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
As the play goes on and tells the story the only important factor is kinship and tyranny to present a good king. Defining a good king can follow up
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:
... 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.
Shakespeare's King Lear is a play which shows the consequences of one man's decisions. The audience follows the main character, Lear, as he makes decisions that disrupt order in his Kingdom. When Lear surrenders all his power and land to his daughters as a reward for their demonstration of love towards him, the breakdown on order in evident. Lear's first mistake is to divide his Kingdom into three parts. A Kingdom is run best under one ruler as only one decision is made without contradiction. Another indication that order is disrupted is the separation of Lear's family. Lear's inability to control his anger causes him to banish his youngest daughter, Cordelia, and loyal servant, Kent. This foolish act causes Lear to become vulnerable to his other two daughters as they conspire against him. Lastly, the transfer of power from Lear to his eldest and middle daughter, Goneril and Regan, reveals disorder as a result of the division of the Kingdom. A Kingdom without order is a Kingdom in chaos. When order is disrupted in King Lear, the audience witnesses chaotic events that Lear endures, eventually learning who truly loves him.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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:
Lear's relationship with his three daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia, is, from the beginning, very uncharacteristic of the typical father-daughter relationship. It's clear that the king is more interested in words than true feelings, as he begins by asking which of his daughters loves him most. Goneril and Regan's answers are descriptive and sound somewhat phony, but Lear is flattered by them. Cordelia's response of nothing is honest; but her father misunderstands the plea and banishes her. Lear's basic flaw at the beginning of the play is that he values appearances above reality. He wants to be treated as a king and to enjoy the title, but he doesn't want to fulfill a king's obligations. Similarly, his test of his daughters demonstrates that he values a flattering public display of love over real love. He doesn't ask "which of you doth love us most," but rather, "which of you shall we say doth love us most?" (I.i.49). It would be simple to conclude that Lear is simply blind to the truth, but Cordelia is already his favorite daughter at the beginning of the play, so presumably he knows that she loves him the most. Nevertheless, Lear values Goneril and Regan's fawning over Cordelia's sincere sense of filial duty.
The Theme of Appearance vs. Reality in William Shakespeare's Works Characters within one of William Shakespeare's greatest tragic plays,
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.
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...
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.