In many popular television shows, themes of scheming, feuding and backstabbing are common because this type of drama attracts audiences and good ratings. The use of malicious dramatic themes in entertainment was common in Shakespeare 's time as well. An aging or sick patriarch with three offspring holds a contest to see which of his children will inherit his “kingdom” does not sound unfamiliar to us. This kind of dramatic plot is featured in both Shakespeare’s King Lear, as well as Fox’s more modern hit television show, Empire.
In Empire, the “patriarch” is Lucious Lyon. He is a successful rapper and record label CEO who, after being diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), must choose one of his three sons to inherit his music
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Jamal is the black sheep of the family because he is homosexual. Hakeem is the youngest of the three and is extremely spoiled and arrogant. In the first episode, after Lyon explains to his son’s that they must prove to him they deserve the Empire after he dies, his youngest son, Hakeem, says, “What is this? We King Lear now?” Lyon is not satisfied with their lack of eagerness to prove they are worthy of inheriting the company and states, “Right now it seems none of you are prepared to take over after I 'm gone. Now, it won 't happen today, nor tomorrow, but I will start grooming someone soon. And it can only be one of you.” Lyon is expecting his sons to man up and receive their inheritance eagerly, but they are not as enthusiastic to prove themselves as he anticipated. He is not fond of his middle son, Jamal. Jamal is rejected automatically because of his sexuality and is not given the “kingdom”. In Shakespeare’s King Lear, Goneril wasn’t given the “kingdom” either because she refused to minimize her love for her father by putting it into words. Lucious proclaims, “Jamal doesn 't belong on my stage, I 'm not gonna have it branded a ‘homosexual club’.” In King Lear, when requested to prove that her love is stronger than her sisters’, Cordelia, the youngest daughter, replies, “Nothing, my lord.” Lear …show more content…
Hakeem, who is Lucious’ favorite, dresses with a urban rapper style, which includes designer jeans, jackets, expensive sneakers and boots, and fabulous, expensive jewelry (mostly large chain necklaces). Andre is always dressed in a button-down shirt with a tie, and Jamal is dressed in a much more comfortable, yet crisp and arguably feminine, style. He is usually dressed very casually with sweaters and slacks. Jamal does not participate in the wearing of the elaborate chains that his younger brother does or the formal suit and tie that his older brother is usually wearing. The difference in clothing represents their personalities as well as their standing in the show.
In the most recent episode of Empire that aired October 14, 2015, the brothers engage in a fist fight during a performance. Although the sisters in King Lear never resort to physical violence, it is clear that they are not fond of one another by the way that they speak to each other. “O Goneril! / You are not worth the dust which the rude wind / Blows in your face. I fear your disposition.” Instead of punching Goneril, Cordelia tells her that she’s not even worth the wind blowing dust in her face, which in plainer terms means that she’s not worth the
To begin, Lear's two eldest daughters dishonour him on several occasions. The first of three situations involves solely Goneril, the eldest. In Act I scene iii, Goneril gives a direct order to her manservant, Oswald:
hetoric – ars bene dicendi – is, according to the antique definition, the art of speaking and writing well, adequate to the situation, proving morality and the desire to obtain an effect, an expression which can attract the general interest. According to W. Jens, it contains both the theory (ars rhetorica, the art of speaking), as well as the practice (ars oratoria, eloquence). Rhetoric created, as theory (rhetorica docens), a multitude of categories to produce (and analyse) some efficient texts.
... Lears blessing, and declared his daughter. Lear also realized that Kents speaking out was for Lear’s best and that he too was abused and banished. What stings Lear even more is that he is now completely dependent upon his two shameless daughters, Goneril and Regan. Plus that he must now beg them when he took care of them like a father when they were once children, to drive Lears further into madness he realizes that as king he was so ignorant and blind with power that he never took care of the homeless and let them suffer. All these realization and the fact that Lear is in his second childhood a tender stage drive him into the peak of madness.
In act one, the setting is the King’s palace, here Lear is at his highest. He is on his throne, in his kingdom and he has supremacy over all. Shakespeare begins to develop Lear’s ego when saying, “Give the map there, know that we have divided in three our kingdom” (1.1.37). What Shakespeare does in this line is introduce Lear as a powerful king. Lear wants his daughters to stroke his ego for a piece of his kingdom. His conceited nature fuels his ego. King Lear is the conceited character, he thinks of himself as invincible. Lear thinks of his youngest daughter Cordelia as a traitor when she would not flatter him. Why would a man so powerful be offended by his daughters refusal to praise him? This is Shakespeare’s first step into Lear’s downward spiral. In this moment Lear went from all-powerful King to just ‘Dad’, Cordelia’s innocent nature struck his autocratic ego. Lear still wounded by Cordelia’s refusal says, “Better thou hadst not been born than not t’have pleased me better”. Kent, the kings steadfast supporter urges the Lear to reconsider but Lear refuses saying, “Peace, Kent! Come not between the dragon and his wrath!”(1.1.120). The dis...
In Act 1, Lear has all this land that he needs to get rid of, and he chooses to divide it between his daughters. Cordelia is the youngest daughter, and she is very independent. Regan and Goneril are the older daughters, and they abuse their power in many ways. The daughters have to show their love for him in order to get land. Regan and Goneril suck up to him and tell him that they love him. In reality, they don’t love him at all. They just want more power. Cordelia is very straight forward with him. She tells him that she loves him but not as much as her sisters. Lear gets mad by her response, which shows that the daughters have enough power to make him feel whatever emotion they want. They can easily get under his skin, and strip him of his power. His power was at an all-time high, but over time it gets taken over.
William Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest playwright of all time, even though many facts about his life still remain a mystery. In his lifetime Shakespeare wrote 36 plays and 154 sonnets. The following paragraphs will included the key moments known about William Shakespeare's life, birth through death.
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...
William Shakespeare's tragedy of King Lear begins with the King's decision to divide his kingdom between his three daughters. He gathers them all together, and tells them he will divide up the kingdom according to whoever has the most love for him. Goneril and Reagan, the two older daughters, make big declarations of love in order to get the shares they want of the kingdom. The youngest daughter, Cordelia, tells Lear that she loves him, as a daughter should love a father. Lear becomes angry and disappointed with Cordelia's response feeling she has shown a lack of devotion so he takes action and banishes her. When Kent, a close friend of Lear, attempts to defend Cordelia, but as well he is banished by Lear. Cordelia marries the King of France and goes to live there. The kingdom is equally divided between Goneril and Regan. These two daughters are evil and decide if Lear becomes too much of a problem then they will take d...
Open, crowded, lots of natural light, no props. If asked to describe the Elizabethan Theatre houses some of those words and phrases could be used. In the Elizabethan Era, theater was a very large part of life. Everyone in Europe, who could afford to go to the theater, went. Whether one was a simple commoner or if one was Queen Elizabeth herself, they would have enjoyed going to the Globe to watch all the exciting and dramatic plays. Queen Elizabeth, who rose to the throne in England in 1558, loved watching all the plays that were performed all around England (Somerset Fry 164). The Theatre in the Elizabethan Era was greatly impacted on the different historical events that were in the Era and they were mirrored in many plays, specifically Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest.
Across the Universe of Time: Shakespeare’s influence on 21st century society. It is harder to imagine a more universal writer than William Shakespeare. Rarely, if ever, is one of his many plays not being performed anywhere in the world and similarly rare is the tertiary English student who has not examined his work at length. His plays, sonnets and poems are common fodder for high school English departments across the globe.
The Theme of Appearance vs. Reality in William Shakespeare's Works Characters within one of William Shakespeare's greatest tragic plays,
the law he brought back for the sake of lust. Angelo is an immoral and
William Shakespeare, born in 1594, is one of the greatest writers in literature. He dies in 1616 after completing many sonnets and plays. One of which is "A Midsummer Night’s Dream." They say that this play is the most purely romantic of Shakespeare’s comedies. The themes of the play are dreams and reality, love and magic. This extraordinary play is a play-with-in-a-play, which master writers only write successfully. Shakespeare proves here to be a master writer. Critics find it a task to explain the intricateness of the play, audiences find it very pleasing to read and watch. "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" is a comedy combining elements of love, fairies, magic, and dreams. This play is a comedy about five couples who suffer through love’s strange games and the evil behind the devious tricks. This play begins as Theseus, the Duke, is preparing to marry Hippolyta. He woos her with his sword. Hermia is in love with Lysander. Egeus, Hermia’s father, forbids the relationship with Lysander and orders her to marry Demetrius. Demetrius loves Hermia, but she does not love him. On the other hand, Helena is in love with Demetrius. To settle the confusion, Theseus decides that Hermia must marry Demetrius or become a nun. In retaliation to her father’s command, Hermia and Lysander run away together. Amidst all the problems in the human world, Titania and Oberon, the fairy queen and king, continually argue about their various relationships that they have taken part in. (Scott 336) Titania leaves Oberon as a result of the arguments. Oberon is hurt and wants revenge on Titania. So he tells Puck, Oberon’s servant, to put a magic flower juice on her eyelids while she is sleeping. This potion causes the victim to desperately in love with the first creature that they see. Oberon’s plan is carried out, but the potion is also placed on Lysander’s eyes. Lysander awakes to see Helena, who is aimlessly walking through the woods, and instantly falls in love with her. She thinks that he is making fun of her being in love with Demetrius, so she leaves and Lysander follows. This leaves Hermia to wake up alone. Puck now has journeyed to the area where several actors are rehearsing. He uses his magic to turn one of them into a donkey, in hopes that Titania will awake to see it.
Arguably the greatest playwright of his time, perhaps in all of history, William Shakespeare's literary works have had a tremendous impact (see Appendix 2). Reaching into the pop culture of the modern world through movies and quotes used in everyday conversation, Shakespeare's influence is astounding (see Appendix 1). One rarely stops to think, however, about events that had an impact on Shakespeare's life, particularly his writing. The outbreak of the plague, social disparity, political unrest, just a few of the historical happenings that impacted Shakespeare's plays, including Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and Henry IV
Lear's vision is marred by lack of direction in life, poor foresight and his inability to predict the consequences of his actions. He cannot look far enough into the future to see the consequences of his actions. This, in addition to his lack of insight into other people, condemns his relationship with his most beloved daughter, Cordelia. When Lear asks his daughters, who loves him most, he already thinks that Cordelia has the most love for him. However, when Cordelia says: "I love your Majesty according to my bond, no more nor less." (I, i, 94-95) Lear cannot see what these words really mean. Goneril and Regan are only putting on an act. They do not truly love Lear as much as they should. When Cordelia says these words, she has seen her sister's facade, and she does not want to associate her true love with their false love. Lear, however, is fooled by Goneril and Regan into thinking that they love him, while Cordelia does not. This is when Lear first shows a sign of becoming blind to those around him. He snaps and disowns her: