Mr. MehrotraENG 4U0

William Shakespeare’s King Lear

Historical Context & Background

Mr. MehrotraENG 4U0

Sources of King Lear:

1605 – the true chronicle history of King Leir and his three daughters, Gonorill, Ragan, and Cordella (author unknown)Cordella does not dieNo Gloucester storyNo stormNo insanityNo fool

Mr. MehrotraENG 4U0

1577 – Holinshed’s “Chronicles”:

Lear, upset by Cordeilla, marries the two older daughters to Cornwall & Albania

The kingdom is promised to the sons-in-law on Lear’s death

The two rebel against Lear Lear is saved by a third son-in-law,

Aganippus, Cordeilla’s husband and one of the twelve kings of Gallia

Cordeilla becomes Queen when Lear dies Five years later, a nephew revolts and

imprisons her In prison, Cordeialla commits suicide

Mr. MehrotraENG 4U0

1599 – A Mirror for Magistrates (collection of works by various authors)One story by John Higgins dealt

with LearCordell is the narrator of the

storyGonorell reduces her father’s

guardsHer husband is Albany

Mr. MehrotraENG 4U0

1590 – The Faerie Queene (Edmund Spenser)

A work of poetry in two volumesContains some stanzas on the

Lear themeThe name “Cordelia” appears for

the first timeCordelia dies by hangingIt is considered an act of suicide

Mr. MehrotraENG 4U0

Shakespeare’s Lear:

1607 – first performance 1608 – first printingThe story of King Lear was a

popular old folktale by this time, but the painful ending is Shakespeare’s own invention.

Mr. MehrotraENG 4U0

Shakespeare’s Lear:

The themes in the play examine some of the fundamental problems in life: Whether there are gods and whether or not they

care for humans The problem of evil co-existing with goodness The question of Fate The problems of parents and children and the

exchange of power from one generation to another

The question of suffering – why must humans endure such agony (allusions to the Book of Job – The Old Testament)

The question “what is a human”

Mr. MehrotraENG 4U0

Shakespeare’s Lear:

Characterization in King Lear is crucial because it delineates themes

Comparison is a good method of understanding character.

You should examine:King Lear & GloucesterRegan-Goneril & CordeliaEdgar & Edmund

Mr. MehrotraENG 4U0

Shakespeare’s Lear:

Imagery in this play is very important:AnimalClothingBlindness/SeeingSexual LustSicknessNature

Mr. MehrotraENG 4U0

The Structure of King Lear

Mr. MehrotraENG 4U0

Structure:

The structure of King Lear is slightly different from most of Shakespeare’s tragedies

For the most part, in plays like Hamlet & Macbeth, the climax (reversal of fortune for the protagonist) occurs in the third act

For Lear, his fortunes reverse, then go forward, only to reverse again

Mr. MehrotraENG 4U0

1 2 3 4 5Order Imperilled

Pride and vanity blind Lear, causing him to divide his kingdom and reject Cordelia

Rejection by Goneril followed by Lear’s curse

Rejection by Regan

Sounds of approaching storm

The Storm

Lear disrobes himself of the arrogance and ego-centricity of the past

He begins to question and philosophize

He sleeps

Lear, mad, raves against lust

Lear is in the care of Cordelia

Humility, love, and understanding

Devastation

Cordelia hanged

Lear’s grief

Death of Lear

Albany becomes ruler, yields to Edgar

Stripping of Lear

Blind pride & vanity

Reclot

hing

of L

ear

Openin

g of

Lea

r’s e

yes

Lear’s agony

Mr. MehrotraENG 4U0

Structure:

The play is also different in the sense that the secondary plot is fully developed

We are exposed to a secondary plot with Fortinbras in Hamlet, but we are not given the same amount of detail as given with Gloucester