Kingship and Leadership in William Shakespeare's King Lear
Jonathon Dollimore (1984) focuses on Lear’s identity throughout the
play. ‘What makes Lear the person he is, is not kingly essence, but
among other things, his authority and his family. As the play
progresses Lear is forced to question his identity. “Does anyone hear
know me?…Who is it that can tell me who I am?”.
Dollimore believes King Lear is about power, poverty and inheritance.
Shakespeare focuses on what happens when there is a ‘catastrophic
redistribution of power’.
At the start of the play Lear has a rich, powerful and complex social
identity. He is King and Patriarch of his family. Being the king he
was therefore looked upon as being the source of meaning and order in
society. The opening scene represents a strong theme of authority and
kingship. A sennet marks the arrival of the king. He enters
accompanied by attendants and is greeted as ‘Royal Lear’ and ‘Most
Royal Majesty’;
“Royal Lear, Whom I have ever honoured as my king,
Loved as my master followed,
As my great patron thought on in my prayers”.
“Most royal majesty,
I crave no more than hath your Highness offered,
Nor will you tender less”.
We see here how a great image of kingship and authority are presented.
When Kent is banished from the kingdom, we later see as the play
develops, how he still wishes to work in Lear’s service and presents
himself disguised as a servant. It is the image of authority to which
Kent appeals;
Lear : Does thou know me fellow?
Kent : No Sir, but you have that in your countenance which I would
fain call
master.
Lear : Wha...
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...n the play. These themes contribute to
the main plot and also the outcome of the play. Those who had power
and authority but lacked the qualities to use this power
responsibility like Lear and Gloucester, suffered as a result but in
the end they were aware of the error of their ways but realised only
too late their mistakes. Characters such as Regan and Cordelia who
tried too hard to gain power which they were naturally unworthy of
also suffered because of their actions. Their desire to gain the
responsibilities of king was so big that they eventually turned
against each other, ultimately leading to each of their deaths.
Authority and kingship in the play are
strong central themes and Shakespeare presents them in such a way that
allows us to see what happens when there is a “catastrophic
redistribution of power”.
Richard II was one of Shakespeare's political works depicting the rise and fall of King Richard II. Richard became king of England as a boy at 10 years of age, although his advisors made most of the political decisions of the kingdom until he matured. During this maturation period, Richard was more interested in learning about aesthetic things in life rather than things more responsible to the monarch. He had very little experience and talent in the areas of military tactics and his decisions relating to the monarch seemed arbitrary.
Gonorill. Regan. Cordelia. Those names should ring a bell if you have ever read or seen “The Tragedy of King Lear.” The plot behind this play revolves around King Lear’s relationships with each of these three characters; his daughters. King Lear has a different relationship with each of them. Gonorill, Regan and Cordelia all have very distinct personalities. In this play, King Lear decided it was time to give up and divide his kingdom amongst Gonorill, Regan and Cordelia. He determined who got what based off of their love for him. Each daughter was asked to express their love for their father but, only Gonorill and Regan end up with portions of King Lear’s kingdom.
to show Lear as being an old man and that he does not know what is
In Shakespeare story King Lear, two of the women were portrayed as emasculating and disloyal while the third was honest and truthful. Showing, that most women who have power can’t be trusted. The story told of a king named Lear who had three daughters named Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. Lear had given his two oldest daughters Goneril, and Regan a piece of land even though they had lied to their father telling him feelings that they didn’t really have. Then there was his youngest daughter she was as honest and truthful as any other child could be.
The play of "King Lear" is about a search for personal identity. In the historical period in which this play is set, the social structure was set in order of things closest to Heaven. Therefore, on Earth, the king was at the top, followed by his noblemen and going all the way down to the basest of objects such as rocks and dirt. This structure was set up by the people, and by going by the premise that anything that is man made is imperfect, this system cannot exist for long without conflict.
Leadership in William Shakespeare's Henry V. At the time when "Henry V" was written in 1599, England was in chaos. facing many dilemmas and challenges. The country was coming to the end of the Elizabethan era. Queen Elizabeth was in the final years of her reign. and she was getting old, which must be taken into consideration.
