Effective Foreshadowing in King Lear The first scene of a play usually sets up the basic themes and situations that the remainder will work with. In Shakespeare’s play King Lear, the very first scene presents many of the play's basic themes and images. The recurrent imagery of human senses and of "nothing," the distortion of familial and social ties, the gradual dissolution of Lear's kingship, all make their first appearances in the first lines of Shakespeare's play. Much of the imagery in King Lear's first scene presages what is to come in the play. Often characters refer to senses, particularly sight, whether as a comment on the necessity of sensing consequences before acting (as Lear does not), or as yet another of Shakespeare's comments (most apparent in Hamlet) on "seeming." The destruction of Gloucester's eyes and his subsequent musings ("I stumbled when I saw" (IV.i.19) etc.) are a more graphical presentation of this basic theme which originally appears in Lear's first scene. Goneril declares Lear is "dearer than eyesight" (I.i.56) to her (though she is the one who later suggests putting Gloucester's eyes out for his "treachery"). Regan goes further, proclaiming "I profess / Myself an enemy to all other joys / Which the most precious square of sense possesses" (I.i. 72-74). Crossed in his wrath by Kent, Lear cries "Out of my sight!" (I.i.157), only to be reproved with Kent's "See better, Lear, and let me still remain / The true blank of thine eye." (I.i.158-9). Lear's dialogue with Cordelia on "nothing" introduces yet another theme in the play's imagery, echoing, among other scenes, some of his later conversations with the Fool (I.iv.130 "Can you make no use of nothing, nuncle?") and others. Indeed, King Lear is, in many ways, about "nothing." Regan and Goneril seem to offer much in the beginning, but after whittling down the number of Lear's knights, they leave him with nothing, and in the end their "natural" affection comes to nothing as well. Lear is progressively brought to nothing, stripped of everything -- kingdom, knights, dignity, sanity, clothes, his last loving daughter, and finally life itself. One of the main signals of the growing chaos of Lear's world is the distortion of familial and social ties. King Lear exiles his favorite daughter, Cordelia, for a trifling offense, and those daughters he does favor soon turn against him.
Through Lear, Shakespeare expertly portrays the inevitability of human suffering. The “little nothings,” seemingly insignificant choices that Lear makes over the course of the play, inevitably evolve into unstoppable forces that change Lear’s life for the worse. He falls for Goneril’s and Regan’s flattery and his pride turns him away from Cordelia’s unembellished affection. He is constantly advised by Kent and the Fool to avoid such choices, but his stubborn hubris prevents him from seeing the wisdom hidden in the Fool’s words: “Prithee, tell him, so much the rent of his land comes to: he will not believe a fool” (Shakespeare 21). This leads to Lear’s eventual “unburdening,” as foreshadowed in Act I. This unburdening is exacerbated by his failure to recognize and learn from his initial mistakes until it is too late. Lear’s lack of recognition is, in part, explained by his belief in a predestined life controlled completely by the gods: “It is the stars, the stars above us govern our conditions” (Shakespeare 101). The elder characters in King Lear pin their various sufferings on the will of...
Lear, like any king, Pagan or otherwise, would have been seen as the godhead on earth and therefore a man of exceptional power who implemented the gods' will on earth. Such a figurehead should surely command absolute respect and obedience. Yet Cordelia displeases her father, and Goneril's and Regan's actions following Lear's abdication can only be described as shocking, even to a contemporary and more liberal-minded audience. Act one, scene one represents the first emergence of filial disobedience, starting with Lear's vanity demanding that his daughters say how much they love him in a meaningless ceremony. Cordelia, his youngest and favourite daughter, will not be drawn into this.
