) Finally, discuss the relationship between how the motifs are presented in the passage and how the motifs are presented elsewhere in the play. Post your response below. At the beginning of your post include your name, name the motifs, and quote the passages (include act.scene.line). [Note: In the right margin of the blog you'll find links to searchable etexts of King Lear and to video recordings of performances. These resources may be of help.]
All of the aforementioned motifs interact, weaving in and out of each other to form a matrix of association. So when Lear denies Cordelia her inheritance, he doesn't say "get away from me; you're no longer my daughter" (in Elizabethan English and iambic pentameter). He evokes several motifs and images that are echoed in other parts of the play: "Thy truth, then, be thy dower" "For by the sacred radiance of the sun... by all the operation of the orbs" "paternal care" "property of blood" "gorge his appetite" "avoid my sight" (1.1.120-139).
Also be on the look out for inversions: the natural becoming unnatural, the truth that is false, the sight that is a lie, the fool that is wise, etc. & look out for parallels. ("Monster" is tagged on both Cordelia and Edgar in Act One.) Look out for motif-words with ambiguous multiple or shifting meanings (especially "nature" and "nothing"). Listen for playfulness and for echoes. Figurative associations often haunt the literal meanings. And repetitions often reveal the play's obsessions.
2. Choose a particular monologue or passage of dialogue to analyze. (1) In your analysis demonstrate an understanding of the passage’s meaning within its context. (2) Also, identify and discuss the significance of (at least two) motifs within the passage. What does the use of the motifs reveal, particularly about characters, conflicts, and themes? (3) Finally, discuss the relationship between how the motifs are presented in the passage and how the motifs are presented elsewhere in the play. Post your response below. At the beginning of your post include your name, name the motifs, and quote the passages (include act.scene.line). [Note: In the right margin of the blog you'll find links to searchable etexts of King Lear and to video recordings of performances. These resources may be of help.]
Comments on act one are due by pumpkin time on Sunday, February 5.
Comments on act two are due by pumpkin time on Sunday, February 12.
Comments on act three are due (for Mr. Cook's class) before A-block on Monday 27Feb.
King Lear has asked his three daughters to profess how much they love him. Cordelia’s two older sisters profess their love by pretty much stating he is the center of their universe and they worship him. The passage I have chosen to analyze is Cordelia’s response to King Lear’s request of professing her love. She said he has raised her as well as loved her. She said she returns her love by obeying him and honoring him. Also, Cordelia asked in a rhetorical question why her sisters have husbands if he has all their love. Cordelia said she wants to marry a man who will have half her love. She said she does not want to be like her sisters, who claim their father has all their love.
ReplyDeleteFour motifs I recognize in this passage are loyalty, truthfulness, love, and the relationship between parents and children. Cordelia was truthful in her response to her father’s request for a proclamation of love because she did not tell her father just wanted to hear. He wanted to hear the same response as her sisters’, which was that he has all their love. Cordelia did tell him she loved him, but he does not have all her love. Cordelia was also loyal to her father, simply because she did profess her love. Also, the passage reveals a lot about the relationship between Cordelia and her father. There is love and loyal in their relationship, but truthfulness as well.
In the passage, the motifs are presented by Cordelia, who tells the truth. Later on in the play, you see the motifs through other characters that tell the truth. For example, in act one scene three, Goneril, King Lear’s eldest daughter, talks truthfully about how angry she is at her father to Oswald, her steward. Two motifs that are the same in the passage above are loyalty and the relationship between parents and children.
I'm not sure why my top part got off. I have the top part saved in my Microsoft document but here it is:
DeleteOlivia Davis
Loyalty/Truthfulness/Love/Relationship between parents and children
"Good my lord,
You have begot me, bred me, loved me.
I return those duties back as are right fit:
Obey you, love you, and most honor you.
Why have my sisters husbands if they say
They love you all? Haply, when I shall wed,
That lord whose hand must take my plight shall
carry
Half my love with him, half my care and duty.
Sure I shall never marry like my sisters,
(To love my father all.)
1.1.105-115
Tucker Hugel
ReplyDeleteWisdom/foolishness
Truth/loyalty
after King Lear banishes Kent, he tries to come back in disguise to get his old job back. I have chosen to analyze his passage in response to king Lear asking him who he is.
Act I. Sc.4, 14-18
Kent: I do profess to be no less than i seem, to serve him truly that will put me in trust, to love him that in honest, to converse with that is wise and says little, to fear judgement, to fight when i cannot chose, and to eat no fish.
In this passage "Kent" is explaining to the king what he wants to do for the king. He wants to be the kings new adviser and friend, just like he used to be. So to earn the kings trust he says he will not do exactly what got Kent banished, And this is refreshing for the king to hear. He wants an adviser like Kent, but right now he wants some who will hold their tongue, and not forget who is king. So Kent knowing the king so well tells him that he will give him wise advice, but talk little, and fear the kings judgement. this makes Lear feel important and powerful, so the disguised Kent is given a trial period.
What's funny about this passage is that Kent talks about being honest towards the King, which is what he was doing when the king banished him for not being loyal, but now when he lies to the kings face the King trust him. The king trust every word the "stranger" tells him and conceives it to be loyalty, yet when Kent originally tried to advise King Lear his close friend, he was banished. Shakespeare Is playing with the idea of how people respond to being told the truth and lies, and what people actually want to here. Shakespeare also has Kent play with the idea of wisdom in this passage. Kent tells king Lear That he has come to give him wise advise, yet Kent ends by saying he wont eat fish. He offers wisdom, but ends his passage with a joke, offering the king a humorous comfort.
Besides in this passage the motifs of loyalty/truth, and wisdom/foolishness are seen through out act I. We see that when King Lear's daughter Goneril would not exaggerated her love for the king she is being truthful but he tosses her out because he misreads it as being disloyal. Later in The first act the fool makes jokes towards the king, yet hidden in everything he says is the bitter truth about the king, yet he dismisses the wisdom as foolishness, and doesn't pay much attention to him. so we can see how Wisdom/foolishness, and
Truth/loyalty continue to affect King Lear's life.
Fiona Prentice
ReplyDeleteGreed
Control
Goneril goes to her father, King Lear, asking him to get rid of some of his knights. She believes that he is too many.
Act 1 Scene 4 Lines 244-259
GONERIL
This admiration, sir, is much o' th' savor
Of other your new pranks. I do beseech you
To understand my purposes aright.
As you are old and reverend, should be wise.
Here do you keep a hundred knights and squires,
Men so disordered, so debauched and bold
That this our court, infected with their manners,
Shows like a riotous inn. Epicurism and lust
Make it more like a tavern or a brothel
Than a graced palace. The shame itself doth speak
For instant remedy. Be then desired
By her that else will take the thing she begs,
A little to disquantity your train,
And the remainder that shall still depend
To be such men as may besort your age,
Which know themselves and you.
During this scene Goneril has approached her father asking him to get rid of some of knights. The younger ones do not act their age and it makes her feel like they are living in a pub rather than a palace. She asks her father to keep the ones that are older like him, the ones who act his age. In response, King Lear says that Goneril is not really his daughter.
Greed comes up because Lear wants everything. He wants more knights then he could possibly need. Also Lear and Goneril are seeking control. Goneril is seeking control because she wants to see how much her and her sisters can control her father. For King Lear the need for control comes from his greediness. Greed and control continue to have an effect on King Lear’s and that of the kingdom’s life.
Shaelyn Lake
ReplyDeleteGreed
Control
Illegitimacy/Legitimacy
Jealousy
The following quote is of Edmund's soliloquy about how he is a bastard and is plotting against his legitimate brother, Edgar.
EDMUND
Thou, nature, art my goddess; to thy law
My services are bound. Wherefore should I
Stand in the plague of custom, and permit
The curiosity of nations to deprive me,
For that I am some twelve or fourteen moon-shines
Lag of a brother? Why bastard? wherefore base?
When my dimensions are as well compact,
My mind as generous, and my shape as true,
As honest madam's issue? Why brand they us
With base? with baseness? bastardy? base, base?
Who, in the lusty stealth of nature, take
More composition and fierce quality
Than doth, within a dull, stale, tired bed,
Go to the creating a whole tribe of fops,
Got 'tween asleep and wake? Well, then,
Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land:
Our father's love is to the bastard Edmund
As to the legitimate: fine word,--legitimate!
Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed,
And my invention thrive, Edmund the base
Shall top the legitimate. I grow; I prosper:
Now, gods, stand up for bastards!
In this scene, multiple motifs are brought up. Edmund is being greedy and is upset about the land Edgar is receiving from Gloucester because of his legitimacy to Gloucester. He compares himself to Edgar, saying he is the same as him physically, just there mothers aren't the same. For this, Edmund is jealous of Edgar and he states that Gloucester's love is only for Edgar. And lastly, he says that he is going to take the land from Edgar. Edmund is plotting against his brother and this scene foreshadows what is to come of Edgar. These motifs are to continue throughout the rest of the scene.
GLOUCESTER, planets/natural/parents and children/reason, 1.2.109+
ReplyDeleteThese late eclipses in the sun and moon portend
no good to us: though the wisdom of nature can
reason it thus and thus, yet nature finds itself
scourged by the sequent effects: love cools,
friendship falls off, brothers divide: in
cities, mutinies; in countries, discord; in
palaces, treason; and the bond cracked 'twixt son
and father. This villain of mine comes under the
prediction; there's son against father: the king
falls from bias of nature; there's father against
child. We have seen the best of our time:
machinations, hollowness, treachery, and all
ruinous disorders, follow us disquietly to our
graves. Find out this villain, Edmund; it shall
lose thee nothing; do it carefully. And the
noble and true-hearted Kent banished! his
offence, honesty! 'Tis strange.
In this passage Gloucester is speaking to Edmund, telling him that he feels as if bad things are to come. After reading the letter supposedly from Edgar that Edmund had tried hiding, and the king’s disownment of his daughter and his banishment of Kent, Gloucester feels as if these feelings must be true. Fearful of what these omens may mean, Gloucester sends Edmund to find out Edgars intentions, but tells him to do it carefully because even telling the truth will get you in trouble nowadays.
This passage also reflects some of the major motifs throughout the play, including planets, parent and child as well as the idea of wisdom and reasonability. Gloucester seems to speak much about eclipses in this passage, and on how such planetary movements do not bode well. To Gloucester this seems to be proven by recent event. Later after Gloucester leaves the scene Edmund goes on to speak of how it is silly for his father to blame the events on patterns of the planets, that we cannot blame our own human dilemmas on other things. Edmund also gives the example of his own conception being under poor planetary patterns and him not blaming his life on that. In Gloucester’s ramblings of planets he uses examples to show how things fall apart, one example he uses twice, is parent and child connections; “the bond cracked 'twixt son/ and father. This villain of mine comes under the/ prediction; there's son against father: the king/ falls from bias of nature; there's father against / child.” These examples have already proved true, Edgar’s betrayal of Gloucester, and the King’s abandonment of his daughter. Such connections have been seen throughout the play and continue to, through the King’s relationship with his three daughters as well as Gloucester’s ongoing trouble with his sons.
Meg Bresnahan
ReplyDeleteMotifs: Planets, stars, fates
1.2.109-124
GLOUCESTER: These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend no good to us. Thouh the wisdom of nature can reason it thus and thus, yet nature finds itself scourged by the sequent effects. Love cools, friendship falls off, brothers divide; in cities, mutinies; in countries, discord; in palaces, treason; and the bond cracked 'twixt son and father: [This villain of mine comes under the prediction: there's son against father. The King falls from bias of nature: there's father against child. We have seen the best of our time. Machinations, hollowness, treachery, and all ruinous disorders follow us disquietly to our graves.] -- Find out this villain, Edmund. It shall lose thee nothing. Do it carefully.-- And the noble and true-hearted Kent banished! His offense, honesty! 'Tis strange.
In this passage Gloucester is saying that although science can explain the recent eclipses, a disaster will soon follow. He explains what kind of disiasters can happen after the eclipse. Gloucester asks Edmund to figure out what Edgar is planning but to do it carefully. He then reflects on the strangness of Kent being banished for telling the truth.
The motif of the sun and moon in an eclipse as well as fate foreshadow possible actions in the future. Gloucester uses the eclipse to predict an uninevitable disaster. He predicts his own possible fate but leaves it in the hands of his illegitimate son, Edmund. I think this could be the beginning of Gloucester's downfall because he refuses to recognize the threat his other son Edmund could pose and only focuses on Edgar. Gloucester also says "The King falls from bias of nature" I think this could refer to Gloucester's future actions. Shakespeare means natural inclination when he says the bias of nature. I think his natural inclination would be to question his illegitimate son but instead he falls from this path and instead questions Edgar. I think omens from the stars will play a crucial role in the fate of Gloucester.
Mai Okada
ReplyDeleteKing Lear-power, parents/child, old/youth, eyes, kindness/cruelty, storm, natural/monster, status and loyalty/betrayal
(1.4.311~327)
LEAR
I tell thee. [To Goneril] Life and death! I am ashamed
That thou hast power to shake my manhood thus,
That these hot tears, which break from me preforce,
Should make thee worth them. Blasts and fogs upon thee!
Th' untented woundings of a father's curse
Pierce every sense about thee! Old fond eyes,
Beweep this cause again, I'll pluck you out
And cast you, with the waters that you loose,
To temper clay. (Yea, is 't come to this?)
Ha! Let it be so. I have another daughter
Who, I am sure, is kind and comfortable.
When she shall hear this of thee, with her nails
She'll flay thy wolvish visage. Thou shalt find
That I'll resume the shape which thou dost think
I have cast off forever.
King Lear is telling his eldest daughter Goneril that she is trying to control him, which he, as a father, does not appreciate. He goes on to say that he will go to his other daughter, who will receive him more kindly than she has, and come to avenge him. It is only when Regan tears away Goneril's mask that he will be able to resume the face that he has lost (according to Goneril). This shows that although Lear is willing to retire from old age but does not appreciate being pushed to the side by his beloved daughters.
A few of the motifs that have been mentioned before are:
Power by Edmund in 1.2.
Parents/child between Gloucester and Edmund, and King Lear and his three daughters in 1.1.
Loyalty/betrayal by King Lear and Kent in 1.1 and 1.4.
Post #1
ReplyDeleteClare Pleuler
Wisdom/Foolishness and Truth/Lies
Nothingness
{Act 1, Scene 4, Line 96-140}
Although this scene is filled with a variety of figurative language, inversion of meanings and reoccurring ideas, there is plenty of literal meaning that can be gathered.
To begin, the Fool enters and offers Kent his coxcomb, which is his cap. King Lear greets him, inquiring how he is. The Fool then begins to repeatedly ask Kent to take his cap, suggesting he really should, for other reasons that have a deeper meaning. The Fool then directly addresses Kent, saying he needs to be entirely more receptive to shifts in power, most likely referring to Lear and his current situation. The Fool also touches on Lear banishing his two daughters and most notably how he helped his other, Cordelia, accidentally and unknowingly. Then the Fool suggests, to Kent, that if he is going to follow and respect Lear, that he should take his coxcomb, as he would essentially be a fool. King Lear begins to anger, threatening the Fool with word of “the whip”. Yet, the Fool presses on, making a clever remark on the incongruities of Lear’s nature and how his perceptions are not consistent with the ones of noble and loyal people. The Fool then directly speaks to Lear, making sure he is listening, and goes on to make a small speech about how Lear should act and live. The Fool centers his speech around what’s meaningful and important in life, and perhaps acquiring real happiness. The Fool goes on to confuse the King with an inversion on nothingness, and Lear becomes all together angrier.
The first notable motif in this set of text stems from the Fool and his dialogue. The Fool is able to use an inversion of flattery and truth to suggest that Lear wrongly rewards the lies he demands from his daughters, ultimately meaning that the actual truth has no place with Lear. This inversion further develops the motif of wisdom, which often shows up throughout the set of text I have chosen. Wisdom is imparted mostly by the Fool, which seems paradoxical in itself, but he is certainly knowledgeable and understands Lear’s situation and essence. The Fool is able to give advice and information to the characters (which perhaps lays the foundation for other motifs), although he is a fool, because he is constantly around, watching and listening. For example, the Fool suggests to Kent that he should be wary of his ability to adjust to those who are in new found power, and to be careful not to follow a man who has no set of morals or power to lead, through his clever inversions and word choice.
Post #2 - Clare Pleuler
ReplyDeleteThe second motif is again developed through the Fool’s playful dialogue with King Lear. The Fool plays on the idea of nothingness with the foolish King, successfully confusing the man and angering him more then before. The Fool uses “nothing” to refer to the speech he had just made, suggesting that he had no motivation to make it special, like a lawyer will not defend you without incentive in the court room, because Lear had given him nothing for it to begin with. King Lear also regards the Fool’s speech as nothing, which is notable because it centered around how to be noble and strong, and how life should be lived carefully, which is far from nothing or worthless. The Fool uses this thought of nothing in order to develop the motif of foolish madness throughout these passages. Because King Lear is so baffled by this idea and establishes his foolishness through his dialogue with the Fool, the effective use of the confusing aspect of nothingness successfully conveyed King Lear’s overarching nature.
The motifs that were presented in this part of Act 1 were conveyed in largely the same style as the rest of the text we have read thus far, however it is imparted through a different character, the playful Fool. This use of a different vessel to convey meaning develops the motifs a bit differently but the end result of translating the message was very much alike. This suggests that the author has a very distinct style that continues throughout the novel, which I think is quite true. Within these two motifs of wisdom and nothingness, the seeds of other motifs were planted. For example, within the motif wisdom, there were hints of the supporting, reoccurring ideas of loyalty, betrayal and power, given to the reader through the Fool’s speech to Kent. Although there were clear motifs that came up throughout this portion of Act 1, Scene 4, others were also born and developed.
Eleanor Keller
ReplyDeleteParenthood
Nothingness
Saying V. Truth
Flattering
Hollowness
I chose to analyze to analyze Cordelia's response to her father's question of how much she loves him. In the previous lines, Cordelia's two sisters, Goneril and Regan, overly express their love for their father through words and exaggerated feelings. This displayed the themes of flattering and hollowness. On the theme of parenthood, the responses of the first two sisters seem to exemplify a parent-child relationship filled with that hollowness.
When Cordelia responds by saying "nothing," her father demands more, explaining that "nothing will come of nothing." When pushed forward Cordelia says that her feelings towards him are no more or less than they should be; according to their 'bond' (parent-child relationship again). Lear is dissapoined by what Cordelia has to say, and proceeds to ask her if her heart was in her words. When she says yes he describes her heart and emotions as "so young and so un-tender?" Rather than agreeing or disagreeing, Cordelia says: "So young, my lord, and true." She does not want to flatter her father as her sisters did, or argue with him either. Therefore she simply states her beliefs. I find it interesting that she does not question him calling her un-tender. Instead of addressing the age and tenderness, she states that she is young and true. In this, she seems to accept the 'un-tender' comment and place the concept of truth as much more important. I am interested to see how this idea of truth (in relation to Cordelia especially) is woven into the remainder of the work.
The Motifs: If something is true, what's reasonable or foolish, loyalty and betrayal
ReplyDeleteQuote: GONERIL
Sir, I love you more than words can wield the matter;
Dearer than eye-sight, space, and liberty;
Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare;
No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honour;
As much as child e'er loved, or father found;
A love that makes breath poor, and speech unable;
Beyond all manner of so much I love you...
KING LEAR
To thee and thine hereditary ever
Remain this ample third of our fair kingdom;
No less in space, validity, and pleasure,
Than that conferr'd on Goneril. Now, our joy,
Although the last, not least; to whose young love
The vines of France and milk of Burgundy
Strive to be interess'd; what can you say to draw
A third more opulent than your sisters? Speak.
CORDELIA
Nothing, my lord.
KING LEAR
Nothing!
CORDELIA
Nothing.
KING LEAR
Nothing will come of nothing: speak again.
CORDELIA
Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave
My heart into my mouth: I love your majesty
According to my bond; nor more nor less.
In this passage, the motifs that Goneril follows, Cordelia is the opposite. Goneril is being nice and sucking up to her father so that she can get her inheritance, while Cordelia is being reasonable with her love by splitting her love between her future husband and her father. King lear takes offense to this and claims Cordelia is being disloyal, while her sisters are being loyal to him by giving all of their love to him.
Megan Pereen
ReplyDeleteLear, Cordelia, Parents/Children, Loyalty/faithfulness and Betrayal/unfaithfulness 1.1.13 99-115
In this section we are first introduced to the plot of the main story. Cordelia is being asked to confess her love to prove that she loves her father more than her two older sisters and therefore deserves the biggest share of the kingdom when Lear divides it. She tells her father that her love can’t be put into words and flattery and can not speak of him higher than her older sisters. Lear begins to get angry with her and in the end casts her aside and gives her nothing because he doesn’t believe she has any love for him. However, she has just as much as a daughter should have for her father and tries to point out that if her sisters where to have the same love they wouldn’t have married and given their love to another.