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is a play that portrayed a world too cruel and unmerciful to be true to life. It is a play filled with endless horror and unrelieved suffering. However, in this environment, Shakespeare expresses human existence in its profound depth. He examines the motivation of the characters’ actions and the future consequences of their irrational thoughts. In the play, Shakespeare illustrates King Lear’s development as a tragic hero driven by emotion to a character of rational thoughts with the help of his reasonable daughter, Cordelia, and the contrast of the ambiguous Edmund. In the play, Shakespeare analyzes the characters’ emotional needs and their ability to resolve their problems with rational actions. He shows the consequences of acting rashly and irresponsibly through the sufferings of King Lear. He explores the struggle for power and the emotional need of a tired king. He created a play that illustrated the needs of reason and emotion for a human being.
King Lear is a play about loyalty. "Goodness" is portrayed by the characters as selflessness. Each "good" character displays loyalty through selfless actions. Cordelia selflessly does not attempt to rob Lear of his wealth by flattering him. Even though she risks banishment, she selflessly refuses to indulge her father's foolish wishes. Edgar, too, is selfless in his actions by leading his father to safety even when he knows Gloucester does not recognize him and will not appreciate that he was, in fact, the truly loyal son. Finally, Kent, Lear's Selfless servant, risks his life to protect his king even after he has been mistreated.
King Lear is at once the most highly praised and intensely criticized of all Shakespeare's works. Samuel Johnson said it is "deservedly celebrated among the dramas of Shakespeare" yet at the same time he supported the changes made in the text by Tate in which Cordelia is allowed to retire with victory and felicity. "Shakespeare has suffered the virtue of Cordelia to perish in a just cause, contrary to the natural ideas of justice, to the hope of the reader, and, what is yet more strange, to the faith of chronicles."1 A.C. Bradley's judgement is that King Lear is "Shakespare's greatest work, but it is not...the best of his plays."2 He would wish that "the deaths of Edmund, Goneril, Regan and Gloucester should be followed by the escape of Lear and Cordelia from death," and even goes so far as to say: "I believe Shakespeare would have ended his play thus had he taken the subject in hand a few years later...."3
William Shakespeare’s “King Lear”, the concept of justice a theme that many characters struggle with. Unforgiving justice results to serious punishments, in result of an individual’s immoral acts committed during the play. Furthermore, loyal is very hard to find among individuals in the play. It is shown to King Lear in both positive and negative perspectives. Loyalty plays off at the end of the play, when King Lear discovers who has been loyal to him all along. The greed of power is vividly shown in the Fool’s and King Leers point of view. After retiring his kingdom Lear discovers the loss of his power, and authority. Overall, justice, loyalty, and power are some struggling themes that progress the play,
In King Lear, Shakespeare portrays a society whose emphasis on social class results in a strict social hierarchy fueled by the unceasing desire to improve one’s social status. It is this desire for improved social status that led to the unintentional deterioration of the social hierarchy in King Lear. This desire becomes so great that Edmund, Goneril, Reagan and Cornwall were willing to act contrary to the authority of the social hierarchy for the betterment of their own position within it. As the plot unfolds, the actions of the aforementioned characters get progressively more desperate and destructive as they realize their lack of success in attaining their personal goals. The goals vary, however the selfish motivation does not. With Edmund, Goneril, Reagan and Cornwall as examples, Shakespeare portrays the social hierarchy as a self-defeating system because it fosters desires in its members that motivate them to act against the authority of the hierarchy to benefit themselves. A consideration of each characters actions in chronological order and the reasons behind such actions reveals a common theme among the goals for which morality is abandoned.
When one examines the words “pride” and “self-respect”, it is possible one may assume that the two are identical in meaning. That the words go hand in hand like butter and bread. For quite some time I was pondering on the meaning of the two words “pride” and “self-respect”. The more consideration I put into the two the deeper I was in a maze of confusion. After a long thought on the subject I had come to my own conclusion.
King Lear is the protagonist within the play, he wears the label of a successful
King Lear by Shakespeare portrayed the negative effects of power resulting in destruction caused by the children of a figure with authority. Through lies and continual hatred, characters maintained a greed for power causing destruction within their families. The daughter’s of Lear and the son Gloucester lied to inherit power for themselves. Edmund the son of Gloucester planned to eliminate his brother Edgar from his inheritance.
Bengtsson, Frederick. “King Lear by William Shakespeare.” Columbia College. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.