Bram Stoker penned his novel Dracula at a period when women had restricted gender roles. The Victorian culture restrained women and their significance. The past Victorian women were considered to be clean, as well as innocent. However, Bram Stoker in his novel Dracula, disclosed another side of women that was never noticed. These qualities revealed by Bram Stoker are of the new woman feminist culture. The idea of sexual category roles in the 1890s differed a lot, and Dracula disputed the traditional feminist as well as masculine roles. In the Victorian period, gender roles were that of being caring and obedient. In the novel Dracula, women are expected to be respectful, to their husbands and the society. The theme of gender roles in Dracula
Quite literally, the term “nothing” tends to not hold any value to us. But Shakespeare’s King Lear, offers a contrasting interpretation of the concept of “nothingness.” Shakespeare uses the imagery of emptiness to represent the inherent value of absolutely nothing, as characters are reduced to destitution and great loss to realize the true meaning of humanity. The use of the term “nothing” in the play, often refers to or prefaces a character’s complete loss of everything in their life, diminishing them to absolutely nothing. Ironically, this occurs when characters are so insecure about losing something, like wealth or power, that they reject the value of nothingness and, in doing so, end up losing everything. In Lear’s case, he loses not only
The arm was prepped and draped on the hand table with the patient in supine position; pneumatic brachial tourniquet was fastened. A volar approach was used with internal fixation of scaphoid fracture with Herbert screw. The incision was centered over the scaphoid’s tubercle and curved distally in to the base of thenar eminence, the flexor carpi radialis was exposed and retracted ulnarly, the radial artery was protected, the dorsal sheath of flexor carpi radialis was incised longitudinally, and pericapsular fat was divided; the anterior capsule of wrist was incised longitudinally to display the anterior surface of scaphoid. Fibrin and clots were removed from the fracture surface and after exposing the distal fragment of the scaphoid and the capitate head by traction on the hand, the proximal fragment was pushed dorsally and distal fragment pulled volarly. The fracture was then reduced and the scaphoid fracture was fixed with a screw (Herbert: Zimmer, Inc). Three k-wires were inserted from radial side of the wrist, distal to the radial styloid; two were used to stabilize the scaphoid to the lunate and the other to secure the scaphoid distal to the capitate. There were no ligamentous repair or reconstruction required. Then the wires were placed inside out, remaining one end of each wire percutaneous. Anterior part of the wire was carefully repaired and the skin was closed as routine. Then the wrist was immobilized with long arm cast for about eight weeks. The k-wires and splint were removed after eight weeks, then, physiotherapy of wrist with gentle movements started, and heavy manual activities were avoided for at least three
Every great literary source has the ability to provide a majestic getaway for your mind. With each significant piece of literature, readers are transported into a different dimension through the pages of alluring romances, perplexing mysteries, and sublime fantasies. While reading Dracula, by Bram Stoker, readers are transported into the Victorian Era, where controversial topics, such as religion and sexuality, are masked behind the riveting fictional work. Not only does Stoker place emphasis on the gender role issues circulating the 1800’s, but focuses on sexual morality as well. Written in 1897, the book takes place between a series of letters and journal entries recorded by the characters. It shifts between the perspectives of Jonathan Harker
Dracula was initially published in 1897 by Bram Stoker. Many critics view the novel as exploring the fears society had and then presenting them in the form of the vampire. One of the fears presented in the characterisation of the vampire is gender transgression and the blurring of the gender boundaries which the Victorians upheld. In this essay I am looking to explore the many ways that the vampires reflect this fear of breaking gender norm society has and how Stoker does this.
A scaphoid fracture is a break in one of the small bones of the wrist. The scaphoid bone is located on the thumb side of the wrist. It supports the other seven bones that make up the wrist. The scaphoid bone has a poor blood supply, so it can take a long time to heal. You may need to wear a cast or splint for several months.
The Novel Dracula written by Bram Stoker is an essential book in horror literature. Like most novels which are written by men, Dracula is more pleasing to the male audience and male fantasies. Primarily, it is more than obvious that there are strong themes of female sexuality and its symbolism. The Victorian culture is focused around the male dominance of women and their belittlement reputation is evident in scenes throughout the story. Finishing with a ‘moral’ of the story concerning these “New Victorian” views. Though Dracula makes up the horror part of the novel, the true ‘terror’ lies in the development of female sexuality and their gender roles.
During the Victorian Era, one of the leading concerns was the role of women and how they were placed in society. In this hair-raising novel Dracula, Bram Stoker analyzes the female characters, through literary devices such as archetypes and tone. When reading between the lines in this novel, readers tend to see how Stoker portrays the difference between men and women during the 19th century by painting a picture of what society was like throughout Dracula.
In Shakespeare's classic tragedy, King Lear, the issue of sight and its relevance to clear vision is a recurring theme. Shakespeare's principal means of portraying this theme is through the characters of Lear and Gloucester. Although Lear can physically see, he is blind in the sense that he lacks insight, understanding, and direction. In contrast, Gloucester becomes physically blind but gains the type of vision that Lear lacks. It is evident from these two characters that clear vision is not derived solely from physical sight. Lear's failure to understand this is the principal cause of his demise, while Gloucester learns to achieve clear vision, and consequently avoids a fate similar to Lear's.
The mechanism how she landed on the ground with the out stretched hand, and the sign and symptoms such as a swelling, and a sharp pain while palpating indicate that the cheerleader might be suffering from the scaphoid fracture, unlike many other hand and wrist injury, scaphoid injury doesn’t show any dislocation or deformity as well,
Mayr, Ernst. Systematics and the Origin of Species, from the Viewpoint of a Zoologist. New York: Columbia Univ., 1942. Print.
A Consideration of the Way Shakespeare Presents and Develops the Theme of Blindness in King Lear
The first flaw in King Lear is his arrogance, which results in the loss of Cordelia and Kent. It is his arrogance in the first scene of the play that causes him to make bad decisions. He expects his favorite, youngest daughter to be the most worthy of his love. His pride makes him expect that Cordelia’s speech to be the one filled with the most love. Unfortunately for King Lear’s pride, Cordelia replies to his inquisition by saying, “I love your majesty/According to my bond and nothing less';(1.1.100-101). Out of pride and anger, Lear banishes Cordelia and splits the kingdom in half to the two evil sisters, Goneril and Regan. This tragic flaw prevents King Lear from seeing the truth because his arrogance overrides his judgement. Lear’s arrogance also causes him to lose his most faithful servan...