We see here the work of parents and children and the relationship they have through the play. Regardless of the simple words spoken by Cordelia to her father, her father doesn’t believe her because of the flattery he obtains from his other two daughters. Blood relationship does nothing to aid in his decision and instead judges their passion on flattery. He is blinded by said flattery and cannot understand that Cordelia really does love her father. Gloucester also falls into this blindness by flattery with Edmund and Edgar. The relationship between father and daughter regardless of stature or position of power can be seen through lines 100-102. “Unhappy as I am, I cannot heave my heart into my mouth. I love your majesty according to my bond, no more no less.” She loves him as much as a daughter should love her father.
Another motif seen is faithfulness and betrayal. Lear is blind to which daughter is actually faithful to him and which are planning betrayal To Lear those that are loyal and faithful to him are the ones who can flatter him the most and make him feel better about himself when he is being scrutinized for dividing the kingdom in the first place. They know he will become blinded and not be able to see who is actually faithful and who is unfaithful.
Mr. Cook,
DeleteI emailed it to you. It was way too long to post on the blog(would've been like 4 pieces) so it's in your email!
Thanks,
~Sarah
Maryka Gillis
ReplyDelete(1.2.109-124)
Gloucester
Planets, Parents, Children, Loyalty/Betrayal, Natural/Unnatural
In this monologue, Gloucester lets out his feelings of betrayal and disquiet regarding the letter presented to him by his son Edmund. The letter, which was written by Edmund, was presented to him as from his other son, who was supposedly trying to reap the riches of the kingdom and discard of his father. Ironically, it was Edmund who was more inclined to do so, and Edgar had no idea about the plot that was supposedly his. Gloucester immediately brings up his belief in horoscopes and, accordingly, predetermined fate, but mentioning the phases of the sun and moon. Their eclipses, which can be thought of as symbolizing his eclipse from the truth, serve as a connection between planetary motion and what has and will come to pass. He proceeds to mention the “wisdom of nature”. This is ironic for a few reasons. Edmund is his illegitimate son, borne to him out of wedlock, while Edgar is his legitimate son, and in this case, it is the bastard son who is being trusted. Additionally, Gloucester trusts a lie grand enough to cause familial strife, while in actuality, the one he blames is unaware that anything had conspired.
Another interesting point in this monologue is Gloucester’s statement “brothers divide”; following this monologue, Edmund goes on to feed information to his brother that will supposedly help him. In reality, of course, it will just go to turn father against son further. He also mentions the “bond cracked ‘twixt son and father”, followed by “the King falls from bias of nature.” The irony in this statement is that it is Gloucester who separates himself from the “natural” child, Edgar, and siding instead with Edmund, his bastard son; in this way, he does fall from nature’s bias, thought he did not intend to describe himself when stating such.
To reassure Edmund, Gloucester states near the end of his monologue that Edmund conspiring with his father against his brother to reveal any evil plans will “lose thee nothing.” In fact, it very well may result in the death of his father, his brother, or even himself. Gloucester would be losing either his own life or a child if this happened as well. Finally, Gloucester remarks on the irony of Kent’s banishment for telling the truth. This is hilariously ironic, because Gloucester is eating up the lies fed to him by Edmund and in this manner alienating himself from the truth and from the son who would likely be true and loving to him, unlike Edmund’s cruelty. After stating “’Tis strange!” and satisfying the contradictory nature of his speech, Gloucester exits.
Part 1
ReplyDeleteThe passage I have chosen to analyze spans 1.2.109-156. It is the end of the group of lines where Gloucester is speaking to Edmund and the beginning of Edmund’s discussion with Edgar. The lines are packed with juxtapositions of opposites and contradictions, and make references to the natural versus the unnatural in several places, playing particularly upon the stars and fate, as well as (in context and undertone) betrayal and loyalty. ]
The essence of what the quotation means: Gloucester is reflecting on the recent conflicts within the world and kingdom, how parts of a single unit (city, family, country) turn against other parts or the success of the whole and bring overall discord to the entirety. Edmund is upset about the lack of responsibility in man for who he is, and what he does, leaving all blame on the shoulders of fate and stars. Edmund is turning against his brother(embodying his father’s concerns about discord), and at the same time using the stars (whose works he scorns) to explain the consequences of his own plotting, saying that he predicted (based on the stars) the problem of father turning against son.
Part 2
ReplyDelete“Though the wisdom of/ nature can reason it thus and thus, yet nature finds/ itself scourged by the sequent effects.” (1.2.110-112) This particular group of lines shows both inversion and natural vs. unnatural. Things in nature, both human and earthly(like the eclipses in the rest of the speech) lead to some sort of disaster, no matter how reasonable they may seem. Much like the natural answer Cordelia gave Lear concerning her love for him. Regardless of how honest and natural her answer was, his response was a cold one that disowned her. His reaction was an unnatural one, as he called her “a wretch whom Nature is ashamed/ Almost t’ acknowledge hers.”(1.1.243-244) Another underlying meaning is that of Edmund’s bastardizing. Edmund is therefore an “unnatural” child as he is not legitimate, but he is also “natural” in the same sense. The legitimate child(Edgar) is therefore less natural, yet much less harmful than the natural Edmund in his plotting. In both quotes nature is punished by its own actions. Cordelia’s nature has her cut out of inheritance, and man’s nature has consequences as in Gloucester’s quote.
“Machinations, hollowness, treachery, and all ruinous disorders follow us disquietly to our graves.” (1.2.119-121)This is still part of Gloucester’s line. It holds in the first three words a summation of each major event of the play thus far, and makes dramatic irony of the current scene. “Machinations” describe the plotting of Edmund with regard to Edgar, a situation which the audience understands to be Edmund’s evil plan but which Gloucester is blind to. It also embodies the actions of Regan and Gonreil later in the act when Gonreil writes to Regan to explain their father’s madness and plot to show him his authority is no longer warranted: “What he hath uttered I have writ my sister./ If she sustain him and his hundred knights/ When I have showed th’ unfitness¾…Inform her full of my particular fear,/ And thereto add such reasons of your own/ As may compact it more.”(1.4.352-354...359-361) “Hollowness” is what Gloucester fails to see in Edmund’s lies, and what Lear supposed was in Cordelia’s words, when in fact the hollowness he named was in the words of Regan and Gonreil. “Treachery” is what is evident in Lear with Cordelia, Edmund with Edgar and Gloucester, as well as Regan and Gonreil with Lear.
“Find out this villain, Edmund. It shall/ lose thee nothing.” (1.2. 121-122) Another line in Gloucester’s speech, holds lots of irony. Edmund is making something of nothing by lying about his brother, so that he may gain something in status and inheritance. Also reflects the nothing that Cordelia said in response to Lear that lost her inheritance.
Last one!!
ReplyDeleteEdmund’s response to Gloucester’s line is his frowning on the divine blame that stems from shameful actions. Which could be considered a “natural” cause. This is ironic because the conflict between Edgar and his father is due to him a “natural” bastard, but he blames it on the “natural” prediction he made based on the stars: “I am thinking, brother, of a prediction I read this other day, what should follow these eclipses…I promise you, the effects he writes of succeed unhappily, (as of unnaturalness between the child and the parent…”(1.2.147-148...150-152) The quote plays off the naturalness of betrayal and self-promotion and the innate unnaturalness/monstrosity of presenting such a truth to the audience. Telling the truth has thus far landed all tellers in ugly situations(Cordelia and Kent). Telling his brother he is plotting against him would also end badly, however not telling the truth to his father also will.
King Lear Act 1 Scene 2 Lines 125-144
ReplyDeleteMotifs: Planets, Stars, Fates, Lust
This monologue of Edmund's after his father leaves in a hurry from hearing the letter that Edmund wrote pretending to be Edgar is one that continues Gloucester's mentioning of the stars and planets acting upon humanity. Gloucester fully believes in the superstitions of planetary signs and the mysterious effect they might have on us, but in this excerpt Edmund completely trashes his father's beliefs. "This is the excellent foppery of the world that when we are sick in fortune...we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars, as if we were villains by necessity, fools by heavenly compulsion, knaves, thieves.." Edmund says that humans are beyond stupid to believe that it is the stars' faults for the evil, betrayal, and thievery that plagues humanity. Edmund then goes on to say "Fut, I should have been that I am, had the maidenliest star in the firmament twinkled on my bastardizing" which is him saying he would still be the tricking and conniving bastard that he is even if the most heavenly of astrological signs were above him on the night of his mother's conception. Edmund believes in the evil that is within each person's heart, and acts happily that his evil is showing and will benefit him with the downfall of his brother. He wants full credit for his clever plan to destroy his family.
Act 1, Scene 2
ReplyDeleteNature, Rank and Status, Fate
In this monologue, Edmund, “the bastard”, laments the fact that he is labeled so. He is “twelve of fourteen moon-shines” short of a brother, possibly a reference to the fact that it is only timing that separates him and Edgar. He questions the reason for why he is considered second-class. His “mind as generous”, his “shape as true”, why then is he considered inferior? Or rather, base? He hinges upon that word. Why base? Why bastardy? He then proceeds to question why marriage makes children superior to those created out of wedlock. Why is he inferior to a one of many children, part of a “whole tribe of fops”, begotten within a “dull, stale, tired bed”? He then announces his intention to usurp his “legitimate” brother, Edgar, Finally beseeching the gods to “stand up for bastards!”
Rank and Status is a prominent motif in the dialogue. The issue of being a bastard is particularily good at clearly showing the existence of such rifts, often, and especially in this case, for nominal reasons.
Fate ties into this as another important motif. Why, Edmund, asks, does his fate decree him to be second-class when he is just a sound and able-bodied as his brother? He sees this as unjust, and seeks to break this path and create his own fate with his “invention,” the letter, as the starting point.
A-block people,
ReplyDeleteI promised you a post giving feedback about the act one responses. If you're looking for responses to model your act two responses on look back at the longer responses above that are broken into three parts. In addition to that advice I can offer this: (1) when you make an interpretation (for example if you claim that some bit of text is funny) explain your interpretation; (2) when making connections to the play as a whole be specific whenever possible (refer to specific characters, situations, plot lines, speeches, phrases, etc.); (3) when writing about the meaning of the passages pay special attention to figurative and symbolic language.
O.K. I look forward to your act two responses.
Olivia Davis
ReplyDeleteTruthfulness/Relationship between parents and children
“You see me here, you gods, a poor old man
As full of grief as age, wretched in both.
If it be you that stirs these daughters’ hearts
Against their father, fool me not so much
To bear it tamely. Touch me with noble anger,
And let not women’s weapons, water drops,
Stain my man’s cheeks. – No you unnatural hags,
I will have such revenges on you both
That all the world shall – I will do such things –
What they are yet I know not, but they shall be
The terrors of the earth! You think I’ll weep.
No, I’ll not weep.
I have full cause of weeping, but this heart
Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws
Or ere I’ll weep. – O Fool, I shall go mad!” – King Lear 2.4.314-328
I have chosen to analyze the passage where Lear angrily responds to Goneril and Regan’s request of Lear dismissing his knights. Lear says he is a poor old man. He follows that by saying he feels like Goneril and Regan have turned against him and have lost all love for him. He says he is angry that they have turned against him. He vows to seek revenge on his daughters. He also says he will not cry. Lear says that his heart will break into a hundred thousand pieces before he cries.
In this passage, there is obviously a version of the relationship between parents and children. Goneril and Regan are selfish, spoiled daughters because they want what their father has. It is not enough that their father gave away everything else. Lear also feels like they are taking advantage of him because as he said so himself, he is just a poor old man, but yet they are asking another thing of him. There is also the motif of truthfulness in this passage. Goneril and Regan are finally revealing to Lear about what they have been discussing between the two of them, which is Lear giving up his knights. Goneril and Regan are cowards because they wait until they are together to bring up the situation of Lear giving up his knights.
This passage relates to Cordelia’s response to Lear’s request of professing her love in act one, scene one. The relationship between Lear and his youngest daughter are demonstrated. Cordelia is truthful to him about professing her love, just like Goneril and Regan are truthful about Lear giving up his knights. However in act one, scene one you are able to see the love between Cordelia and Lear, whereas in act two, scene four all you see is the greed of Goneril and Regan to Lear.
Act II scene 1
ReplyDeletelines 110-126
Regan: was he not companion with the riotous knights that tended upon my father?
Gloucester: i know not, madam. 'Tis too bad, too bad.
Edmund: yes, madam, he was of that consort.
Regan: no marvel, then, though he were ill affected. 'Tis they have put him on the old man's death, to have th' expense and waste of his revenues. I have this present evening from my sister been well informed of them, and with such cations that if they come to sojourn at my house i'll not be there
Cornwall: nor i, assure thee, Regan.-Edmund, i hear that you have shown your father a childlike office.
Edmund: it was my duty, sir.
Gloucester: he did bewray his practice, an received this hurt you see striving to apprehend him.
In this selected passage Edmund is continuing to deceive every one into believing that his brother is a villain, and that he is a loyal son worthy of his fathers title. Edmund has just made it look like he tried to capture his brother, and was "wounded" in the struggle, and then he furthers slanders his brothers name by saying he was in cahoots with a bunch of rebellious knights.
here we can see another example of loyalty and telling truth, Edmund is making up lies about his brother, and with every lie he seems more and more loyal. While others in king lears world that tell the truth are seen as not loyal. Later in act II "Kent" is thrown into the stalks, because he told the truth about the other messenger and drew his sword upon him. This act of truthfulness was seen as not loyal by Regan and Cornwall, who were on the side of the other messenger, unknown to Kent. Not only is the truth a sign of not being loyal, it is also a sign of foolishness, Because the fool always speaks the truth very plainly, yet every one just laughs and dismisses him.
This passage Relate to the underlying theme of the rest of the story in that everyone is being deceitful, and being deceived by other; and that everyone has a secret agenda revolving around King Lear.
Act 2. scene 4, 79-94
ReplyDeleteFool
We'll set thee to school to an ant, to teach thee
there's no labouring i' the winter. All that follow
their noses are led by their eyes but blind men; and
there's not a nose among twenty but can smell him
that's stinking. Let go thy hold when a great wheel
runs down a hill, lest it break thy neck with
following it: but the great one that goes up the
hill, let him draw thee after. When a wise man
gives thee better counsel, give me mine again: I
would have none but knaves follow it, since a fool gives it.
That sir which serves and seeks for gain,
And follows but for form,
Will pack when it begins to rain,
And leave thee in the storm,
But I will tarry; the fool will stay,
And let the wise man fly:
The knave turns fool that runs away;
The fool no knave, perdy.
Within context, this exchange between Kent and the Fool takes place shortly after Lear's arrival at Gloucester's castle. At this point, Lear has briefly departed to try and talk to Regan and Cornwall. Kent asks why Lear arrived with so few in attendance and above is the Fool's response.
The motifs that stand out most in this passage are wisdom vs. foolishness, and eyes, but age is also mentioned through the metaphor of winter (is it even a metaphor? All those mid-term words really mucked up my sense of that), as are storms, and it also discusses loyalty.
As the fool (and the handy text on the opposite page of the book) explains, Lear's knights have left him because he is in his “winter” in both age and power (that is to say he is old practically powerless), and it is therefore their laboring is unprofitable. Similarly they can “smell his decay” and sense his incoming disastrous decline (as described with the wheel).
All of it describes Lear's decline in some way, with “winter,” “decay,” and “runs down the hill.” Sight comes up in the assertion that even a blind man can sense Lear's decay. The wording in fact seems to suggest that a blind man is able to sense the disaster better than those who were just following with their eyes. This presumably calls forward to the blinding of a character later in the play.
The sense is given that all of his attendants could sense that Lear was heading towards a disaster and indeed the Fool says so in song “...And follows but for form, will pack when it begins to rain, and leave thee in the storm.” That quote alone address both the loyalty motif and the storm motif. It says, indirectly, that none of those following Lear had any real loyalty to him, they were just doing so because they were told and expected to, which is overall what the Fool is saying with the whole speech. Though storm is used metaphorically in the Fool's song, it is noteworthy that Lear proceeds to literally run forth into a storm, an act which is considered “foolish.” Foolishness is woven throughout this excerpt, it is particularly pertinent in the line “but I will tarry; the fool will stay. Let the wise man fly.” Though literally referring to the Fool himself, (and this may be a bit of a stretch) it also applies to Lear in the sense that he is staying upon his course towards the storm.
Overall, the passage gives a sense of Lear's great impending misfortune that only fools and those loyal to him (which are just about the same) can't see.
Clare Pleuler
ReplyDeleteNobility/Loyalty
Truth
[Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 74-110)
While at first it seemed like it would have been rewarding to again analyze the dialogue made by the clever Fool in this act, I am glad I chose to dissect a part of the noble Kent’s speech and series of claims that he makes against Oswald.
Before the passage that I analyzed began, Kent meets Oswald at Gloucester’s castle, where they wait for a response to the letters they brought to Regan. Kent challenges Oswald to a duel after making numerous declarations about his character and behavior. When Cornwall, Regan and Gloucester arrive on the scene and inquire their reason for fighting, the section I took a closer look at begins to unfold. Kent’s entire speech deals mostly with the bashing of Oswald, particularly his weak and two faced actions. Notably, Kent takes digs at Oswald’s manhood, his character and nobility. Particularly, Kent speaks on how Oswald obeys Lear despite his apparent madness, whether it be through denial or testimony. Kent makes it known that he yearns to fight Oswald because of their immeasurable differences. When Kent essentially disses everyone around him, Cornwall steps in and begins to harp on Kent.
Although this is a generally short bit of dialogue by Kent, it is rich in meaning. The most prevalent motif, the vital need for truth and nobility, is developed in the very first proclamation that Kent makes against Oswald. “That such a slave as this should wear a sword, who wears no honesty.” Kent declares this because he believes that Oswald is not entirely man enough to wear a symbol of the essence of manhood. He believes with conviction that Oswald is not honorable by any means and is not deserving of such a privilege. Kent goes on to bash Oswald’s worthless loyalty and lack of nobility by saying: “Smooth ever passion that in the nature of their lords rebel, being oil to fire, snow to the colder moods, renege, affirm, and turn their halcyon beaks with every gale and vary of their masters...” The underlying meaning to this part of the speech is that Oswald continues to follow his leader passionately despite his increasing madness. This is particularly notable because it creates a stark contrast of nobility between Kent and Oswald, as the reader remembers that Kent chose to speak out against his leader because he couldn’t go against his own morals. This point is also developed when Kent asserts his own manhood, declaring that he would enjoy dueling Oswald on the plains of Sarum. The motif of truth and real nobility, which is the center piece of this entire section of dialogue, is developed by the foil that Kent creates with King Lear and Oswald.
Part 2
ReplyDeleteThe other motif that appeared in this part of the scene stems from truth, which I have already mentioned above coupled with nobility. This part of truth, though, is touched upon by Cornwall, ultimately acting as an inversion for what is real. Cornwall comes down on Kent for twisting his words and bringing about meanings that are not real, when in fact, Cornwall tends to do this himself quite often. Kent is almost always blunt and honest with his words, while Cornwall is all together more contriving and manipulative. This inversion continues as Cornwall proclaims that Kent is not capable of speaking truthfully, disrespecting him and calling him a sycophant, while in reality Cornwall is, and is defending, someone whose being revolves around catering to someone else! This clear inversion of what is real and truthful sheds light on both Cornwall and Oswald’s tendency to weakly follow and obey without question along with manipulate freely.
Both motifs, nobility and truth, have shown up quite often in what we’ve read thus far. This isn’t surprising, as much of the novel has been about trickery, weakness and loyalty. Kent’s inclination to be truthful, noble and unrelenting is something that has been constant throughout the novel, first appearing when he would not stand for Lear’s cruel banishment of Cordelia, and most recently being unwilling to accept Oswald and Cornwall’s weak and lowly behavior. The motif of what is truly truthful contrasting what is feigned has been very common, most notably with Cornwall and Edmund thus far, has been developed mostly through the use of inversions, such as when Edmund is commended for being a loyal son and Edgar is sought out to be killed, or when Kent is bashed for being a lying sycophant, which is nothing but empty lies.
Act II Scene I
ReplyDeleteEDMUND
The duke be here to-night? The better! best!
This weaves itself perforce into my business.
My father hath set guard to take my brother;
And I have one thing, of a queasy question,
Which I must act: briefness and fortune, work!
Brother, a word; descend: brother, I say!
Enter EDGAR
My father watches: O sir, fly this place;
Intelligence is given where you are hid;
You have now the good advantage of the night:
Have you not spoken 'gainst the Duke of Cornwall?
He's coming hither: now, i' the night, i' the haste,
And Regan with him: have you nothing said
Upon his party 'gainst the Duke of Albany?
Advise yourself.
EDGAR
I am sure on't, not a word.
EDMUND
I hear my father coming: pardon me:
In cunning I must draw my sword upon you
Draw; seem to defend yourself; now quit you well.
Yield: come before my father. Light, ho, here!
Fly, brother. Torches, torches! So, farewell.
Exit EDGAR
Some blood drawn on me would beget opinion.
Wounds his arm
Of my more fierce endeavour: I have seen drunkards
Do more than this in sport. Father, father!
Stop, stop! No help?
In this passage, Edmund is coming up with his plan in order to steal Edgar's place. He is speaking when all of a sudden Edgar appears. To get Edgar to run away, Edmund tricks him into thinking that Cornwall is mad at him for being on Albany's side. Then Edgar is told that his hiding place was found by Gloucester and that he must flee. Edmund pretends to fight while Edgar flees. Finally, Edmund cuts himself to make it seem as if Edgar did it and calls for his father.
This scene exhibits both jealousy and greed in Edmund's part. He is jealous of Edgar and his relationship with his father that ties in the bastardness. Throughout the whole scene Edmund is being greedy and manipulates everyone.
This passage relates to the underlying theme of the rest of the story because it shows how twisted Edmund is and how jealous and desperate he is to achieve a higher level in his father's eyes. I almost feel bad for the guy.
(2.3.1-21)
ReplyDeleteEdgar
What is Seen vs. What is True, Monstruousness (beast, filth), Madness/Lunacy, Kindness (charity), Rank/Status, Property/Wealth vs. Poverty, Fates (persecutions of the sky), Nothingness/Nakedness
EDGAR I heard myself proclaimed,
And by the happy hollow of a tree
Escaped the hunt. No port is free; no place
That guard and most unusual vigilance
Does not attend my taking. Whiles I may ‘scape,
I will preserve myself, and am bethought
To take the basest and most poorest shape
That ever penury in contempt of man
Brought near to beast. My face I’ll grime with filth,
Blanket my loins, elf all my hairs in knots,
And with presented nakedness outface
The winds and persecutions of the sky.
The country gives me proof and precedent
Of Bedlam beggars who with roaring voices
Strike in their numbed and mortified arms
Pins, wooden pricks, nails, sprigs of rosemary,
And, with this horrible object, from low farms,
Poor pelting villages, sheepcotes, and mills,
Sometime with lunatic bands, sometime with prayers,
Enforce their charity. “Poor Turlygod! Poor Tom!”
That’s something yet. “Edgar” I nothing am.
In this passage, Edgar responds to his father’s banishment. Paraphrased, he essentially discusses his banishment and what it means for him. He states that he is not safe anywhere near his father’s lands, unless he disguises himself. To do so, he will take on a mangy appearance intentionally, and thus appear as a beggar. In doing so, he will also gain sympathy and pity from villagers and be able to sustain himself off of their charity.
Edgar’s monologue is laced with undertones and symbolism. He states that he must “...take the basest and most poorest shape/That ever penury in contempt of man/Brought near to beast.” In this, the theme of bastards and natural vs. unnatural children arises again, as “basest” connects to Edmund’s previous speech of being a bastard child, and a base. In this case, the role is reversed, and Edgar, who is not the “natural” child, must become the base. Additionally, Edgar here bridges the gap between animal and human by planning on advancing closer to a bestial state. By doing this, he will also have to turn in his royal status and wealth, taking on a poorer and more basic lifestyle. In this, he abolishes the stigmas of wealth and status, which are abundant and thick throughout the first two acts of the play. Edgar also hides the truth by doing so, presenting a beggar where a person of nobility actually is. The kindness and charity he claims he will receive is an interesting example of kindness and what is seen versus what is real. The kindness offered to him is presumably offered because of his slovenly and pathetic appearance. The irony in this lies in the fact that if Edgar presented himself as a wandering man from nobility, he would likely not receive any goodwill. Thus, the kindness he receives can be considered empty or false kindness, done out of obligation or pity rather than genuine kindness.
An interesting pair of symbols in this speech is nakedness with the fates. Edgar states that he will “...with presented nakedness outface/The winds and persecutions of the sky.” “Persecution of the sky” can be interpreted as judgment or sentencing of supernatural forces; in other words, one’s ultimate fate. By stripping himself of his nobility, status, and wealth - in other words, “presented nakedness” - Edgar makes himself immune to the workings of fate and the stars, as he is separated from his initially intended path. This veers dramatically from the beliefs of his father, who in my previously analyzed passage, emphasizes the importance of the the stars have laid out for him and his family. When Gloucester loses trust in Edgar, he blames it on the fates; in Act One he says, “These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend no good to us.” This distinction between the two characters - the belief and disregard of the fates - heightens the alienation between the two, and reinforces the theme of children distanced from fathers due to misunderstandings.
Act 2.2
ReplyDeleteThe Motifs: If something is true, what's reasonable or foolish, loyalty and betrayal
CORNWALL
Why, art thou mad, old fellow?
GLOUCESTER
How fell you out? say that.
KENT
No contraries hold more antipathy
Than I and such a knave.
CORNWALL
Why dost thou call him a knave? What's his offence?
KENT
His countenance likes me not.
CORNWALL
No more, perchance, does mine, nor his, nor hers.
KENT
Sir, 'tis my occupation to be plain:
I have seen better faces in my time
Than stands on any shoulder that I see
Before me at this instant.
CORNWALL
This is some fellow,
Who, having been praised for bluntness, doth affect
A saucy roughness, and constrains the garb
Quite from his nature: he cannot flatter, he,
An honest mind and plain, he must speak truth!
An they will take it, so; if not, he's plain.
These kind of knaves I know, which in this plainness
Harbour more craft and more corrupter ends
Than twenty silly ducking observants
That stretch their duties nicely.
KENT
Sir, in good sooth, in sincere verity,
Under the allowance of your great aspect,
Whose influence, like the wreath of radiant fire
On flickering Phoebus' front,--
CORNWALL
What mean'st by this?
KENT
To go out of my dialect, which you
discommend so much. I know, sir, I am no
flatterer: he that beguiled you in a plain
accent was a plain knave; which for my part
I will not be, though I should win your displeasure
to entreat me to 't.
CORNWALL
What was the offence you gave him?
OSWALD
I never gave him any:
It pleased the king his master very late
To strike at me, upon his misconstruction;
When he, conjunct and flattering his displeasure,
Tripp'd me behind; being down, insulted, rail'd,
And put upon him such a deal of man,
That worthied him, got praises of the king
For him attempting who was self-subdued;
And, in the fleshment of this dread exploit,
Drew on me here again.
When Kent starts a fight with Oswald, Oswald has no idea who Kent is because Kent is in disguise. So, Oswald is very confused. During the fight, Gloucester and Cornwall interrupts the fight. Cornwall and Gloucester are trying to figure out why Kent and Oswald are fighting. Kent claims that Oswald offended him, so he attacked him. Oswald says that he did nothing to offend Kent.
Kent's whole character reflects loyalty in this book, he gets exiled, and still comes back disguised as a peasant. But here, he shows his disloyalty by insulting and attacking a servant of royalty. Oswald is being loyal in this scene by reporting a crime to his masters. Which is simple but can be very loyal. Kent is being foolish in this scene because instead controlling his anger he attacks Oswald. Oswald was not foolish, by calling for help instead of fighting back.
Part 1
ReplyDeleteThe passage I have chosen to analyze spans 2.1.43-99, another conversation between Gloucester and Edmund. There are references again to the stars and moon, as well as natural vs. unnatural, and clear connections and parallels with actions in the rest of the plot.
In this quotation, Edmund relates a staged fight between him and Edgar to Gloucester. Edmund accuses Edgar of injuring him(which he really did himself) and fleeing from Gloucester’s prospective punishment. Gloucester then proceeds to disown Edgar, and threatens to kill him if he is ever found in the city.
“Here stood he in the dark, his sharp sword out,/ Mumbling of wicked charms, conjuring the moon/ To stand auspicious mistress.” (2.1.43-45)Here Edmund is again playing to Gloucester’s belief in the powers of the fates, using such foolishness to incriminate his brother just as in Act 1 : “I am thinking, brother, of a prediction I read this other day, what should follow these eclipses…I promise you, the effects he writes of succeed unhappily, (as of unnaturalness between the child and the parent…”(1.2.147-148...150-152) Here Edmund blames the strange behavior of his father(Gloucester) and Edgar on the powers of the stars, and in Act 2, he extends this lie to complete the explanation for Edmund’s continued defiance, saying he is calling upon the stars and the moon to stir up the trouble he’s already put in motion(an action Edmund is totally responsible for.
“Spoke with how manifold and strong a bond/ The child was bound to th’ father¾sir, in fine,/Seeing how loathly opposite I stood/ To his unnatural purpose, in fell motion/With his prepared sword he charges home/ My unprovided body, {lanced}mine arm;/And when he saw my best alarmed spirits, / Bold in the quarrel’s right…Full suddenly he fled.”(2.1.56-62...65) Here Edmund speaks of the bond between father and son, which to the audience/reader holds a certain irony. Edmund is sabotaging the “strong” bond between father and loyal son, and replacing it with a bond that rewards his own evil dealings and tricks his father into compliance. This is similar to the set up Lear’s daughters have arranged between themselves and the king. The loyal daughter gone, and the king blubbering demands and specific treatment when he has given his power to his underhanded daughters leaves them to prove just how sacred their bond to him is. “I pray you, father, being weak, seem so.”(2.4.234) Here Regan points to Lear’s old age and lack of power, practically demanding that he admit the loss of the very power he has given her and Gonreil, and succumb to their conditions if he wishes to be properly attended to. Lear must come to the realization that the once sacred relationship he held with his daughters was polluted by the inheritance of his kingdom, in the same way that Edmund’s relationship with his father is polluted with the lies of Edgar’s greed toward Gloucester’s heritage. In the original quote there is also talk of “unnatural purpose” something Edmund definitely has in his web of lies and carefully played alliances, but which Edgar is accused of, the unnatural yet legitimate child who has turned against his father because he’s been told his father is against him. Edmund, though the natural child is illegitimate, and it is in this latter manner which he will usurp Edgar’s inheritance and Gloucester’s favor.
Part 2
ReplyDeleteThere is similar talk of the natural vs. unnatural in Lear’s words to Cordelia, as well as Edmund’s original “base” speech: “a wretch whom Nature is ashamed /Almost t’ acknowledge hers.”(1.1.243-244) These are the loaded words with which Lear describes his daughters “unnatural” person to her suitors. Ironically, what she did by telling the truth was very natural and showing, Yet because the truth was less than Lear had hoped for, he deemed it an unnatural evil, along with his daughter, who he here swears possesses no human nature as well. “Thou, Nature, art my goddess. To thy law/My services are bound…Who in the lusty stealth of nature,…As to th’ legitimate.” (1.2.1-20) [I shortened the beginning of the speech, the whole portion is relevant to the situation is these lines but it was a little long to write out. ] Here Edmund points to the unnaturalness of his father’s love in favoring a child, the legitimate and “unnatural” one, over the natural and illegitimate one. He curses the terms, and vows to serve the naturalness that come with being a “bastard” and to live up to its terminology to steal the inheritance from his brother whose legitimacy will prevent him from fighting such actions. Though naturalness is what the king fights in Cordelia he is shutting down the good, whereas Edmund is embracing the evil.
In the remainder of the passage there is more reference to the “base” speech and to the natural vs. unnatural:
“’Thou unpossessing bastard, dost thou think/ If I would stand against thee, would the reposal/ Of any trust, virtue, or worth in thee/ Make thy words faithed? No.’”(2.1.77-80)
“And of my land,/ Loyal and natural boy, I’ll work the means/ To make thee capable.”(2.1.97-99)
“Let him fly far!/Not in this land shall he remain uncaught, /And found¾dispatch.”(2.1.66-68) Here Gloucester’s orders about Edgar mimic those of Lear’s concerning Kent:”If on the tenth day following/ Thy banished trunk be found in our dominions,/The moment is thy death.”(1.1.200-202)Much like Kent, the banishment yields, not a fleeing, but a new plan for both of the exiled. Kent returns, disguised, and again earns the trust of Lear, and Edgar vows to return as a beggar: “I will preserve myself, and am bethought/ To take the basest and most poorest shape/ That ever penury in contempt of man/ Brought near to beast. My face I’ll grime with filth,/Blanket my loins, elf all my hair in knots,/ And with presented nakedness outface/ The winds and persecutions of the sky.”( 2.3. 6-12) Both characters put themselves on a new level, Kent up taking his same position, which is what got him banished in the first place, and Edgar becoming “base” like the evil brother who should be banished over Edgar.
Self-infliction
ReplyDeleteSibling Rivalry
Two-facedness
Act 2, Scene 1. Lines 20-38
Edmund:
My father watches: O sir, fly this place;
Intelligence is given where you are hid;
You have now the good advantage of the night:
Have you not spoken 'gainst the Duke of Cornwall?
He's coming hither: now, i' the night, i' the haste,
And Regan with him: have you nothing said
Upon his party 'gainst the Duke of Albany?
Advise yourself.
Edgar:
I am sure on't, not a word.
Edmund:
I hear my father coming: pardon me:
In cunning I must draw my sword upon you
Draw; seem to defend yourself; now quit you well.
Yield: come before my father. Light, ho, here!
Fly, brother. Torches, torches! So, farewell.
Of my more fierce endeavour: I have seen drunkards
Do more than this in sport.
Edmund wants to be Gloucester's heir, so he has to get rid of Edgar, his older, half-brother. In the first act, he writes a letter to himself but is forged in Edgar's hand. He shows it to Gloucester, and pretends to defend Edgar, but then slowly advises Gloucester that Edgar needs to be punished. Here, Edmund is telling Edgar that Gloucester is after him with a death sentence, making himself look as innocent as possible. He is warning Edgar to flee, while he's also yelling out for help because he's "being attacked" supposedly. Edgar has no idea what is going on or what has been done. Edgar never thought that Edmund would have a grudge against him, so he believes every word. Confusion is a repeated theme in the play, notably in the first two scenes of the act. Once Edgar exits, Edmund wounds his own arm and blames it on Edgar. This show the audience/reader how dedicated he is to his plan. He thought it out well, and is willing to go at any length to reach his goals.
Eleanor Keller
ReplyDeleteNothingness
Saying V. Truth
Act 2, Scene Three
EDMUND:
I heard myself proclaimed,
And by the happy hollow of a tree
Escaped the hunt. No port is free; no place
That guard and most unusual vigilance
Does not attend my taking. Whiles I may 'scape,
I will preserve myself, and am bethought
To take the basest and most poorest shape
That ever penury in contempt of man
Brought near to the beast. My face I'll grime with filth.
Blanket my loins, elf all my hairs in knots,
And with presented nakedness outface
The winds and persecutions of the sky.
The country gives me proof and precedent
of Bedlam beggars who with roaring voices
Strike in their numbed and mortified arms
Pins, wooden pricks, nails, sprigs of rosemary,
And, with this horrible object, from low farms,
Poor pelting villages, sheepcotes, and mills,
Sometime with lunatic bans, sometime with prayers,
Enforce heir charity. "Poor Turlygod! Poor Tom!"
That's something yet. "Edgar" I nothing am.
Act II, Scene III in King Lear is only one speech by Edmund. Prior to this he has been banished from the Kingdom because of his brother's lies and games he plays with his father. In this act Edmund tells his survival of the banishment and details his plan to disguise himself as a poor beggar.a I chose this passage because of a few crucial themes and interesting word choices that have intertwined themselves within the text.
Currently, because of his status in the social order, Edmund feels as if he is 'nothing.' Through creation of this 'beggar' character he will become someone. A face that now means 'nothing' will soon be connected with emotions and memories (the people in the insane asylum). To Edmund this perception of him by others creates who he is. Personally I feel as if Edmund will be more of a 'nothing' when he disguises himself as something he is not. This goes along with the theme of Saying V. Truth. Whatever Edmund says from now on will be questioned by the audience for it's validity because we know he is capable of disguises and trickery. At the same time, this creates a type of dramatic irony when the audience knows of Edmund's disguise before any other characters. Due to that, the audience may be more likely to trust him and his thoughts.
This inner conflict over the theme of Nothingness has presented itself before while I read. I think it is interesting, and a great basis for class discussion. This passage was the perfect example of what varying opinions may view as nothingness.
A few word choices stood out to me in this section and enhanced the piece in interesting ways. The first was when Edmund speaks of escaping 'the hunt.' Rather than using 'search' or 'quest,' the 'hunt' gives an animalistic feel to his banishment. Later, Edmund says 'presented nakedness.' Rather than using nakedness as a natural concept, Shakespeare even makes that a part of the act Edmund is portraying. For me, this highlighted the disguise aspect of the scene, and reminded me that what he is saying (and peoples perceptions of him) will vary from the truth.
One last thing that I thought about as I analyzed this, was the allusion to the Bedlam Beggars. Edmund goes into great detail about the people. I wonder if he sees himself as actually becoming insane if he doesn't find a way back to the Kingdom. By not disguising himself as a beggar and returning, could he possible become a beggar?
Wes Dunn
ReplyDeleteNature
Natural/Unnatural
Act 2 / Scene 4 (lines 305-328)
In this passionate monologue, Lear answers his two daughter's question of why he requires his entourage of servants when theirs can aptly serve him while he stays with them. "O, reason not the need!" he begins, later announcing that "man's life is as cheap as a beasts." What he is saying is that, yes, he could technically get by without his entourage, but as a proud man and former king, he cannot accept the bare minimum, getting nothing more than he needs. Beseeching heaven, he proclaims that he will exact revenge upon his daughters for this offense.
Nature is a powerful motif in this passage. It is used as an example of base (another motif), "Allow not nature more than nature needs" as Lear complains of being offered what he sees as the bare minimum.
The "unnatural" is another motif in this passage. Lear refers to his daughters as "unnatural hags," a word choice that underscores the passage itself. Lear's old condition is unnatura, the way lear is being treated by his daughters is unnatural, and so is the revenge he will bring.
King Lear
ReplyDeleteParent/child; blood; unnatural;
LEAR
I prithee,daughter,do not make me mad.
I will not trouble thee, my child. Farewell.
We'll no more meet, no more see one another.
But yet thou art my flesh, my blood, my daughter,
Or, rather,a disease that's in my flesh,
Which I must needs call mine. Thou art a boil,
A plague-sore or embossed carbuncle
In my corrupted blood. But I'll not chide thee.
Let shame come when it will; I do not call it.
I do not bid the thunder-bearer shoot,
Nor tell tales of thee to high-judging Jove.
Mend when thou canst. Be better at thy leisure.
I can be patient. I can stay at Regan,
I and my hundred knights.
(2.4.252-265)
King Lear is addressing his eldest daughter Goneril when he is speaking, when she suddenly arrives at Gloucester's castle. he is referring to when she had asked him to dismiss his knights when he says that he is still mad. He wishes that they part before she makes him even more angry. However, because she is still connected to him through blood, he declares that he will just see her rebellion as a "disease" that he must "fight" off and be rid of soon. So,therefore, while he waits for her to mend herself, he,along with his hundred knights,will stay at Regan's place.
Fiona Prentice
ReplyDeleteEscape
Identity
Edgar is in the woods as he is attempting to escape the man hunt.
EDGAR
I heard myself proclaim'd;
And by the happy hollow of a tree
Escaped the hunt. No port is free; no place,
That guard, and most unusual vigilance,
Does not attend my taking. Whiles I may 'scape,
I will preserve myself: and am bethought
To take the basest and most poorest shape
That ever penury, in contempt of man,
Brought near to beast: my face I'll grime with filth;
Blanket my loins: elf all my hair in knots;
And with presented nakedness out-face
The winds and persecutions of the sky.
The country gives me proof and precedent
Of Bedlam beggars, who, with roaring voices,
Strike in their numb'd and mortified bare arms
Pins, wooden pricks, nails, sprigs of rosemary;
And with this horrible object, from low farms,
Poor pelting villages, sheep-cotes, and mills,
Sometime with lunatic bans, sometime with prayers,
Enforce their charity. Poor Turlygod! poor Tom!
That's something yet: Edgar I nothing am.
Edgar is attempting to escape the group of men who are after him because they believe he wounded Edmund. At this point he believes he has lost them. He is trying to escape fate. If this play is similar is Shakespeare’s other plays Edgar will probably get caught later on. Everyone seems to be trying to escape something in King Lear. The daughters are trying to escape their controlling father. King Lear is trying to escape the fact that he is aging but having young knights with him and also by going out hunting with them.
Identity also comes up because Edgar says that he needs to change his identity. To effectively escape, Edgar needs to become someone else. Much like when Kent goes back to the kingdom disguised. Nothing that Edgar says will convince the men that he did not would Edmund; therefore he has to become someone new.
Lear
ReplyDeleterank and status
property and wealth
animals and humans
unnatural (or monstrous)
betrayal and unfaithfulness
LEAR (2.4.261-280)
O, reason not the need! Our basest beggars
Are in the poorest thing superfluous.
Allow not nature more than nature needs,
Man’s life’s as cheap as beast’s. Thou art a lady.
If only to go warm were gorgeous,
Why, nature needs not what thou gorgeous wear’st,
Which scarcely keeps thee warm. But, for true need—
You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need.
You see me here, you gods, a poor old man,
As full of grief as age, wretched in both.
If it be you that stir these daughters' hearts
Against their father, fool me not so much
To bear it tamely. Touch me with noble anger.
And let not women’s weapons, water drops,
Stain my man’s cheeks! No, you unnatural hags,
I will have such revenges on you both
That all the world shall—I will do such things—
What they are yet I know not, but they shall be
The terrors of the earth. You think I’ll weep?
No, I’ll not weep.
STORM INTERRUPTS
This motif packed monologue that King Lear performs for his daughters against their brash inquiries on the amount of servants and knights is a great example of Rank/Status, Wealth, the relationship between animals and humans, unnatural aspects in the world, and the betrayal/unfaithfulness that seems to be this family's calling card. Lear opens up with stabbing at his daughters' societal rank and wealth/property of luxurious clothing: "Thou art a lady. If only to go warm were gorgeous, Why, nature needs not what thou gorgeous wear’st,
Which scarcely keeps thee warm." criticizing the hypocritical nature of his daughters and how they can denounce his wanting of servants but go on flaunting their own aesthetically pleasing garments that are not needed for survival. This topic of survival ties in the motif of humans and animals when he says "Allow not nature more than nature needs, Man’s life’s as cheap as beast’s." If it were not for the ownership of luxurious goods for the sake of wanting them, then a human is just the same as an animal, it is that that separates us from beasts. This is just another way of defending his servants, if he didn't have them then he might as well be a dog. The nature metaphors continue with the introduction of another storm, which seem to be Lear's theme song. And he ends the speech with denouncing his daughters as "unnatural hags" (the unnatural motif literally spelt out) and him declaring his revenge upon them "No, you unnatural hags, I will have such revenges on you both" which implies that they have wronged and betrayed him and in his rage he has established a vendetta against his own family.
LEAR
ReplyDelete2.4.305+ nature/ parent & child/ fool/ mad
O, reason not the need! Our basest beggars
Are in the poorest thing superfluous.
Allow not nature more than nature needs,
Man’s life’s as cheap as beast’s. Thou art a lady.
If only to go warm were gorgeous,
Why, nature needs not what thou gorgeous wear’st,
Which scarcely keeps thee warm. But, for true need—
You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need.
You see me here, you gods, a poor old man,
As full of grief as age, wretched in both.
If it be you that stir these daughters' hearts
Against their father, fool me not so much
To bear it tamely. Touch me with noble anger.
And let not women’s weapons, water drops,
Stain my man’s cheeks! No, you unnatural hags
I will have such revenges on you both
That all the world shall—I will do such things—
What they are yet I know not, but they shall be
The terrors of the earth. You think I’ll weep?
No, I’ll not weep.
I have full cause of weeping, but this heart
Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws,
Or ere I’ll weep.—O Fool, I shall go mad!
In this passage, Lear is once again going on one of his rants. His daughters Regan and Goneril have told him that he does not need as much as he wants, that one hundred knights to be at one man’s aid is far too much especially when he will have more than that many people at his beck and call if he were to live at one of his daughter’s homes. This angers Lear, setting him off saying that even a beggar has some possessions, and that he, the king’s possessions are his hundred knights and he likes to have them, much like his daughters like their fancy clothes even though they are not needed. He then begs God for what he does need; patience, for without it he says he will go mad.
This passage also reflects several themes that can be found throughout the play. These themes include what is natural and unnatural, parent and child relationships, what is foolish and what is sanity and what is madness. Lear questions natural human needs verses unnatural wants such as his knights. He also beseeches God, asking if it were him who has seemingly set his own kin against him. This seems to be seen throughout the novel, Gloucester blaming the planets and stars for his son’s betrayal and now Lear blaming God for his daughters turning against his desires. He also says that it only makes sense to lash out back and that only a fool would take such disrespect, yet if he does he will go mad. This passage’s use of themes seems to foreshadow even an even further split between Lear and his daughters and the increasing insanity of the king.
Rank/Status
ReplyDeletePlanets/Night
2.2.14-34
KENT: A knave, a rascal, an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy, worsted-stocking knave; a lily-livered, action-taking knave; a whoreson, glass-gazing, super-serviceable finical rogue; one-trunk-inheriting slave; one that wouldst be a bawd in way of good service; and art nothing but the composition of a knave, beggar, coward, pander, and the son and heir of a mongrel bitch; one whom I will beat into clamorous whining if thou deniest the least syllable of thy addition.
OSWALD: Why, what a monstrous fellow art thou, thus to rail on one that is neither known of thee nor knows thee!
KENT: What a brazen-faced varlet art thou to deny thou knowest me! Is it two days ago since I tripped up thy heels and beat thee before the king? Draw, you rogue, for though it be night yet the moon shines. I’ll make a sop o' th' moonshine of you. (draws his sword) Draw, you whoreson cullionly barber-monger, draw!
In this passage, Kent and Oswald meet again except where Kent is in disguise, Oswald fails to recognize him. Kent insults Oswald and challenges him to a duel.
It is difficult to understand exactly what prompted Kent to attack Oswald in such an aggressive manner. Before this passage, there was little dialogue between the two men so something else must have caused Kent to react so harshly. The status/rank motif is evident in this passage. Kent ridicules Oswald by calling him a low-life and a beggar. I think the physical and verbal attacks are symbolic of the animosity Kent feels for Lear and his daughters. Kent does not agree with their decisions and he his expressing that anger towards Oswald. I also think that Oswald desires a higher status in society. Oswald’s failure to directly insult Kent back is odd because he has already done much worse deeds in the play (Goneril’s dirty work). By Oswald refusing to personally retaliate, he is freeing his hands from the filth of fighting. Oswald does not want to waste his time with a lowly, old man. Kent also references the moon as a light by which the two men can fight. In a previous passage, Gloucester reflected upon the stars and other celestial bodies as a tool of predicting the Future. He foresaw a storm and omens and the moonlight in this passage did lead to tension in the play.
Betrayal and Unfaithfulness
ReplyDeleteBlood
2.1.14-39
EDMUND
The duke be here to-night? The better! best!
This weaves itself perforce into my business.
My father hath set guard to take my brother;
And I have one thing, of a queasy question,
Which I must act: briefness and fortune, work!
Brother, a word; descend: brother, I say!
Enter EDGAR
My father watches: O sir, fly this place;
Intelligence is given where you are hid;
You have now the good advantage of the night:
Have you not spoken 'gainst the Duke of Cornwall?
He's coming hither: now, i' the night, i' the haste,
And Regan with him: have you nothing said
Upon his party 'gainst the Duke of Albany?
Advise yourself.
EDGAR
I am sure on't, not a word.
EDMUND
I hear my father coming: pardon me:
In cunning I must draw my sword upon you
Draw; seem to defend yourself; now quit you well.
Yield: come before my father. Light, ho, here!
Fly, brother. Torches, torches! So, farewell.
Exit EDGAR
Some blood drawn on me would beget opinion.
*Wounds his arm*
Of my more fierce endeavour: I have seen drunkards
Do more than this in sport. Father, father!
Stop, stop! No help?
In the opening scene of act II, Edmund learns of Cornwall and Regan’s approach towards Gloucester’s castle and of rumors that Cornwall and Albany are at odds. This fits in with his master plan of driving Edgar away, as he plots to tell Edgar of Cornwall’s fictitious vendetta against Edgar for choosing Albany’s side in their dispute. Edmund calls Edgar down from his hiding spot and lies, saying that Gloucester has found where Edgar has been hiding. Edmund warns his half-brother of the consequences of Gloucester’s finding him, and urges Edgar to leave the castle hastily under the cover of darkness. This entire portion of act II, scene I shows Edmund’s cunning in his betrayal of not only his half-brother, but also of his father. It is through these dastardly plans to drive off Edgar that Edmund hopes to gain his father’s (Gloucester) love and to eliminate Edgar from ever taking their shared father’s power. By ridding himself of Edgar in such a fashion as false betrayal of their father, Edmund creates a rift in their family, and secures the title of Earl after Gloucester. This way of trickery and betrayal of family is an underhanded scheme that is ironically assigned to the bastard of the play. Edmund’s lust for power and acceptance drives him to achieve his ends through any means necessary. This makes him a dangerous character, as nothing is off limits to him or what lengths he will go to to achieve his goals.
The end part of this portion of act II, scene I shows Edmund spilling his own blood to feign an attack by Edgar. This is still part of the theme of betrayal. However, it is also the portion where the motif of blood appears. Reading into this blood, one can see beyond the immediate implications of faking violence to that of creating a division of family. Blood always marks an important climax in any situation, and in this scene, it marks the descent of Edmund into madness in his endeavors to usurp the earldom from Edgar and Gloucester. The blood that Edmund spills of himself, enough to seem harmed but not enough to cause severe injury, represents the drive in humans to frame one another, lie, and pain themselves in the pursuit of an end. The means are irrelevant in terms of morality, as long as one reaches what they set out to get. In this respect, Edmund displays all of these traits; a bastard indeed.
Olivia Davis
ReplyDeleteRelationship between parents and children/betrayal/rank and status
“This courtesy forbid thee shall the Duke
Instantly know, and of that letter too.
This seems a fair deserving, and must draw me
That which my father loses – no less than all.
The younger rises when the old doth fall.” – Edmund, 3.3.21-25
Before I paraphrase this passage, I need to share some important background information. Gloucester has just told Edmund about a letter he has received about the French invasion. Gloucester leaves after sharing the information with his illegitimate son. In the passage, Edmund reveals his plan to use the letter to betray his father to Cornwall. He plans to become the Earl of Gloucester after his father is portrayed as a traitor.
Motifs revealed in this passage are the relationship between parents and children, betrayal, and rank and status. In the relationship between Gloucester and Edmund, Gloucester clearly trusts Edmund. This is shown through Gloucester telling Edmund about a very dangerous letter. As for Edmund’s side of the relationship, Edmund does not respect his father. The disrespect is shown through Edmund’s plan to betray Gloucester. Edmund is more concerned about rank and status than he is about his father. This is shown through Edmund’s desire to become the Earl of Gloucester and his willingness to hurt his father while achieving his goal.
The relationship between Gloucester and Edmund is similar to the relationship between King Lear and his two older daughters, Goneril and Regan. Edmund, Goneril, and Regan want to hurt their fathers in order to have more status. They hurt King Lear and Gloucester through betrayal. Goneril and Regan betrayed King Lear’s trust by abusing his assets. Edmund will betray Gloucester by portraying him as a traitor. The promise of higher status is motivation for Goneril, Regan, and Edmund to betray their fathers.
Shaelyn Lake
ReplyDeleteJealousy/Greed
3.7.69-106 (The Passage is too long to post)
In this scene,Gloucester is caught and tied down to a chair while being questioned about a letter by Regan and Cornwall. After refusing to tell anymore, one of Gloucester's eyes are forced out by Cornwall. After Gloucester tells Cornwall where King Lear is heading, Cornwall forces out the other eye.
The motifs brought up in this small scene are greed and jealousy. Cornwall and Regan obviously want to control the land held by King Lear and by torturing Gloucester they might be able to find where he is and how to kill him. I think Cornwall is jealous of King Lear and by torturing Gloucester in this scene, it puts Edmund as Earl of Gloucester instead.
This passage relates to the underlying theme extremely well because this whole entire tale is about jealousy, greed and how they bring a person to the top. Control and power is everything in this time period so jealousy and greed are bound to happen. It was almost predictable that something was going to happen to Gloucester due the lack of greed and jealousy he held.
Loyalty v. Betrayal, Natural v. Unnatural, Kindness v. Cruelty, Parents and Children, Fate
ReplyDeleteAlso touches on: Blood, Perception
Act. 3, Scene 6, 1-25
Cornwall: I will have my revenge ere I depart his house.
Edmund: How, my lord, I may be censured, that nature thus
gives way to loyalty, something fears me to think
of.
Cornwall: I now perceive, it was not altogether your
brother's evil disposition made him seek his death;
but a provoking merit, set a-work by a reprovable
badness in himself.
Edmund: How malicious is my fortune, that I must repent to
be just! This is the letter he spoke of, which
approves him an intelligent party to the advantages
of France: O heavens! that this treason were not,
or not I the detector!
Cornwall: o with me to the duchess.
Edmund: If the matter of this paper be certain, you have
mighty business in hand.
Cornwall: True or false, it hath made thee earl of
Gloucester. Seek out where thy father is, that he
may be ready for our apprehension.
Edmund: [Aside] If I find him comforting the king, it will
stuff his suspicion more fully.--I will persevere in
my course of loyalty, though the conflict be sore
between that and my blood.
Cornwall: I will lay trust upon thee; and thou shalt find a
dearer father in my love.
This short exchange is the entirety of Act 3, Scene 5. It is an exchange between Cornwall and Edmund wherein Edmund betrays Gloucester to Cornwall. Even in this short exchange, many of the plays motifs are evoked, or at least referenced. Some receive much greater focus than others, so I'm really only going to talk about the two most important ones.
Loyalty (or more specifically, Loyalty vs. Betrayal) is the most foregrounded motif, which is obvious considering the nature of the scene. Even with it's obviousness, the conflict between being loyal and disloyal is layered into the dialogue. Both of the character's speaking are those who have betrayed their superior (King Leer for Cornwall, Gloucester for Edmund), and in both cases the superior is also their father (another prevalent motif) in at least some sense, as Leer would be Cornwall's father-in-law. Interestingly the traitors are being loyal to each other, but not to those they are betraying. Even then, Edmund isn't really being loyal to Cornwall, and is just playing him like everyone else to elevate his status, which he does quite successfully. Adding another layer, the letter means Gloucester is also a traitor, but his treason means he remains loyal to the King and those who have the King's interests at heart (Cordelia, and presumably France). Edmund directly invokes loyalty several times in his dialogue. He laments: “O heavens! that this treason were not, or not I the detector!” which is ironic (I think?) as he is a traitor discovering treason, where that traitor is betraying the traitors for the betrayed's loyal child, who the betrayed betrayed in favor of the future traitors at the beginning of the play. A bit simplified, but yeah. A lot of layers.
Edmund also puts his loyalty (to Cornwall) and betrayal (of Gloucester) at odds with nature and family, which interestingly makes his act of shallow (or hollow, to bring up another motif) “loyalty” seem like even more of a betrayal: “...that nature thus give way to loyalty...” and “...my choice of loyalty, though the conflict be sore between that and my blood...” which also touches on the motif of blood. Edmund's betrayal of his father gave him his father's position. His loyalty to those in charge of the kingdom has made him Gloucester, though he doesn't literally take the name in stage directions. Thus Edmund has, in a sense, become his father. Further playing the the idea of father's, the last line of the scene has Cornwall offering to become Edmund's “father,” which is also interesting given Edmund's status as a bastard. So he now is without his birth mother, or his birth father.
Clare Pleuler
ReplyDeleteWisdom/Foolishness
Betrayal
[Act 3, Scene 4, Lines 85-120]
The section of dialogue that I chose to analyze begins after King Lear, Kent and the Fool happen upon a hovel during a nasty storm, where they find Edgar disguised as a beggar by the name of Poor Tom. The men are quite weary of both Poor Tom and the hovel at first, as we find is for good reason, as the madman begins to speak oddly to the men around him.
The passages I chose to take a closer look at begin when Poor Tom warns the men of things to avoid, which ranged from being a man of your word to avoiding adultery. When Lear inquires who he is, Poor Tom elaborates with a long speech that doesn’t make much sense at all. He proclaims he is a noble and notable servant who has lived an exciting, dangerous and adventurous life. He touches on all of his actions, which relate back to all of the events he suggests the men should avoid. He continues on, essentially pointing out all of his flaws and ventures on to give even more strange advice. Lear responds by pointing out a few of his own flaws and proceeds to take off his clothes. The Fool advises his master to stop and remarks at the King’s new found bold personality.
There is a clear and powerful motif that crops up as soon as “Poor Tom” begins to address King Lear and his men. This motif, the development of wisdom and foolishness, is further expanded through the use of a clever inversion on what is seen verse what is real. Edgar disguises himself as a completely mad beggar, who is noticeably grimy with his “elfed up” hair and worthless clothing. He has nothing of substantial worth to call his own and his overall situation is quite pathetic. This inversion behaves in two ways. First, although Edgar’s life as Poor Tom is far from picturesque and desirable, as his physical appearance shows, he has nobleman blood. He once had a high status and was destined to be king. Although Edgar appears as a lowly madman, he was quite recently of high esteem. This part of the inversion shows that although Edgar looks and behaves like a madman, in reality he is someone that should be respected, but the men can not see what is really in front of them. Second, the inversion is furthered when Poor Tom begins to spout a myriad of advice to the powerful men. Because of his appearance, or what is seen, these insightful and useful claims are not taken into any consideration by King Lear and his men. For example, Poor Tom suggests that men “keep thy words justice” and “commit not with man’s sworn spouse”, or in other words, be true to your word and avoid adultery. This inversion on what is seen verse what is actually true and real develops the motif of King Lear’s foolishness and contrasts the wisdom he sorely lacks, while also shedding light on Edgar’s intelligence and nobility.
Post #2
ReplyDeleteClare Pleuler
The other motif, betrayal, is not as clear cut as the other aforementioned one, however that may just be personal opinion. The entire section that I chose to analyze was ironic, as Edgar, Gloucester’s banished son, is standing right in front of Lear, giving genuine advice to his disloyal king, while disguised as a lowly and worthless madman. Edgar suggests to the Lear and his men many things, but the most notable I found was when he proclaims “obey your parents” and that he is “proud in the heart and the mind”. The contrast between the noble and loyal Edgar and the unfaithful Lear is made very clear in this section, furthering the motif of betrayal. However, the most telling piece of dialogue of this entire section comes when King Lear uncovers his new found caring and bold personality, as he feels empathy for Poor Tom and his current situation, showing this by ripping off all of his clothes to make a point. This is ironic, though, because Lear comes to this realization at the hands of a madman, not his actual, loyal follower. Although some of King Lear’s redeeming qualities came forth in this section, his past of lies and betrayal were contrasted by Edgar’s noble morals and loyalty.
Both motifs that I touched on above have showed up often in the text we’ve read thus far. I’ve also elaborated on the motif of wisdom/foolishness prior to this particular post. The motif of wisdom and foolishness seem to always appear when King Lear is involved. He possesses a great deal of foolishness and a waning bit of wisdom, which as readers we have discovered through his rash and impulsive actions regarding his daughters, lack of ability to keep any sort of power or control over his kingdom, and most importantly, inability to see the evil deeds taking shape right in front of his eyes. The motif of betrayal is not exactly new, either, as Edmund has been unfaithful towards his father and brother since the first couple of scenes in this play. Betrayal is all over this work, as brothers lie to brothers, sons are disloyal to their fathers, and daughters essentially ruin their father’s life. Both motifs are developed through inversions and irony, and the section of dialogue I picked is imperative to their overall development.
Act III Sc.VII
ReplyDeleteline 103-112
Gloucester: All dark and comfortless! Where's my son Edmund?-Edmund, enkindle all the sparks of nature to quit this horrid act.
Regan: Out, treacherous villain! though call'st on him that hates thee. it was he that made the overture of thy treason to us, who is to good to pity thee.
Gloucester: O my follies! then Edgar was abused. kind gods, forgive me that, and prosper him.
In this passage Gloucester has just been blinded, and discovered that it was his bastard child that had betrayed him, not his illegitimate one. He now can "see" the error of his way.(after being blinded not a coincidence He then begs the gods to forgive him and to allow Edgar to have a good life.
This passage brings to light quite a few of the motives tied together through out the play. First is the Thought of eyes and sight. It was originally presented innocently as a joke like oh you can't see what happened or you are blind to your surroundings. But as the play got more violent so did the presence of eyes, until they Actually forced both of Gloucester's eyes out of his head. Besides eyes though this passage presents the turn in another motif. Also present in the play so far was the fact that telling the truth was seen as a sign of not being loyal, and lieing was seen as being loyal. But here all the lies and truths are revealed, so for the first times the characters can "see"(again) what has really been happening. Like now Lear see's which of his daughters really loved him, and Gloucester knows which of his son's was really loyal and which one wasn't. But again all this clarity comes at the cost of Gloucester sight. However, i believe that from here on out both king Lear and Gloucester will be able to see their real friends, and enemies, and hopefully Lear will forgive Kent, and Gloucester the same to Edgar.
Eleanor Keller
ReplyDeleteAct 3, Scene 4
Lines 50 - 75
Betrayal
Relationships
This portion of the text includes a dialogue between Edgar, Lear, the Fool, and Kent (briefly). The majority of the lines are spoken by Edgar, who is currently disguised as Poor Tom. In this scene the four characters surround the hovel where they are trying to keep dry and warm from the storm that rages around them.
The scene created by the imagery of the storm earlier in the text creates an atmosphere full of natural tension. This adds to the meaning of the dialogue and reminds the reader of the emotional tension as well. As the storm beats the landscape, the confrontations and controversial conversations can be seen as attacking certain characters or ideas.
As we have learned throughout the last few scenes, Lear has felt betrayed by his daughters. The relationships have suffered as one of his daughters has left the country and the other two reign over a kingdom he is now almost completely removed from. In these lines his obsession with these damaged relationships is clear. He can see Edgar's issues but can only see them resulting from issues with 'his daughters' (which in reality don't exist at all).
Similarly though, Edgar has also been betrayed. He is dressed as Poor Tom because he, like Lear, also no longer belongs in the kingdom. In his speech (lines 55-67), Edgar speaks of a foul fiend that follows him. Shakespeare uses detailed language, imagery, and comparisons to describe the terrors and fears that are instilled in Edgar by this 'foul fiend.' I am unsure of what exactly the foul fiend may be, but it seems to be referring to a figure such as the Devil. It is a force that follows Edgar and is involved in each aspect of his life.
This following idea is much different than King Lear's problems. Lear made choices (giving away the Kingdom) that led to the betrayal by his daughters. Through Edgar's reasoning, he has done less to deserve the treatment he suffers from. This fits with the plot, and due to the dramatic irony, the audience and readers can observe this parallel.
PART 1
ReplyDeleteThe passage I have chosen to analyze spans 3.2.1-40, a conversation between Lear and the Fool in the middle of a storm. The selection contains references to nature, opposites and inversions, eyes, and nothingness. The context of general anguish and unsettled air of the storm is something that carries through the entire act.
“You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout/ Till you have drenched our steeples, the/ cocks.” These are the words of Lear while he is experiencing the storm. Cataracts (though another type of storm) is also a disease of the eyes which causes blindness. Hurricanes also have eyes, the eye is the place where the storm is most calm, where the subject is blind to the fact that the storm even exists. Blindness is a foreshadowing of Gloucester’s punishment for treason, “Upon these eyes of thine I’ll set my foot.”(3.7.82) In addition it refers to Lear and Gloucester’s blindness to which of their children is most loyal and loving. The second portion of that line suggests the crippling quality of human nature; one that destroys all handles we think we may have on it. It is unpredictable and wild. This connects to the control Cornwall and Regan think they have over the nature of the servants in Gloucester’s home, and how wrong they are:”A peasant stand up thus?…My Lord you have one eye left/ to see some mischief on him. O!”(3.7.98-100) The first portion of the quote is Regan’s shock at the boldness of the servant who stands up for Gloucester in the face of his unreasonable punishment, while the second part is the words of the servant as he dies bringing injury to Gloucester’s tormentors. Human nature is wild and unpredictable, just as the storm is that surrounds Lear and the Fool.
The whole storm that is occurring is a clear and loud statement about human nature. It’s unsettling but constant, the same regardless of social status, possessing no bias: “Here’s a night/ pities neither wise men nor fools.”(3.2.14-15) Human nature is the equalizer, if not the inverter, of social status/all beings. Something that is reiterated shortly following this moment by Lear, the king, “Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel,/That thou may’st shake the superflux to them/And show the heavens more just.”(3.4.39-41)
“Crack nature’s molds, all germens spill at once/That makes ingrateful man.”(3.2.10-11) is yet another reference to the wildness and boldness of nature, destroying the beginnings of all ideas and places that show the evil of man, human nature is the only hope for compassion in spite of all the evil of the world. This can again be tied to the servant’s noble loyalty at the end of the act.
PART 2
ReplyDeleteThough Lear compares his daughters to the storm, he accuses them of being more terrible than fire or rain(opposites), and speaks of his own love for his daughters as being horrid in its yielding this torture: “I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness./ I never gave you kingdom, called you children;/You owe me no subscription. Then let fall/Your horrible pleasure.”(3.2.18-21) Pitifully he says that he deserves more punishment from something he never harmed or bothered, than from his own flesh and blood to whom he gave everything. This is a statement about just how much Lear has lost, the same nothingness that he later claims to say “I will say nothing.”(3.2.40) Nothing is what Gloucester sees and has once Edmund has betrayed him. Nothing is what seems to be left of Lear’s sanity when he begins talking to furniture as though it were his daughters. Nothing is what Edgar has once Edmund betrays him.
“He that has a house to put ‘s head in has a good/headpiece./The codpiece that will house/Before the head has any,/The head and he shall louse;/So beggars marry many./The man that makes his toe/What he his heart should make,/Shall of a corn cry woe,/And turn his sleep to wake./For there was never yet fair woman but she made/mouths in a glass.”(3.2.27-38) Here lies all the inversions of the passage, making a man’s genitals think rather than his head, and rather than achieving a house for himself, giving a house to pests and lice. Allowing beggars instead of rich men to marry many women, and giving the toe the job of the heart, not to mention changing sleep and rest into being awake. These are the tortures that Lear has undergone since he gave his daughters power over him. These are the tortures that Edgar feels since he allowed his brother to have a house instead of he, since he made himself an insane beggar.
How could any of it get any worse?
Act 3.7
ReplyDeleteThe Motifs: If something is true or not, what's reasonable or foolish, loyalty and betrayal
CORNWALL
Post speedily to my lord your husband; show him
this letter: the army of France is landed. Seek
out the villain Gloucester.
Exeunt some of the Servants
REGAN
Hang him instantly.
GONERIL
Pluck out his eyes.
CORNWALL
Leave him to my displeasure. Edmund, keep you our
sister company: the revenges we are bound to take
upon your traitorous father are not fit for your
beholding. Advise the duke, where you are going, to
a most festinate preparation: we are bound to the
like. Our posts shall be swift and intelligent
betwixt us. Farewell, dear sister: farewell, my
lord of Gloucester.
Enter OSWALD
How now! where's the king?
OSWALD
My lord of Gloucester hath convey'd him hence:
Some five or six and thirty of his knights,
Hot questrists after him, met him at gate;
Who, with some other of the lords dependants,
Are gone with him towards Dover; where they boast
To have well-armed friends.
CORNWALL
Get horses for your mistress.
GONERIL
Farewell, sweet lord, and sister.
CORNWALL
Edmund, farewell.
Exeunt GONERIL, EDMUND, and OSWALD
Go seek the traitor Gloucester,
Pinion him like a thief, bring him before us.
Exeunt other Servants
Though well we may not pass upon his life
Without the form of justice, yet our power
Shall do a courtesy to our wrath, which men
May blame, but not control. Who's there? the traitor?
Enter GLOUCESTER, brought in by two or three
REGAN
Ingrateful fox! 'tis he.
CORNWALL
Bind fast his corky arms.
GLOUCESTER
What mean your graces? Good my friends, consider
You are my guests: do me no foul play, friends.
CORNWALL
Bind him, I say.
Servants bind him
After finding out that Gloucester wrote the letter that betrayed them, they want to punish them. What they do not know is that Edmund tampered with the letter. With the discovery, Gloucester is stripped of his land and power and Edmund takes his position. The two sisters want to torture Gloucester and Cornwall agrees with them. Two servants bring in and bind Gloucester. While Gloucester has no idea why this is happening.
The main thing that is not true is the letter. Everyone thinks the letter is true, but it is not. What also could not be true is Cornwall hatred, because Regan and Goneril might of majorly effected his judgment.
What is not foolish is their hatred for Gloucester. They all think he betrayed their kingdom to the French and they want to hurt him for that. What is foolish is the fact that they want to rip out his eyes. There are worse and more humane punishments like cutting a leg off, but losing your sight?
In a way Gloucester is being disloyal in this section, though he didn't actually betray everyone, everyone thinks he did. Also with that reason you could say that everyone else was being disloyal because of misinformation.
Act 3
ReplyDeleteScene 4
Lines 108-116
Rank and Status, Nakedness (nothingness), Base
Despite the fact that Lear appears to be slipping further and further into madness at this point, this short monologue of his is quite coherent and thoughtful. Observing Edgar as mad tom, lying exposed in the storm, he proclaims that it is better to be dead than to live like that, answering “with thy uncovered body the extremity of the skies. – Is man no more than this?” Then he abruptly changes course and considers mad tom deeply. He has no debts, he reasons, and is in his baseness pure and genuine. He, the fool and Kent are not. He sees Edgar’s façade as the essential human being; that from which all else is built. “Unaccommodated” man is represented by Edgar in this moment, and Lear comes to see this as an ideal, beginning to tear off his own clothes so as to reach this.
Rank and Status is an important factor in this monologue. Lear, who was once upon the top of the social ladder, is now but a few rungs from the bottom and is looking upon Edgar on the ground. Both of them, indeed, have falling drastically from eminence to baseness. The question of the value of all that rank and status arises. What has one to lose when one is at the bottom of the ladder?
Lear notes the nakedness of Edgar, relating it to nothingness. Nothingness is a powerful motif throughout the play, and here it presents itself in poor tom. An interesting thing to be noticed is Lear’s reference to debt, and lending. He remarks on how Edgar “owes” nothing to anybody. In taking off his own garments, he refers to them as “lendings.” He seems fixated by the idea that there is something to nothing. When you have and are nothing, you have no debts, and are therefore free.
Edgar, Lear, Fool, Kent nakedness/sanity/stars & fates 3.4.53+
ReplyDeleteKING LEAR
Hast thou given all to thy two daughters?
And art thou come to this?
EDGAR
Who gives any thing to poor Tom? whom the foul
fiend hath led through fire and through flame, and
through ford and whirlipool e'er bog and quagmire;
that hath laid knives under his pillow, and halters
in his pew; set ratsbane by his porridge; made film
proud of heart, to ride on a bay trotting-horse over
four-inched bridges, to course his own shadow for a
traitor. Bless thy five wits! Tom's a-cold,--O, do
de, do de, do de. Bless thee from whirlwinds,
star-blasting, and taking! Do poor Tom some
charity, whom the foul fiend vexes: there could I
have him now,--and there,--and there again, and there.
Storm still
KING LEAR
What, have his daughters brought him to this pass?
Couldst thou save nothing? Didst thou give them all?
Fool
Nay, he reserved a blanket, else we had been all shamed.
KING LEAR
Now, all the plagues that in the pendulous air
Hang fated o'er men's faults light on thy daughters!
KENT
He hath no daughters, sir.
In this passage, Lear, the Fool and Kent who is in disguise are outside the hovel. Kent and the Fool continuously try to convince Lear to enter and take shelter from the storm, but at Lear’s refusal and order that the Fool should enter, the Fool goes in to find Edgar, naked and hiding. Edgar is in disguise, covered and mud and pretending to be a crazy man named “Old Tom” who goes on about being followed by the devil.
This passage reflects several themes that can be seen throughout the play. These include, planets, stars and fate, nakedness, and most poignantly, the theme of what is sane and what is mad. In this passage, Edgar speaks of; “star-blasting” or stars that predict bad fortune, and his hope for God to protect the king from them, because “Old Tom” had no such luck, “The foul fiend follows” him. In this passage as well, Edhar is naked, and “Nay, he reserved a blanket, else we had been all shamed”. Edgar has literally nothing, not even clothes on his back and so Lear assume, that like him, “old Tom’s” daughters must have left him with nothing. This projection by Lear enables him to deal with his own daughter’s abandonment as well as deny his own insanity. The ironic thing about this passage is that only those who are pretending to be insane actually are not. Lear is playing the roll of a sane man but that reality is slowly crumbling, while Edgar and Kent are pretending to be something they are not, (i.e mad) when in reality they are sure of who they are and keep hold on their reality by being someone and something else.
Fiona Prentice
ReplyDeleteUnnatural
Foolishness
Storms
Kent is speaking to the fool and King Lear after he found them out in the storm.
Act 3 Scene 2 Lines 44-51
KENT
(to LEAR) Alas, sir, are you here? Things that love night
Love not such nights as these. The wrathful skies
Gallow the very wanderers of the dark
And make them keep their caves. Since I was man,
Such sheets of fire, such bursts of horrid thunder,
Such groans of roaring wind and rain I never
Remember to have heard. Man’s nature cannot carry
Th' affliction nor the fear.
During this scene King Lear and the Fool are out in the storm. Kent, who is in disguise goes out to see if he get them to go back inside because he is never seen a storm of this intensity (“Such groans of roaring wind and rain I never remember to have heard.”) For Kent, the storm is unnatural in its intensity. Also the relationship between Lear and his daughters is pretty unnatural because they are trying to end each other and Lear has also disowned one of his daughters. Unnatural also comes up when Kent says “Man’s nature cannot carry th’ affliction nor the fear.” What Kent means is that men cannot endure the affliction or the fear of unnatural things. Foolishness comes up simply because Lear and the Fool are out in the storm. Storms can be taken a couple of ways. The motif could be referring to the storm they are in but it could also be foreshadowing. Shakespeare’s tragedies all end with almost the entire cast dying. They die in what could be a “storm” of violence.
Act 3, Scene 6, 111-126
ReplyDeleteParents and Children
Insanity vs. Sanity
EDGAR
When we our betters see bearing woes
We scarcely think our miseries our foes
Who alone suffers most 'n th' mind,
Leaving free things and happy shows behind.
But then the mind much sufferance doth o'erskip
When grief hath makes bearing fellowship.
How light and portable my pain seems now
When that which make me bend makes the King bow!
He childed as I fathered, Tom away.
Mark the high noises, and thyself bewray
When false opinion, whose wrong thoughts defile thee,
In they just proof repeals and reconciles thee.
What will hap more tonight, safe 'scape the King!
In this passage, Edgar is addressing the audience about the suffering of the king. This passage forces me to wonder about the similarities between Lear and Edgar. Both men feel that they have been betrayed- Edgar by his father and brother and Lear by his daughters. Betrayal in King Lear shows the cruelty of family and the many different effects it has. The quickness of people to turn on their family members is evident. The roles between the adults and their children have been reversed. The parents are becoming dependent on the children in the story. Another motif I recognized in this passage is the relationships between the seemingly sane and insane. Edumund reminds the reader that despite his physical appearance, he is sane and in control of himself. Lear, however, is quite the opposite. His assumed regal or proper appearance expected of a king does not help to hide his insanity. The line between the sane and insane is heavily blurred in King Lear and it is difficult to decipher what side of the line each character lies.
3.4.91-107
ReplyDeleteEDGAR
A servingman, proud in heart and mind, that curled my hair, wore gloves in my cap, served the lust of my mistress’ heart and did the act of darkness with her, swore as many oaths as I spake words and broke them in the sweet face of heaven; one that slept in the contriving of lust and waked to do it. Wine love I deeply, dice dearly, and in woman out-paramoured the Turk. False of heart, light of ear, bloody of hand; hog in sloth, fox in stealth, wolf in greediness, dog in madness, lion in prey. Let not the creaking of shoes nor the rustling of silks betray thy poor heart the woman. Keep thy foot out of brothels, thy hand out of plackets, thy pen from lenders’ books, and defy the foul fiend. Still through the hawthorn blows the cold wind; says suum, mun, nonny. Dolphin, my boy, boy, sessa! Let him trot by.
This passage is charged with irony. Throughout the entire monologue, Edgar states everything he has done wrong, from sneakiness to gluttony to lust to violence. He then proceeds to warn against these moral violations. The simplest irony is in the warnings that follow the sins he committed, stating everything that he said again should not be done. A more complex irony lies in the fact that Edgar’s brother, Edmund, whose fault it is that Edgar is poor and half mad, has committed all of these injustices, whereas Edgar has actually committed few to none. A few scenes further in the play, Edmund will have grabbed the attention and affections of both Goneril and Regan, and he is far from innocent with them; thus, the theme of weak moral integrity is woven deeper into the scene. Additionally, Edgar’s banishment, which came as a result of Edmund’s wickedness, led him to the madness he is experiencing. Thus, not only is he not the sinner in this case, he is the victim of sin. Another point on the irony of this passage comes at the end of Act 3, when Edmund serves as an aid to Regan and Cornwall in the blinding of his father. At this time, Gloucester calls out for Edmund though not only did he mislead his father into believing Edgar was guilty, he also helped cause the damage Gloucester was crying for help from.
An important feature of this passage is the presence of animals as symbols. It connects the animalistic nature of humans to the other undefinable parts of people - the shadowy areas of morality and savagery. The animals brought up also link Edgar back into the animal-like human he has attempted to and all but become. Dogs, as in this passage, are frequently brought up to represent madness. This is appropriate in relation to the irony in this passage as well. Edmund’s moral violations are represented by the animals additionally - like the fox, he slinks around behind his father’s back. He is greedy like the wolf, desiring land and money more than fmaily. He also preys on his father and brother by betraying them and allowing them to be brutalized. Overall, the inclusion of the animals tie up the passage nicely.
Part 1
ReplyDeleteThe passage I have chosen to analyze spans 4.6.149-212, a conversation between Lear, Gloucester, Edgar, and a Gentleman. The selection contains several inversions, eyes, nature, and the flickering between reason and insanity.
“O ruined piece of nature! This great world/ Shall so wear out to naught. Dost thou know me?”(4.6.149-150) “Were all thy letters suns, I could not see.”(4.6.155) Here there are references to nature, once again, referring in the first line to the loss of Lear’s sanity, and/or the loss of Gloucester’s eyes. The second line is most directly referring to the loss of sanity and intelligence/grip on reality that Gloucester expects to occur as a consequence of his lack of eyes. The storm throughout the duration of the last act was very clearly another reference to the turmoil that results from a conflict between reason and insanity, which was present in both Lear and Edgar at that time. Here, Edgar, since he has now abandoned the character of Poor Tom is sane again, and his father is now the one on the verge of insanity. Continuing back through the acts, there is of course the natural vs. unnatural of Edmund and Edgar as bastard and legitimate, as well as the paradox of whose parental treatment is natural.
“Oho, are you there with me? No eyes in your/head, nor no money in your purse? Your eyes are in/ a heavy case, your purse in a light, yet you see how/ this world goes.”(4.6.160-163) This is Lear’s line in response to Gloucester’s pointing out his inability to read. This line is loaded with earlier references to the text and ironies within the subplots. The purse is quite literally something he gave to his good son, one who saved his life, while his eyes are what he lost for casting that same son out of his sight. This connects with the loss of Lear’s sanity by giving the wrong daughters fortune, and casting out the one who was to “Seek, seek for him,/ Lest his ungoverned rage dissolve the life/ That wants the means to lead it.” (4.5.20-22) Which quite literally means, save him from losing his life when he loses his mind. However, in both cases(Lear’s and Gloucester’s) by losing the thing which before guided them through life, they gained a more profound knowledge of the things surrounding them as the last portion of the quote states.
Part 2
ReplyDelete“Change places and, handy-dandy, which/ is the justice, which is the thief? Thou hast seen a/ farmer’s dog bark at a beggar?”(4.6.168-170) Here is a direct statement of an inversion. To switch the position one holds in life(for Lear a king to a madman, for Gloucester a Earl to a blind man, and for Edgar an Earl’s fortune son to a beggar) is to allow easier judgment of the activities around him. Edgar was able to determine the motives of his brother, save his father’s life, and work out a plan to turn the tables. Lear and Gloucester learned a lesson about deception and evaluating loved ones. Lear soon after states “There thou/ might’s behold the great image of authority: a/dog’s obeyed in office.”(4.6.172-174) Which refers to the powerful positions his daughters now hold over him, and Edmund now holds over Gloucester regardless of their more base state.
Lines 175 through 184 discuss a great number of inversions, and the hypocrisy of many in power. The speech is similar to the fool’s monologue (3.3.86-103). This is fitting considering the number of times Lear calls himself a fool or is called a fool; including “ I am even/ The natural fool of fortune.”(4.6.209-210) There is more mention of fools in “When we are born, we cry that we are come/ To this great stage of fools.”(4.6.200-201) Which refers to the lack of knowledge of those surrounding them.
“Get thee glass eyes,/ And like a scurvy politician/ Seem to see the things thou dost not.” (4.6. 187-189) is Lear’s advice to Gloucester. He knows that being blind will make him all the wiser and more aware, in the same way losing his sanity has opened Lear’s eyes. Using it to an advantage is the only way to assure themselves of their own capabilities and put them on a level equal to the evil political dealings of their rebellious children.
Olivia Davis
ReplyDeleteRelationship between parents and children/love
“Ay, (sir,) she took them, read them in my
presence,
And now and then an ample tear trilled down
Her delicate cheek. It seemed she was a queen
Over her passion, who, most rebel-like,
Fought to be king o’er her.” – Gentleman, 4.3.12-17
The Gentleman is discussing Cordelia’s love for Lear with Kent. Kent had written letters to Cordelia describing the situation with Lear, Goneril, and Regan. The Gentleman is talking about her reaction to Kent. According to the Gentleman, Cordelia cried while reading the letter and had trouble keeping her passion in check. Cordelia was crying because she was sad about her sisters’ treatment of her father and she was happy her father needed her.
Within the passage, there are two motifs. The motifs are the relationship between parents and children and love. In the passage, you are able to understand the depth of Cordelia’s love for her father. She cares about the treatment of her father and does not want him to be disrespected by her older sisters. She also wants him to need her in his life, whether as a heroine or a daughter.
This passage relates to one of the central themes of the play, the relationship between parents and children. In past acts of the play, it is clear that Goneril and Regan do not respect their father. They use and abuse him. It is the same with Edmund’s treatment of his father. However, Cordelia loves and respects her father, who banished her at the beginning of the play. Edgar loves and respects his father also, who ordered a death warrant on him.
Kindness and Cruelty
ReplyDeleteSanity and Madness
Parents and Children
Storms and Calms
Act 3, Scene 2. (Page 127)
Act 3, Scene 4. (Page 139)
In Scene II of Act III, Lear and The Fool have left Goneril’s home and ventured into the storm beyond. The Fool yearns for Lear to return and beg for shelter from the tumult, but Lear will not have it. Instead, he curses the storm above, using it as a conduit for his ravings against his cruel, conniving daughters. Lear imposes his daughters onto the storm saying:
“Rumble thy bellyful! Spit, fire! spout, rain!
Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire, are my daughters:
I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness;
I never gave you kingdom, call'd you children,
You owe me no subscription: then let fall
Your horrible pleasure: here I stand, your slave,
A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man:
But yet I call you servile ministers,
That have with two pernicious daughters join'd
Your high engender'd battles 'gainst a head
So old and white as this. O! O! 'tis foul!”
In this, Lear expresses his sorrow and anger at his daughters and relates the raging elements above to the turmoil in his own life and heart; the battling of the elements paralleling the battling of him and his daughters for control of his kingdom. This scene expresses storms, though the setting and in Lear’s heart, and insanity, through Lear’s shouting at the elements in attempts to elicit a response.
In the fourth scene of Act III, Lear and The Fool are led to the hovel of Edgar (who is disguised as the beggar/madman Tom). It is here that Lear imposes, again, his situation with his daughters onto Edgar when he says to Kent [about Tom]:
“Death, traitor! nothing could have subdued nature
To such a lowness but his unkind daughters.
Is it the fashion, that discarded fathers
Should have thus little mercy on their flesh?
Judicious punishment! 'twas this flesh begot
Those pelican daughters.”
Lear is saying that nothing could have brought Tom to such a low status, living alone in what can barely be called shelter, save for the cruelty and maliciousness of ungrateful daughters. As we discussed in class, this projection of Lear’s problems onto Tom by Lear is a way for Lear to cope with his predicament. If he views Tom as having endured the same torture and trials as he has been put through thus far, Lear can be hopeful that he shall make it through alive. But seeing Tom debased so leaves Lear to ponder whether the price of his life will be his sanity.
It is in Act III that we see a shift in the play, as tensions mount even more, and Lear continues to slip farther and farther into madness. The scenes I have quoted are intrinsic to Act III in that they are prime examples of Lear’s descent into complete insanity. Only his projections and hallucinations can help him through his battle with madness, and the hope he sees projected in Tom and in Dover are the only light on the storm-ridden horizon.
Shaelyn Lake
ReplyDeleteGreed/Jealousy
"'Let our reciprocal vows be remembered. You have
many opportunities to cut him off: if your will
want not, time and place will be fruitfully offered.
There is nothing done, if he return the conqueror:
then am I the prisoner, and his bed my goal; from
the loathed warmth whereof deliver me, and supply
the place for your labour.
'Your--wife, so I would say--
'Affectionate servant,
'GONERIL.'"
This excerpt from Act IV is of Goneril's letter to Edmund confessing her love to him. In this letter she is trying to convince him to kill Albany if he gets the chance and to marry her instead of Regan.
In this passage there are two different motifs, greed and jealousy. Goneril is jealous of Regan and is trying to convince Edmund to marry her instead. She is also being greedy since she wants more power by marrying Edmund (who is now Earl of Gloucester).
This is significant to the entire play because it shows how much worse(or better) the sisters and brothers are getting as the story continues. But by Goneril and Regan becoming worse, it highlights how great Cordelia is to her father.
Act 3 Scene 2 Lines 1-24
ReplyDeleteNature
Storms
Parents/Children
Betrayal
LEAR
Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage, blow!
You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout
Till you have drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks!
You sulfurous and thought-executing fires,
Vaunt-couriers of oak-cleaving thunderbolts,
Singe my white head! And thou, all-shaking thunder,
Smite flat the thick rotundity o' th' world,
Crack nature’s molds, all germens spill at once
That make ingrateful man!
FOOL
O nuncle, court holy water in a dry house is better
than this rainwater out o' door. Good nuncle, in,
and ask thy daughters blessing. Here’s a night
pities neither wise man nor fool.
LEAR
Rumble thy bellyful! Spit, fire! Spout, rain!
Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire are my daughters.
I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness.
I never gave you kingdom, called you children.
You owe me no subscription. Why then, let fall
Your horrible pleasure. Here I stand, your slave—
A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man.
But yet I call you servile ministers,
That will with two pernicious daughters joined
Your high engendered battles 'gainst a head
So old and white as this. Oh, ho! 'Tis foul.
This scene opens up to King Lear and his Fool thrown out into the raging thunderstorm by Lear's two daughters, Goneril and Regan, and Lear begins his rant and fall into madness. The storm itself is a major focal point of the dialogue of both Lear and Fool and establishes motifs relating to relationships between Parents and Children and Nature acting as something much larger than itself. In Lear's first section of dialogue, he makes multiple references to nature and the storm as raging destroyers capable of ending every aspect of life, trees cracking and to even stifle the life of deceitful humans from even existing. These deceitful humans being Lear's stab at his daughters who have now stabbed him in the back. The storm being depicted as an unrelenting upper power continues into the Fool's section where he tries to convince the deranged Lear to get out of the storm saying, "Here’s a night pities neither wise man nor fool." The storm does not take pity on any soul on earth, no matter their affiliation, but the panicking King Lear believes that everyone and everything is out to get him. Driven to his knees in the harsh rain, he pleads with Nature like one would to God. Lear defends himself to the rain and lightning calling himself Nature's "poor old weak and despised old man" and a slave to its power. But as all rulers should be impartial to their servants, Lear accuses Nature of siding with his deceitful daughters and betraying him as much as they did.
Act 4. Scene 2
ReplyDeletelines 1-36
GONERIL: Welcome, my lord: I marvel our mild husband
Not met us on the way.
Enter OSWALD
Now, where's your master'?
OSWALD: Madam, within; but never man so changed.
I told him of the army that was landed;
He smiled at it: I told him you were coming:
His answer was 'The worse:' of Gloucester's treachery,
And of the loyal service of his son,
When I inform'd him, then he call'd me sot,
And told me I had turn'd the wrong side out:
What most he should dislike seems pleasant to him;
What like, offensive.
GONERIL:[To EDMUND] Then shall you go no further.
It is the cowish terror of his spirit,
That dares not undertake: he'll not feel wrongs
Which tie him to an answer. Our wishes on the way
May prove effects. Back, Edmund, to my brother;
Hasten his musters and conduct his powers:
I must change arms at home, and give the distaff
Into my husband's hands. This trusty servant
Shall pass between us: ere long you are like to hear,
If you dare venture in your own behalf,
A mistress's command. Wear this; spare speech;
Giving a favour
Decline your head: this kiss, if it durst speak,
Would stretch thy spirits up into the air:
Conceive, and fare thee well.
EDMUND: Yours in the ranks of death.
GONERIL: My most dear Gloucester!
Exit EDMUND
O, the difference of man and man!
To thee a woman's services are due:
My fool usurps my body.
OSWALD: Madam, here comes my lord.
This is the short passage at the beginning of act 4 scene 2, in which Goneril is talking to Oswald and Edmund, before Albany comes in. Goneril and Edmund have just traveled together from Regan's house, and Goneril is madly in love with Edmund the new Lord of Gloucester. Oswald then informs Goneril that her husband Albany knows of their treatment of Gloucester and is outraged. Goneril then tells her lover Edmund to leave because she doesn't want to lose him, so she kisses him goodbye. Meanwhile Goneril is thinking of a way to get rid of her husband so her and Edmund can be together.
In this passage We can see a change in Goneril, The daughter who originally lied to her father about loving him, and was seen as loyal, but in fact betrayed him. However she also betrayed her husband Albany by acting like she loved him, when she actually loves Edmund. I find it funny that her originally lie being fake love, helped her but Now real love is her enemy. She is in love with Edmund, and wishes she could be with him, but there are things that are in her way. Like her husband, who she married so she would get land from her father. So in this passage we can see a problem that has arisen from lies being seen as loyal. If Goneril could have told her dad that she loved him like Cordelia then maby she would have been banished then she could have married Edmund and been happy, but she didn't.
We have encountered other problems that have risen from lies being seen as being loyal, and alot of them have been around Edmund. It was he that caused his brother to be banished, and his dad to be blinded. So we can see him as the master of lies in the play, because he has manipulated almost everyone around him to his benefit.
Clare Pleuler
ReplyDeleteAct 4, Scene 6
[lines 147-191, pages 205-207)
Sanity vs. Madness
Sin
Prior to the section of dialogue I chose to analyze, Edgar has tricked Gloucester into believing the God’s spared him after his attempted suicide. The noble son then leads his father away from the cliff where they happen upon the mad Lear.
To begin, Gloucester and Lear greet each other, and the former wishes to kiss the king’s hand. It is clear that Lear is slightly mad, as he refuses, claiming it “smells of mortality”. Although wounded, Gloucester is perfectly sane and wishes to have a normal conversation with Lear. However, it seems Lear is only capable of spouting strange proclamations and ideas. It is also clear that Gloucester wants sympathy, but Lear remains cold and distant. While Lear does seem to string together some coherent thoughts, he is largely irrational and mad. The section ends after a lengthy and peculiar speech from the king.
The first motif was very prominent in this part of the scene and was developed through the tension filled inversions of sanity and madness. This motif, truth, was twisted and manipulated through the elaborate and strange speeches of Lear and the frank and straightforward replies of the wounded Gloucester. Shakespeare depicts Lear as quite insane in this part of the novel through his speeches and actions, like when Lear says to Gloucester, “Let me wipe it first, it smells or mortality” (205, line 148) or: “Change places and, handy-dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief?” (205, line 167). It is quite clear that Lear appears mad, an old king who is completely down and out. However, if the reader looks closer, Lear does have a sense of what he’s saying and his comments do hold a lot of deeper meaning upon second glance. For example, “A man may see how this world goes with no eyes. Look with thine ears. See how yond justice rails upon yond simple thief. Hark in thine ear.” (205, line 166) Lear is proclaiming to Gloucester that he can still “see” (as in, find truth or loyalty in the world) without his physical eyes. Lear wants Gloucester to figuratively “open his eyes” to the world around him to better grasp what’s happening right in front of him. Shakespeare brings even more attention to this inversion by having Lear, the supposed mad one, accuse Gloucester of being insane (because he is actually acting weak, disloyal, etc.) The decision to depict Lear as completely mad as he continues to impart amounts of advice and knowledge to Gloucester is a clear inversion that develops the common motif of what is truthful and real.
The second motif, sin, while seemingly less obvious, is dispersed throughout the entirety of the section I chose to analyze. In Lear’s drawn out speeches, he touches on all sorts of sinning. He focused mainly on human follies, such as lechery, adultery and disloyalty, aiming his anger and passion on the subject towards Gloucester. He then turns the tables of his emotions, sternly asking Gloucester to put a stop to all of this sin. This is ironic because both Gloucester and Lear have had their fair share of sins (exiling family members, betrayal, etc.) ,and even more notably, Gloucester is not powerful or noble enough to put a stop to something so significant. The motif of sin is truly a reoccurring idea as it has been present everywhere in this novel. However, this section is significant to sin because it includes an inversion, as Lear pleads to a man full of sin to put a stop to a world of sinning.
Both motifs, truth and sin, have been prominent and important parts of the novel thus far. Sin has been an overarching theme throughout, while the inversions of sanity stemming from truth have been a relatively new idea. This section of dialogue is very important, though, because it involves a great deal of development for both motifs through clear and significant inversions that could be considered indispensable to the novel.
Wisdom v. Foolishness, Age, Dogs, Storms, “Inversion,” Deceit
ReplyDeleteAct 4 Scene 6 115-124
KING LEAR
Ha! Goneril, with a white beard! They flattered
me like a dog; and told me I had white hairs in my
beard ere the black ones were there. To say 'ay'
and 'no' to every thing that I said!--'Ay' and 'no'
too was no good divinity. When the rain came to
wet me once, and the wind to make me chatter; when
the thunder would not peace at my bidding; there I
found 'em, there I smelt 'em out. Go to, they are
not men o' their words: they told me I was every
thing; 'tis a lie, I am not ague-proof.
This is an excerpt from King Lear's speech in Scene 6, when he runs into Gloucester. Here he laments about his own foolishness, and how when he was King people had convinced him he was wise. Even just in this short excerpt it manages to touch on many threads within the story.
The first and foremost is Wisdom, which comes up early with the reference to a “white beard.” This, as explained on the opposite page in the book, is representative of Wisdom. Here he first mentions Goneril as “wise” (by laughing at it) and also introduces a gender inversion by saying she has a beard (this echoes off of her argument with Albany). After a brief reference to the dog motifs, he gets to the idea that he had been convinced that he was wise while he was king because everyone said “yes” when he said “yes” and “no” when he said “no.” Here is another inversion in that he is only wise now that he is now longer in a position of power. Fate and heavens come up again in that Lear was “divine” when he was king, but he was falsely divine. He was convinced of his correctness and holiness without actually being correct or considered holy.
The next half of the excerpt focuses on storm metaphors. Here Lear says that he realized the manner of his situation, and his lack of divinity, when he was out in the storm and it did not bend to his will. Everyone treated him as if he was stronger than nature itself, but he has now discovered that he was not immune to the weather or sickness. He is not “ague-proof.” There is also another inversion with “they are not men o' their words,” because it is referring to his daughters (along with the other people who coddled him). Again the inversion is gender, which echoes off of Gonderil's argument.
Eleanor Keller
ReplyDeleteAct 4, Scene 3
Lines 10 - 37
Parent-child relationship
Eyes
This scene features a conversation between a Gentleman and Kent (in disguise). They discuss Cordelia's reaction to the letters from her father. This scene takes place just prior to the reuniting of Lear and Cordelia.
When Cordelia left the kingdom in scene one, it appeared as if the bond between her and her father had been broken. To the contrary, I think this passage is the beginning of the two repairing their relationship. Although Lear does not want to see Cordelia at this time, he was able to write to her and she took the letters and read them with emotion and care.
This passage uses intricate poetry and careful language to describe Cordelia. As we talked about in class today, the audience would have not seen Cordelia since the beginning of the play. This scene provides a description of Cordelia that includes her beauty, strength, and complexities. The Gentleman describes her smiles and tears as a mixture of sun and rain, but better. In this he includes the beauty of nature with the opposing feelings of happy and sad. He goes on to speak of her reaction to her father's pain. This heightens her expression of her love for him through her actions rather than words (an issue that was so controversial and disruptive in act one).
The language of this passage highlights Shakespeare's talent and his ability to evoke sympathetic feelings in his audience. Readers are able to connect with Cordelia's confusions and devotion to her father, the same things that make her such a genuine character. Coming from the Gentlemen, these descriptions are even more interesting. Throughout the play he has very meaningful lines for such an 'insignificant' character. Since noticing this, I personally, at least, seem to pay more attention to his passages.
Act 4.6 lines 1-60
ReplyDeleteThe Motifs: If something is true or not, what's reasonable or foolish
GLOUCESTER
When shall we come to the top of that same hill?
EDGAR
You do climb up it now: look, how we labour.
GLOUCESTER
Methinks the ground is even.
EDGAR
Horrible steep.
Hark, do you hear the sea?
GLOUCESTER
No, truly.
EDGAR
Why, then, your other senses grow imperfect
By your eyes' anguish.
GLOUCESTER
So may it be, indeed:
Methinks thy voice is alter'd; and thou speak'st
In better phrase and matter than thou didst.
EDGAR
You're much deceived: in nothing am I changed
But in my garments.
GLOUCESTER
Methinks you're better spoken.
EDGAR
Come on, sir; here's the place: stand still. How fearful
And dizzy 'tis, to cast one's eyes so low!
The crows and choughs that wing the midway air
Show scarce so gross as beetles: half way down
Hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade!
Methinks he seems no bigger than his head:
The fishermen, that walk upon the beach,
Appear like mice; and yond tall anchoring bark,
Diminish'd to her cock; her cock, a buoy
Almost too small for sight: the murmuring surge,
That on the unnumber'd idle pebbles chafes,
Cannot be heard so high. I'll look no more;
Lest my brain turn, and the deficient sight
Topple down headlong.
GLOUCESTER
Set me where you stand.
EDGAR
Give me your hand: you are now within a foot
Of the extreme verge: for all beneath the moon
Would I not leap upright.
GLOUCESTER
Let go my hand.
Here, friend, 's another purse; in it a jewel
Well worth a poor man's taking: fairies and gods
Prosper it with thee! Go thou farther off;
Bid me farewell, and let me hear thee going.
EDGAR
Now fare you well, good sir.
GLOUCESTER
With all my heart.
EDGAR
Why I do trifle thus with his despair
Is done to cure it.
GLOUCESTER
[Kneeling] O you mighty gods!
This world I do renounce, and, in your sights,
Shake patiently my great affliction off:
If I could bear it longer, and not fall
To quarrel with your great opposeless wills,
My snuff and loathed part of nature should
Burn itself out. If Edgar live, O, bless him!
Now, fellow, fare thee well.
He falls forward
EDGAR
Gone, sir: farewell.
And yet I know not how conceit may rob
The treasury of life, when life itself
Yields to the theft: had he been where he thought,
By this, had thought been past. Alive or dead?
Ho, you sir! friend! Hear you, sir! speak!
Thus might he pass indeed: yet he revives.
What are you, sir?
GLOUCESTER
Away, and let me die.
Gloucester wants Edgar, who is disguising himself from Gloucester, to lead him to the cliffs of Dover. Gloucester is now starting to feel worthless, with no eyes, to his information, Edgar betrayed and left him and Edmund taking his power away left him with nothing. Gloucester wants to end it all by jumping off the cliffs. But, Edgar does not want that and he tricks Gloucester into thinking that they are ate the top of the cliffs and that he fell. Edgar even pretends to be many different people to try to convince Gloucester. Though there are parts that Gloucester thinks that Edgar is deceiving him.
I think that Gloucester and Edgar are both being foolish in this passage. Gloucester is being foolish by barely being skeptical about where he is or believing that there are many people talking to him after he supposedly fell from a cliff, even though he just fell to his knees. I also think that Edgar is foolish because does he really think that he can pretend to be different people and pretend to lead a man to a cliff and pretending he fell.
4.6.149-172
ReplyDeleteParent-child relationships, what is said versus what is real, dogs/animals, eyes, what is natural
GLOUCESTER O ruined piece of nature! This great world
Shall so wear out to naught. Dost thou know me?
LEAR I remember thine eyes well enough. Dost thou squinny at me? No, do thy worst, blind Cupid, I’ll not love. Read thou this challenge. Mark but the penning of it.
GLOUCESTER Were all thy letters suns, I could not see.
EDGAR (aside) I would not take this from report. It is,
And my heart breaks at it.
LEAR Read.
GLOUCESTER What, with the case of eyes?
LEAR Oho, are you there with me? No eyes in your head, nor no money in your purse? Your eyes are in a heavy case, your purse in a light, yet you see how this world goes.
GLOUCESTER I see it feelingly.
LEAR What, art mad? A man may see how this world goes with no eyes. Look with thine ears. See how yond justice rails upon yond simple thief. Hark in thine ear. Change places and, handy-dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief? Thou hast seen a farmer’s dog bark at a beggar?
GLOUCESTER Ay, sir.
LEAR And the creature run from the cur? There thou might’st behold the great image of authority: a dog’s obeyed in office.
This passage incorporates a number of symbols and themes from previous discussions and acts. As far as characters go, Gloucester and Lear are parallel characters; both are men who were betrayed by their children, and unknowingly banished the child who was actually loyal to them. The two men, who were acquainted before tragedy struck, both lost control over their land by greedy children. They each lost something exceptionally important: Lear lost his sanity, and Gloucester lost his eyes. There is play in this meeting of the two characters, as they find themselves, long after their personal life crises struck, at virtually the same point: disconnected from their loving children, painfully destroyed by their betraying children, and lost somewhere far from home.
In the first line of this passage, Gloucester discusses a “ruined piece of nature”. This directly relates to Edmund, his bastard - or “natural” - son, who is a ruined example of an ideal child. Additionally, this “ruined nature”, which translates to his current lack of vision, was caused by this deceitful child. Directly after, there is irony in Lear’s statement, “I know thine eyes”, as Gloucester now lacks eyes, and it was this lack of sight that caused him to be ignorant of the fact that the man with whom he was conversing was Lear. Continuing, “blind Cupid, I will not love” is reminiscent of the blindness of both Gloucester and Lear concerning their children - shunning the honest, and praising the sneaky. They love blindly, and in doing so, lose all of the love they could potentially have. A few lines later, too, Edgar says his heart breaks to see his father as a blind, vulnerable man, which is consistent with the broken love caused by the blindness of his father and of Lear.
A crucial irony in this passage is Gloucester’s remark that he sees the world by feeling. This is completely contradictory to his interaction with Edgar, his own son, who he cannot recognize, either with or without eyes. Even when he is first blinded, he does not understand that “Poor Tom” is in fact his lost son.
CONTINUED
CONTINUED
ReplyDeleteIn Lear’s next line, he discusses a farmer’s dog that would “bark at a beggar”, and asks Gloucester if he has seen one, or, rather, experienced one. This irony lies in the words and symbolism behind the words; Lear can be though of as the dog, as dogs are repeatedly used throughout the novel to represent madness, and either Gloucester or Edgar can be thought of as the beggar. Gloucester is vulnerable and almost pathetic at this point, reliant on others for sight; he is, like a beggar, asking for the service of others for survival. Edgar, on the other hand, acts as a literal beggar, and almost becomes his character. The significance of this is again in the connection between Gloucester and Edgar that is in many ways more intimate than Gloucester’s relationship with Edmund; in the barest way, it is pure familial love, without hidden intentions. The dog in this line also directly links to the dog in Lear’s next line: he says that “a dog’s obeyed in office.” The tension in this concept lies in Lear’s banishment, and Lear’s repeated comparison to a dog, particularly pertaining to his madness. After Lear lost his power, and thus was no longer “obeyed in office”, he became like a dog. This is contrary to the statement that a dog is obeyed, because it was prior to his dog-like state that he was obeyed. It adds a layer of pity to Lear, who does not realize the irony in his statement. However, on the flip side, it can be considered that the real madness in this act lies with his daughters, Regan and Goneril, and Gloucester’s son Edmund, all three of whom are now in a state of power which they achieved by going against the natural order of familial love and respect, and general respect for humankind.
4.7.69-85
ReplyDeleteLEAR: Pray do not mock;
I am a very foolish fond old man,
Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less,
And to deal plainly,
I fear I am not in my perfect mind.
Methinks I should know you and know this man,
Yet I am doubtful, for I am mainly ignorant
What place this is, and all the skill I have
Remembers not these garments; nor I know not
Where I did lodge last night. Do not laugh at me,
For, as I am a man, I think this lady
To be my child Cordelia.
CORDELIA, [weeping] And so I am; I am.
LEAR:
Be your tears wet? Yes, faith. I pray, weep not.
If you have poison for me, I will drink it.
I know you do not love me, for your sisters
Have, as I do remember, done me wrong.
You have some cause; they have not.
Here, we see that the themes of foolish/wise; insane/sane; parent/child; water; understood/misunderstood; words/facts. Lear has (finally) confessed that he is a "foolish fond old man", indicating that he now knows that trusting his daughters' "love" was "foolish" and that his "old" age has made him "fond" of anything familiar to the time when things weren't so complicated (Cordelia for example). He also confesses that he is not quite sane, because he thinks that he should know "her" (Cordelia), but he doubts himself because he does not recognize where he is or the garments he wears. However, he believes that he is seeing his daughter Cordelia.
When he witnesses her crying, he tells her not to, because he knows she does not "love" him like her sisters did, although they betrayed him in the end, even though she had a reason to betray him and her sisters didn't.
His believing that the lady in front of him is Cordelia shows the hopefulness Lear has that Cordelia loves him, although he refuses to believe that fact going as far to say that he will accept poison if she has any.
I also mentioned (in class) that there is a gap between the words spoken and the facts that present themselves. Cordelia, had spoken that she did not love Lear, but the fact is that her actions show that she does love him, while her sisters said they loved Lear but abandoned him when he turned to them.
Olivia Davis
ReplyDeleteRelationship between parents and children/eyes
“Let’s exchange charity.
I am no less in blood than thou art, Edmund;
If more, the more th’ hast wronged me.
My name is Edgar and thy father’s son.
The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices
Make instruments to plague us.
The dark and vicious place where thee he got
Cost him his eyes.” – Edgar, 5.3.200-207
Edgar tells Edmund that he is no less honorable of birth than Edmund. If anything, Edgar is implying that he is the more honorable son because he was not born illegitimately. This is demonstrated through his comment, “If more, the more th’ hast wronged me.” Edgar is also saying that gods like justice and that they will punish us for indulging in our sins. Edgar goes on to say that Gloucester’s sin for conceiving Edmund is what cost Gloucester his eyes.
There are two significant motifs within the passage. The motifs are the relationship between parents and children and eyes. Edgar is portrayed as the loyal son, because he stands up for his father to Edmund by saying that Gloucester was sinful in conceiving Edmund and that’s what cost him his eyes. There is deep significance behind the motif eyes. Eyes are supposed to represent the ability to see, thereby granting wisdom. Gloucester’s sin of conceiving Edmund cost him not only his eyes, but his wisdom as well. He lost his wisdom because he could not understand who the more loyal son was, and that was Edgar.
Despite Gloucester’s treatment of Edgar (ordering Edgar’s death warrant), Edgar still loves his father and is loyal to him. Gloucester had a lot of trust in Edmund, but Edmund betrayed that trust by portraying him as a traitor. Lear betrayed his younger daughter, Cordelia, by banishing her from the kingdom. His two older daughters, Goneril and Regan, were not banished and they betrayed their father by casting him out of the castle. There is a lot of irony hidden behind the relationship between parents and children.
Act 5.3
ReplyDeleteThe Motifs: Loyalty, what's reasonable or foolish
ALBANY
Stay yet; hear reason. Edmund, I arrest thee
On capital treason; and, in thine attaint,
This gilded serpent
Pointing to Goneril
For your claim, fair sister,
I bar it in the interest of my wife:
'Tis she is sub-contracted to this lord,
And I, her husband, contradict your bans.
If you will marry, make your loves to me,
My lady is bespoke.
GONERIL
An interlude!
ALBANY
Thou art arm'd, Gloucester: let the trumpet sound:
If none appear to prove upon thy head
Thy heinous, manifest, and many treasons,
There is my pledge;
Throwing down a glove
I'll prove it on thy heart,
Ere I taste bread, thou art in nothing less
Than I have here proclaim'd thee.
REGAN
Sick, O, sick!
GONERIL
[Aside] If not, I'll ne'er trust medicine.
EDMUND
There's my exchange:
Throwing down a glove
what in the world he is
That names me traitor, villain-like he lies:
Call by thy trumpet: he that dares approach,
On him, on you, who not? I will maintain
My truth and honour firmly.
ALBANY
A herald, ho!
EDMUND
A herald, ho, a herald!
ALBANY
Trust to thy single virtue; for thy soldiers,
All levied in my name, have in my name
Took their discharge.
REGAN
My sickness grows upon me.
ALBANY
She is not well; convey her to my tent.
Exit Regan, led
Enter a Herald
Come hither, herald,--Let the trumpet sound,
And read out this.
Captain
Sound, trumpet!
A trumpet sounds
Herald
[Reads] 'If any man of quality or degree within
the lists of the army will maintain upon Edmund,
supposed Earl of Gloucester, that he is a manifold
traitor, let him appear by the third sound of the
trumpet: he is bold in his defence.'
EDMUND
Sound!
First trumpet
Herald
Again!
Second trumpet
Herald
Again!
Third trumpet
Trumpet answers within
Enter EDGAR, at the third sound, armed, with a trumpet before him
In this passage, Albany thinks that Edmund is a traitor and tries to arrest him. If he can not find proof of his treason, Albany will duel Edmund. While Albany is proclaiming that, Goneril is poisoning Regan in the background. Edmund also challenges who ever calls him a traitor. Albany turns his attention to Regan, who is dying from poison. A herald comes in proclaim the rules of the duel and sounds the trumpet three times. Edgar comes in on the third sound.
Albany, Edmund and Edgar are all loyal to each other even though they do not like each other. They all respect and obey the rules of the duel. They also do not just kill each other where they stand, even with the insults. Goneril however, is not loyal. She right in the middle of this poisons her sister. This action is also foolish because Goneril is greedy and wants Edmund instead of Albany.
ACT V. Scene I
ReplyDeleteLines 63-77
EDMUND:
To both these sisters have I sworn my love;
Each jealous of the other, as the stung
Are of the adder. Which of them shall I take?
Both? one? or neither? Neither can be enjoy'd,
If both remain alive: to take the widow
Exasperates, makes mad her sister Goneril;
And hardly shall I carry out my side,
Her husband being alive. Now then we'll use
His countenance for the battle; which being done,
Let her who would be rid of him devise
His speedy taking off. As for the mercy
Which he intends to Lear and to Cordelia,
The battle done, and they within our power,
Shall never see his pardon; for my state
Stands on me to defend, not to debate.
This passage is of Edmund's inner thoughts. He is preparing to go into battle, yet he is more concerned with which One of king Lears Daughters he is going to marry. He has promised his love to both girls foolishly, he has been very reckless, and know has created a huge problem for himself. Both Goneril and Regan want him, and they are prepared to kill for him.So Edmund decides that he doesn't care which one he marries, he will let fate handle it, the only thing he wants now is for Albany to be able to lead his troops into battle. Edmund's girl problems can be solved after the battle has been fought.
This Passage highlights how lying and being deceitful create problems for you in the long run. Edmund lied to get to his position of power , and through every one under the bus to do so, and now he is fucked. although he doesn't know it yet, he is driving the sisters two fight, causing the death of both of them. An he caused his own death by outcasting his brother, who is already planning on killing him after the battle. So he is just as blind as his father was, he doesn't fully understand what is going on around him anymore. unfortunately for him, he will be more then blinded so he can see the error of his ways. However This passage provides great foreshadowing within it. It reveals that both daughters will die in the fight, and that he is planning on killing Cordelia and King Lear.
Shaelyn Lake
ReplyDeleteAct V Scene III
EDMUND
He hath commission from thy wife and me
To hang Cordelia in the prison, and
To lay the blame upon her own despair,
That she fordid herself.
In this scene Edmund is explaining the fate of Cordelia to Albany and everyone else surrounding him. Cordelia was sent to a prison and the guards were ordered by Edmund to hang Cordelia. Lastly, he believed she caused her own death and should be held at fault.
Jealousy and greed are what Edmund's blood consists of. He cannot stand anyone else having any sort of power so he goes and kills anyone who stands any chance of gaining power. Edmund wanted both Regan and Goneril's land but couldn't stand either of them. He also wanted Cordelia's land so he sent her and Lear to jail and killed her. Edmund is just a jealous and greedy man.
This scene relates the the piece as a whole because even on his deathbed Edmund is greedy. He knows that Cordelia is probably dead. Throughout the book his greed and jealousy has grown, more so when he started committing worse deeds.Edgar is highlighted through this scene though, killing the evil that brought him down to dirt (literally).
Wisdom vs. foolishness, Dogs, Sight
ReplyDeleteKING LEAR: And my poor fool is hang'd! No, no, no life!
Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life,
And thou no breath at all? Thou'lt come no more,
Never, never, never, never, never!
Pray you, undo this button: thank you, sir.
Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips,
Look there, look there!
Part of what makes this excerpt interesting is the many ways one can interpret the line “And my poor fool is hang'd.” It can refer to either the Fool or Cordelia (and draws a connection between the two regardless as to which of them it is directly referring to). It acknowledges that both of the lightening forces in Lear's life are gone. Even if the fool isn't literally dead, he is now absent from the play itself. It also brings the Fool to the mind of the reader again, even if referring to Cordelia, which highlights how much darker the play has gotten since the disappearance of the fool.
In a more indirect way, it also refers to Lear's own foolishness. Although he is now mad, he is also much more lucidly aware of his surroundings and of the suffering and vileness in those surroundings. Thus, his foolishness is hanged as well as his fool. He is now wise enough to see things as they are.
That, I feel, is the most important part of the quote, but other things stand out as well. Dogs come up in the second line. More prominently, the last two lines really lay down the idea of seeing and looking. Look is repeated four times. It draws the reader's attention to looking Lear's situation and where his actions and the actions of other have landed him. It challenges the reader to take a lesson from the play and it's characters.
Clare Pleuler
ReplyDeleteAct 5, Scene 3
[lines 0-40]
sanity vs. madness
sin
Prior to the bit of dialogue I chose to analyze, Cordelia’s French army has been defeated. Lear and Cordelia are brought to Edmund as prisoners by means of the soldiers and commanding captain. To begin the section I took a closer look at, Edmund asks his soldiers to take Lear and Cordelia “away” and guard them very well. Before they are removed, however, Cordelia begins speaking to her father and tries to find some sort of good in their current predicament. Lear responds by going on a long rant about how their lives can still be beautiful and valuable in prison by merely watching from the outside, in the cell. His speech is powerful and thought evoking. He touches on “asking for forgiveness” which plays a part in contrasting Edmund’s unrelenting, inhumane nature and substantiating actions. Edmund is not effected by their passionate speeches and plots to have them murdered, handing the plans off to his captain to carry out.
The motifs that I identified in this scene turned out to be the same as the ones I located in my last blog post. This doesn’t surprise me, as Lear continues to act as an inversion of sanity and Edmund continues to be a diabolical villain. The first motif, sanity vs. madness, is developed through Lear’s peculiar yet highly emotional speech to Cordelia, where he conveys his love for who she is and the relationship that they have created. Though Lear is portrayed as a slightly mad and peculiar king with a tendency to rant about the subject at hand, the choice to have Lear offer a great deal of important and meaningful insight is a clear inversion. Lear is continually using his dialogue to make profound and emotional points, which appears as a choice by the author to create an inversion in order to further develop the tension filled dilemma of sanity and madness.
The other motif that I found was particularly interesting was Edmund’s continuous sin. In the last section of dialogue I analyzed, sin was dealt with mainly through Lear’s speech. In that particular section, Lear was begging Gloucester to assert his power and put a stop to all of the sinning, such as adultery, lechery and other human follies. In this scene, sinning is both ironic and disheartening. This is ironic because while Lear is so strongly against sinning, his demise is being plotted at that very moment by a man that once respected and obeyed him. What is perhaps the most disheartening thing about this entire section of dialogue is Edmund’s lacking capacity to feel any sort of remorse or emotion. He only cares about power, and he will do whatever is necessary to obtain it, which is largely animalistic and evil. The motif of sin was developed exponentially in this section because Edmund’s choices were displayed clearly to the reader, giving you a sense of how evil he is capable of being. This section is so important to the development of this motif because Edmund’s deeds are no longer hidden, instead, they are offered up in plain sight. This motif is both ironic and literal which makes it an extremely important topic in this part of the novel.
As I’ve mentioned throughout this blog post, these two motifs are not only repeats of my last blog post, but they have been prevalent throughout this entire novel. Without the constant inversion of King Lear’s brilliant insanity or Edmund’s constant sinning, King Lear would be an entirely different story. Due to this, this section of the novel is vital to it’s essence.
Act Five, Scene Two; 5.2.1-13
ReplyDeleteAlarum within. Enter, with Drum and Colors, Lear, Cordelia, and Soldiers, over the stage, and exit.
Enter EDGAR and GLOUCESTER
EDGAR
Here, father, take the shadow of this tree
For your good host. Pray that the right may thrive.
If ever I return to you again,
I'll bring you comfort.
GLOUCESTER
Grace go with you, sir.
Edgar exits.
Alarum and retreat within.
Enter Edgar.
EDGAR
Away, old man. Give me thy hand. Away.
King Lear hath lost, he and his daughter ta'en.
Give me thy hand. Come on.
GLOUCESTER
No farther, sir. A man may rot even here.
EDGAR
What, in ill thoughts again? Men must endure
Their going hence even as their coming hither.
Ripeness is all. Come on.
GLOUCESTER
And that's true too.
They Exit.
This passage is especially important to the play as it is the last passage in which Gloucester and Edgar are seen together; in fact, it is the last scene in which Gloucester is seen at all. Its importance is especially apparent when considering the shaky relationship of Gloucester and Edgar throughout the play. At the beginning, Gloucester is perfectly happy with both his sons. However, he is quickly manipulated by Edmund, and banishes Edgar soon into the story. Edgar remains banished for the majority of the book, and wanders as a beggar. When running into his father repeatedly, there is a sense of tension for the reader, as it is extremely uncomfortable to experience a father not recognizing his own son. When Gloucester becomes blinded and finally does recognize Edgar, it is a satisfying moment. However, the redemption of their relationship is not seen fully until this scene, when the reversal of roles is prevalent; Edgar takes on the parenting role for Gloucester, convincing him to stay alive and guiding his blinded father. The theme of role reversal, especially pertaining to parents and children, is woven throughout the play as well. King Lear becomes almost child-like when he loses his kingdom, becoming all but helpless as he succumbs to insanity. His two unfaithful daughters take on the decision-making role, which generally falls to the parent. A similar parallel is seen which Gloucester, as explicated above, who is blinded and then guided by Edgar.
An interesting dynamic that adds to this scene is Gloucester taking the hand of the son who never wronged him. In a way, it provides satisfying closure for the reader; the son who did not stand in the way of Gloucester’s eyes being gouged out ultimately has no positive effect on his father, and the son who was wrongly banished but always faithful takes the final steps with his father, and guides him when he would otherwise have given up hope.
There is a mild irony when Edgar says, “If ever I return to you again,/I'll bring you comfort.” This is due to Edgar never seeing his father again, and thus the statement is inapplicable. Also, rather than Edgar being the one to return or not to return, it is Gloucester who will never again return to him.
Ultimately, it is powerful and necessary to provide appropriate closure for Edgar and Gloucester’s relationship, and to reveal the progressions of Edgar and the hurt of Gloucester nearing the climatic conclusion of the play.
Eleanor Keller
ReplyDeleteAct Five, Scene Three
Lines 9 - 20
Father/Daughter Relationship, Saying v. Truth
Lear:
No, no, no, no. Come, let's away to prison.
We two alone will sing like birds i' th' cage.
When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down
And ask of thee forgiveness. So we'll live,
And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laught
At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues
Talk of court news, and we'll talk with them too -
Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out -
And take upon 's the mystery of things,
As if we were God's spies. And we'll wear out,
In a walled prison, packs and sects of great ones
That ebb and flow by th' moon.
This speech by lear is given after Edmund demands that him and Cordelia be brought to jail. When we first read it in class it stood out to me for it's beautiful language and the emotional impact it had on the audience. Shakespeare uses this passage to highlight the relationship between Lear and Cordelia. Lear loves her to the extent that it doesn't matter where their love will take them. As long as they are together they can be happy. With this idea though, the question of saying v. truth is instilled in the reader as well. We know that their lives in jail will be nothing as he describes in this passage. Why then, does he speak in the manner that he does? His daughter (Cordelia) is clearly mature enough to understand the consequences of what is about to happen. As one of the most realistic daughters in the first place, she can definitely see the situation with the problem it possesses.
In the language itself, Shakespeare uses many techniques to effectively instill emotions in the reader. The language leaves a bittersweet feeling. Lear describes ideals that we, as readers, wish would come true. Shakespeare spends much of the play making the reader feel sorry for Lear and view Cordelia as the one honest character. Now, the two characters we have grown to like are being sent to prison. We, like Lear, want to believe that they will be happy there but realize, as he also does, that it will not be the case. It is also interesting to me that we never explicitly hear Cordelia's response to this passage. I wonder what the rest of our class feels on this matter, and why Shakespeare made that decision.
PART 1
ReplyDeleteThe passage I have chosen to analyze spans 5.3.46-85, and it contains references to eyes, and loss(having nothing). The selection contains the voices of Albany, Edmund, Gonreil and Regan in a conversation slightly prior to Edmund’s appointment to Earl of Gloucester.
“Sir, you have showed today your valiant strain,/ And Fortune led you well.”(5.3.46-47) These are Albany’s words to Edmund, which contain both dramatic irony and a reference to the dealings of fate. To accuse Edmund of having “valiant strain” or placed courageous and bold stress upon himself is particularly ironic for the audience, who is aware that he stirs up trouble and sits in wait while it plays out in his favor. The second phrase “And Fortune led you well” can be considered a reference to what started Edmund’s entire journey, the speech about his bastardizing(second on spans 1.2.125-140) in which he relies heavily on the stars and states “when we are sick with fortune(often the surfeits of our own behavior) we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and stars”(1..126-128). This shows with what vigor he despises the use of any blame or victory in the dealings of fate and fortune, and how much he relies on only himself to produce good fortune or lack of, yet even once he does achieve just that, the dealings of Fortune and fate and therefore the stars receive the credit.
“You have the captives/ Who were the opposites of this day’s strife./ I do require them of you, so to use them/ As we shall find their merits and our safety/ May equally determine.”( 5.3.47-51) The phrase “opposites of,” though meaning opponents in, does pop out as being a direct statement about the underhanded dealings of all involved in the game that’s being played in contrast to Lear and Cordelia. The latter pair still seems to hold on to an unbiased love and a dignity in doing so that Edmund and the two sisters have forfeited in their hunt for power. Plus, to point out “opposites” is to suggest all inversions made within the play. Particularly how, the child dominates over the father entirely during his time of weakness, and Cordelia(along with Edgar) are the only two children who do not take advantage of that. The inversion is contained within both the child controlling the parent, and the turning of the tables done by Cordelia and Edgar(even though this is more natural, in contrast to the entirety of the play, it is an inversion).
“Sir, I thought it fit/ To send the old and miserable king/ To some retention (and appointed guard,)/Whose age had charms in it, whose title more,/To pluck the common bosom on his side/ And turn our impressed lances in our eyes,/Which do command them. With him I sent the/ Queen.” (5.3.52-59) This part alludes to the pity and compassion evoked by seeing such an old soul and tortured king put into distress, which is an image that has the potential to render Edmund powerless and blind. He sees the compassion for Lear to be a weakness, one which will turn his own weapon (lance) on himself(for lack of being able to see any longer the direction he should point it, and blaming himself for what has happened to Lear). This blindness is something he dealt out to his father. In the same phrase, he calls Cordelia a “Queen” a title used before when describing her reaction to the state of her father: “It seemed she was a queen/ Over her passion, who, most rebel-like, /Fought to be king o’er her.”(4.3.15-18) So this also is a statement about Cordelia’s compassion, perhaps how she also would evoke his blindness, but by different means, of direct pleading.
PART 2
ReplyDelete“The friend hath lost his friend,/And the best quarrels in the heat are cursed/By those that feel their sharpness./ The question of Cordelia and her father/Requires a fitter place.”(5.3.63-67) Here there is reference to the enemies that Edmund has made by fighting the battle he chose to fight, one for power. He blatantly states that though the act of battling for that power should be noble, all that have taken part in this war are forsaken and miserable. But somehow Cordelia and her father seem somewhat separate to Edmund still. Literally of course he is speaking of the battle between the English and the French and the havoc that was wreaked upon both sides by the singular clash.
“Jesters do oft prove prophets./ Holla, holla! /That eye that told you so looked but asquint.”(5.3.83-85) The first line is Regan and the last two are Gonreil. They are arguing over who should marry Edmund and with which of them his favor falls. The first line is a comment about fools, and is in reference to “There is many a true word spoken in jest” according to the notes on page 238. It is true that Cordelia(who is often compared to the fool in the entirety of the play) tells her sisters immediately after her banishing “ I know what you are,/ And like a sister am most loath to call/ Your faults as they are named…To your professed bosoms I commit him; I would prefer him to a better place.”(1.1.312- 318) This could definitely be see as prophesying her sister’s grand betrayal of them both. The second portion is reference to “Love, being jealous, makes a good eye look asquint” again according to the notes. This can be a connection to Gloucester losing his eyes because he was blinded by love of Edmund to his true nature(which left him literally blind so that he could better see). Also it shows Lears blindness to Cordelia’s love and his eldest daughter‘s greed, and how by losing his sanity he gains retrospect on the sightlines of his two eldest daughters as well as Cordelia’s true position.
I]
ReplyDelete5.3.308-315
Child/parent; eyes; cruelty/monster; loss; insanity;
LEAR
Howl, howl, howl! O, (you) are men of stones!
Had I your tongues and eyes, I'd use them so
That heaven's vault should crack. She's gone
forever.
I know when one is dead and when one lives.
She's dead as earth.-Lend me a looking glass.
If that her breath will mist or stain the stone,
Why, then she lives.
Lear is shown crying out, blaming the men around him for her (Cordelia's) death. He wishes that he could have their tongues and eyes so that he may open up heaven's vault (spirit world), but she's gone. He says he knows the difference between the living and the death implying that he is still not quite in his right state of mind. His comparison of her (Cordelia) and the earth implies that they could be outside where the ground around them is barren. He turns hopeful, asking for a looking glass wishing to see it mist over to indicate that she is still alive.
II]
5.3.325-330
Child/parent; cruelty; loss; betrayal; insanity;
LEAR
A plague upon you, murderers, traitors all!
I might have saved her. Now she's gone forever.-
Cordelia, Cordelia, stay a little. Ha!
What is 't thou sayst?-Her voice was ever soft,
Gentle, and low, an excellent thing in woman.
I killed the slave that was a-hanging thee.
Lear is name-calling his men again, repeating that she (Cordelia) is gone, showing that his insanity (along with her death) has taken its toll on his fragile senile mind. He begins to hallucinate that she is still alive by saying that she is speaking (although he just said she was lost) and that her voice is soft, commenting that it is an excellent feminine quality. He tells her that he had killed the slave, since the Captain had basically been a mercenary who was "bought" to do their "master's" bidding.
III]
5.3.369-375
Child/parent; loss; insanity;
LEAR
And my poor fool is hanged. No, no, no life?
Why should a dog, a horse, a rat have life,
And thou no breath at all? Thou'lt come no more,
Never, never, never, never, never.-
Pray you undo this button. Thank you, sir.
[Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips,
Look there, look there! He dies.]
Lear mentions his "poor fool", one can only assume that he is talking about his (literal) Fool or to Cordelia (as mentioned in class). He asks why a dog, horse or a rat can live but Cordelia doesn't, the animals can be referred to back when people were called "dogs" (loyalty), a horse for hardworking and a rat for being leeching off others to survive. Lear asks someone to undo his buttons so that he can breath better showing that he is slowly losing consciousness. His last words show that he is still hallucinating Cordelia being alive and probably just sleeping.
Fiona Prentice
ReplyDeleteStorms
Families
Death
Gloucester is speaking to Edgar and an Old Man, not knowing that Edgar.
Act 4 Scene 1 Lines 35 – 42
GLOUCESTER
He has some reason, else he could not beg.
I' the last night's storm I such a fellow saw;
Which made me think a man a worm: my son
Came then into my mind; and yet my mind
Was then scarce friends with him: I have heard
more since.
As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods.
They kill us for their sport.
Storms always seem to come up, before or after something big has happened. This storm is referring to the night prior when Gloucester got his eyes plucked out and when Cornwall gets stabbed by one of his servants. Gloucester goes on to talk about how during “the storm” he was thinking of his son but he does not know his son well because his son, Edgar, has vanished. He says all this not knowing that Edgar is right there standing next to him. The comparison Shaekspeare makes of humans and flies as they are to “wanton boys” and the gods is amazing but I do not agree with it. Boys do kill flies without thinking about, flies are annoying. However, I do not believe that the gods kill humans without thinking about it. Sure, humans can be a nuisance sometimes but that does not make them something that gods can kill without thinking about it, like the boys do with the flies. Humans have a lot more going for them.
Act 4 Scene 6 Lines 97-124
ReplyDeleteMotifs: Seen, Sanity, Betrayal, Nakedness, Storms, False Wisdom, Adultery
LEAR
"Ha! Goneril with a white beard? Ha, Regan? They
flattered me like a dog and told me I had white
hairs in my beard ere the black ones were there. To
say “Ay” and “No” to everything that I said “Ay” and
“No” to was no good divinity. When the rain came
to wet me once, and the wind to make me chatter,
when the thunder would not peace at my bidding—
there I found 'em, there I smelt 'em out. Go to, they
are not men o' their words. They told me I was
everything. 'Tis a lie, I am not ague-proof.
.....
LEAR
Ay, every inch a king. When I do stare, see
how the subject quakes. I pardon that man’s life.
What was thy cause? Adultery? Thou shalt not die.
Die for adultery? No. The wren goes to ’t, and the
small gilded fly does lecher in my sight. Let
copulation thrive, for Gloucester’s bastard son Was
kinder to his father than my daughters got ’tween
the lawful sheets. To ’t, luxury, pell-mell—for I lack
soldiers.
Behold yond simpering dame, whose face between
her forks presages snow, that minces virtue and
does shake the head to hear of pleasure’s name.
The fitchew, nor the soiled horse, goes to ’t with a
more riotous appetite. Down from the waist they
are centaurs, though women all above. But to the
girdle do the gods inherit; beneath is all the
fiends'. There’s hell, there’s darkness, there’s the
sulfurous pit— burning, scalding, stench,
consumption! Fie, fie, fie, pah, pah!—Give me an
ounce of civet, good apothecary, to sweeten my
imagination. There’s money for thee."
This section of the play shows the two old men of the story reuniting as both are in the deepest throws of their disabilities, Lear his madness and Gloucester his blindness. Though King Lear is off on another insanity induced rant, he notes some of his clearest thoughts and begins to see reality through his own rational eyes.
Lear begins by spitting on the names of his deceitful daughters Regan and Goneril, and stating how much of a fool he was to believe their lies. "They flattered me like a dog and told me I had white hairs in my beard ere the black ones were there" the white of his beard signifying elderly wisdom and the praise the two girls had for him when he was bestowing power unto them both. But once they seized that power Lear saw his wisdom was only a false veil that was ripped away from him. The storm and "rain came to wet him", to clean wash away this facade of respect that blinded him from the truth. He was left naked in the world from the falsities, all lies out in the open.
Lear realizing the truth about his two evil daughters then moves tot he subject of the immorality of women and the acceptance of adultery. Adultery though, to a traditional Protestant of Britain, which the characters of King Lear presumably are, would been seen as the ultimate betrayal, but not to Lear. To Lear, evil and betrayal can come from anywhere and anyone, and from his experiences more often from legitimate children than Bastards. "Let copulation thrive, for Gloucester’s bastard son Was kinder to his father than my daughters got ’tween the lawful sheets". The going on to divide the woman into halves, upper and lower, each representing Heaven and Hell respectively. A madman's rant to explain the crumbling world around him.
Meg Bresnahan
ReplyDeleteAct 4, Scene 6, 44-59
Parents and children
Natural, death
GLOUCESTER:
O you mighty gods!
This world I do renounce, and in your sights
Shake patiently my great affliction off.
If I could bear it longer, and not fall
To quarrel with your great opposeless wills,
My snuff and loathed part of nature should
Burn itself out. If Edgar live, O bless him!-
Now, fellow, fare thee well
EDGAR:
Gone, sir. Farewell-
And yet I know not how conceit may rob
The treasury of life, when life itself
Yields to the theft. Had he been where he thought,
Ho you, sir! Friend, hear you, Sir, speak-
Thus might he pass indeed. Yet he revives-
What are you sir?
In this passage, Gloucester is preparing for death and wishing Edgar well. Then Gloucester 'falls' of the cliff. Edgar reflects on Gloucester's actions by wondering if a man can die of imagination. Edgar also reveals that Gloucester did not actually die.
I think this passage offers valuable insight to many of the motifs found in King Lear. Gloucester is preparing for an intentional death. In Gloucester's speech, he says "My snuff and loathed part of nature should burn itself out!" By this, Gloucester is calling his life useless and could end itself naturally. The natural and unnatural are a major motif in King Lear and death falls into that category. Natural death is something that Gloucester wishes for because that would make him courageous enough to face the struggles he faces in this life. I think Gloucester feels he is betraying Edgar by escaping his troubles this way, which is why he wishes Edgar well.
I think that Edgar's quote "Alive or dead?" in a way, parallels the sane vs. insane argument in King Lear. It is often difficult to decipher whether a person or their actions are sane or insane. I think Edgar's quote is significant because he talks about a death by imagination. I think at first, I read this quote as insane. However, I look at Gloucester's character and how he has changed throughout the play, as well as King Lear's, and actually find that it could be possible. These men are becoming more influenced by the people around them and their minds could be the death of them.
Fiona Prentice
ReplyDeleteDeath
Family
Escape
Edgar is talking to Edmund before the two of them battle.
EDGAR
By nursing them, my lord. List a brief tale;
And when 'tis told, O, that my heart would burst!
The bloody proclamation to escape,
That follow'd me so near,--O, our lives' sweetness!
That we the pain of death would hourly die
Rather than die at once!--taught me to shift
Into a madman's rags; to assume a semblance
That very dogs disdain'd: and in this habit
Met I my father with his bleeding rings,
Their precious stones new lost: became his guide,
Led him, begg'd for him, saved him from despair;
Never,--O fault!--reveal'd myself unto him,
Until some half-hour past, when I was arm'd:
Not sure, though hoping, of this good success,
I ask'd his blessing, and from first to last
Told him my pilgrimage: but his flaw'd heart,
Alack, too weak the conflict to support!
'Twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief,
Burst smilingly.
Death is a reoccurring motif in King Lear, as well as most of Shakespeare’s plays. Death came up prior in the play when Gloucester was comparing humans and how Gods kill them to flies being killed by “wanton boys.” I love the wording here when Edgar talks about death. He is saying that our lives must be wonderful if we would prefer to slowly die by ruining ourselves instead of dying all at once. Wouldn’t dying slowly though make your life not wonderful though? It always seems like slowly dying is painful and drawn out. Death comes up later in the monologue to when Edgar talks about how his father’s heart gave out when he found out that Edgar was alive. Family comes up a lot with Gloucester and Edgar. Previously, Gloucester was talking about how he had been thinking about his son and missing him. He did not know that Edgar was nearby though because at this point he was blind. Here, Edgar is talking about how he had met his blinded father and had become his guide. He goes onto say that he had only recently revealed who he was. Escape comes up again as well. Earlier it seemed like everyone was trying to escape something. The three daughters were trying to escape their controlling father and Lear was trying to escape the fact that he was aging. Here, Edgar brings up escape but he is the only that brings up a means of escape. He talks about death being an escape. Whether he meant for himself or someone else entirely we may never know.
Act 5 Scene 3
ReplyDeleteKING LEAR
Howl, howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones:
Had I your tongues and eyes, I'ld use them so
That heaven's vault should crack. She's gone for ever!
I know when one is dead, and when one lives;
She's dead as earth. Lend me a looking-glass;
If that her breath will mist or stain the stone,
Why, then she lives.
[…]
And my poor fool is hang'd! No, no, no life!
Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life,
And thou no breath at all? Thou'lt come no more,
Never, never, never, never, never!
Pray you, undo this button: thank you, sir.
Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips,
Look there, look there!
Dies
This passage has been selected from act five, scene three of King Lear. In this passage, Lear has appeared before the surviving, Edgar, Albany, and Kent as well as the dead Edmund and two sisters. Lear has come into the scene carrying a dead Cordelia who has been hung at the order of Edmund.
In the first part of the passage, Lear has just carried in Cordelia’s lifeless body and addresses the men around him. At this point Lear says “Had I your tongues and eyes, I'ld use them so That heaven's vault should crack” This comment could be seen as a jab by Lear to the men that surround him. Previous to the events of the play, Lear and Gloucester were the most powerful men in Britain, but through a series of unfortunate events out of their control, Gloucester lost his eyes and thereby his power while Lear had not literally lost his toung, he had lost his mind and thereby his ability to speak clearly and with his mind went his power. In the aforementioned quote, Lear is pointing out the fact that he has now power, unlike the men around him who usurped the power from him in order to play God and made up their own fate. Unlike the power hungry men, if Lear were to still have that God like power he would use it for good, to bring back his daughter.
In the second part of the passage, Lear refers to Cordelia as his fool. In the play, it seems as though Lear constantly has some sort of companion who keeps him in tune to the reality of things by shedding light on certain situations as well as acting as a Jiminy Circuit type character. In the beginning, the Fool was this companion for Lear and at his departure came the complete insanity that encompassed Lear. By calling Cordelia his fool, Lear equates her impact on him to something much like his first companion. It was Cordelia who broke Lear out of his psychotic state. The loss of his fool could also be referring to just that, the loss of his own insanity, and without his companion to face reality for him or the insanity to completely reject reality, Lear cannot deal with life and so dies. The line “Pray you, undo this button” could also refer to this need for insanity without his companion; the unbuttoning being the unbuttoning the fabric of reality.
Meg Bresnahan
ReplyDeleteAct 5, Scene 5, 390-395
Death, Age/relationships between old and young
KENT:
I have a journey sir, shortly to go;
My master calls me. I must not say no
EDGAR:
The weight of this sad time we must obey,
Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.
The oldest hath borne most; we that are young
Shall never see so much nor love so long
In this passage Kent reveals that he is on a journey to death, that he has no choice. Edgar says that the tragedy of the day must never be forgotten.
The first thing that interests me is Kent's use of "journey" as a word for death. I think one of the most prominent messages in King Lear is a single person's life and, unfortunately, how it ends. Previously, Gloucester commented on how he wished he could be courageuous enough to face his struggles and die naturally later in life.
I think Edgar's "Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say" is in direct relation to the beginning of the play when Cordelia refuses to be like her two sisters and confess her undying love to Lear. I think that the insanity in the play clouded what the message should have been.
At the end of the play, the reader is left in a state of confusion. One of the reasons that Tate's rewritten King Lear, was so popular because it had a 'happy' ending, unlike the actual ending which is grim and bleak. I think the ending of the play with Edgar is truly moving. To say that the young people, left alive, will not live as long allows the reader no hope.
ACT ONE:
ReplyDeleteScene Two Lines 84-93
Edmund:
I do not well know, my lord. If it shall please you
to suspend your indignation against my brother
till you can derive from him better testimony of his
intent, you should run a certain course; where, if
you violently proceed against him, mistaking his
purpose, it would make a great gap in your own
honor and shake in pieces the heart of his obedience.
I dare put down my life for him that he hath writ this
to feel my affection to your Honor, and to no other
pretense of danger.
Motifs:
thirst for power
betrayal
sacrifice
unfaithfulness
Edmund is playing the role of the innocent brother. He had just given his father, Gloucester, a letter that was supposedly written by Edgar that regarded threats to Edmund. Edmund wrote this letter to frame his brother. And this begins his plan to take over the role of second in line for Earl of Gloucester. He is not only the younger of the two, but he is also illegitimate. Earlier in the scene, Edmund recites a speech that is somewhat having intentions of helping the audience sympathize for him, even though he turns his back on his brother. To make himself seem more innocent, he asks Gloucester to give Edgar a proper chance to defend his case, secretly knowing that Edgar has no idea about this situation. It's only the beginning.
In the end, he says he would put his affection before his father's honor. Which is completely true. Except he's talking about his affection for power than his affection for his brother.
ACT THREE:
ReplyDeleteScene Four, lines 91-107
Edgar:
A servingman, proud in heart and mind,
that curled my hair, wore gloves in my cap,
served the lust of my mistress' heart
and did the act of darkness with her,
swore as many oaths as I spake words
and broke them in the sweet face of heaven—
one that slept in the contriving of lust
and waked to do it. Wine loved I deeply,
dice dearly, and in woman outparamoured
the Turk. False of heart, light of ear, bloody of hand—
hog in sloth, fox in stealth, wolf in greediness, dog
in madness, lion in prey. Let not the creaking
of shoes nor the rustling of silks betray thy poor
heart to woman. Keep thy foot out of brothels,
thy hand out of plackets, thy pen from lenders' books,
and defy the foul fiend. Still through the hawthorn
blows the cold wind, says, “Suum, mun, nonny.”
Dauphin my boy, my boy, cessez. Let him trot by.
Motifs:
Disguises
Anger
Misunderstandings
Driven to madness.
Commitment
Edgar, who has fled from Gloucester's castle, becomes Poor Tom, a poor madman. He moves from second in line to the Earl of Gloucester to the most dirt poor man in England. I love that Edgar completely commits to his character and i can't help but wonder if he found a man that was like that that inspired his disguise. There is a repeated theme of disguises throughout the play, Edgar and Kent are disguised for a good portion of the play, for they were both framed as traitors. Another thing that I noticed in this scene is King Lear's driven to madness, and he seems to look to Poor Tom as some kind of genius. In this monologue, he talks about how he slept with his master's mistress, and how he came to give in to many temptations of sex, gambling, and laziness. This story can be related to his father's unfaithful and having a son with another woman. Woman are commonly related to lust, and temptations in this play and they are nothing but trouble.
ACT FOUR:
ReplyDeleteScene Six, lines 291-299
Edgar reads:
“Let our reciprocal vows be remembered. You have many opportunities to cut him off. If your will want not, time and place will be fruitfully offered. There is nothing done if he return the conqueror. Then am I the prisoner and his bed my gaol, from the loathed warmth whereof deliver me, and supply the place for your labor. Your—wife, so I would say—affectionate servant, and for you her own for venture,
Goneril.”
Motifs:
Vows
Labor/ Servitude
Lust
Casting Out
Goneril feels trapped by her marriage to Albany, calling their bed "her prison." She encourages Edmund to kill her husband, she will leave him plenty of opportunity, and he's the one that will have the will to kill him, unlike herself. She is already calling herself Edmund's wife in this letter. The reason why Goneril is unhappy with Albany is because she has become very selfish and cruel, while Albany is civilized and disagrees with her actions against her father, Lear. Through the play, you notice that Edmund's evil phase has grown more and more evil at the same pace as both Goneril and Regan. Goneril and Regan are both in competition for land and in their lust for more land, their desire lies in the unmarried, new Earl of Gloucester. Power and land becomes a sexual tool. In a lot of Shakespeare plays, the more powerful a character gets, the more worse their lives build up.
Act 5 Scene 3 Lines 133-149
ReplyDeleteRank, Nobility, Betrayal
EDGAR
Draw thy sword,
That if my speech offend a noble heart
Thy arm may do thee justice. (draws his sword) Here is mine.
Behold: it is the privilege of mine honors,
My oath, and my profession. I protest—
Maugre thy strength, youth, place, and eminence,
Despite thy victor sword and fire-new fortune,
Thy valor and thy heart—thou art a traitor,
False to thy gods, thy brother, and thy father,
Conspirant 'gainst this high illustrious prince,
And from th' extremest upward of thy head
To the descent and dust below thy foot
A most toad-spotted traitor. Say thou “No,”
This sword, this arm, and my best spirits are bent
To prove upon thy heart, whereto I speak,
Thou liest.
At long last, the battle of the Brothers. But not only is this battle simply between two people, but between good and evil, noble and disloyal. Edgar, representing the pure and just, and his half brother Edmund being the betraying snake lurking in the shadows. Edgar begins the confrontation with this excerpt calling out his brother as all the evil one can possess. As Edgar draws his sword he describes it as his rank and honor "it is the privilege of mine honors, My oath, and my profession." Edmund has a sword that, as Edgar says, represents Edmund's higher rank and nobility in the English royalty, but it is tarnished by his treachery. "Maugre thy strength, youth, place, and eminence, Despite thy victor sword and fire-new fortune, Thy valor and thy heart—thou art a traitor" Edgar almost praises the brilliance and strategy of his brother both on and off the battlefield. But Edmund has caused harm wherever he walked, to his father, his lord, his country, to Edgar. Edmund is a character of both status and wealth, a man who rose above the status of "Bastard" to become a high knight, but his nobility only flourishes on the exterior. "A most toad-spotted traitor. Say thou “No,” this sword, this arm, and my best spirits are bent to prove upon thy heart, whereto I speak, thou liest" Edgar has been torment the greatest by his brother's horrible deeds and is hellbent to unmask him for who he truly is, a toad spotted traitor.
Really useful one, compact yet packed with important points.Thank You very much for the effort to make the hard one looks so simple. Further, you can access this site to read Dramatic significance of the subplot in King Lear
ReplyDelete