King Lear (Cyclopedia of Literary Places)
At a glance:
- Author: William Shakespeare
- First Published: 1608
- Type of Work: Drama
- Type of Plot: Tragedy
- Time of Work: First century b.c.e.
- Genres: Drama, History play, Tragedy
- Subjects: Parents and children, Blindness or blind persons, Betrayal, Mental illness, Fathers, Sisters, Kings, queens, or royalty, Greed, Cruelty, Great Britain, First century
- Locales: England
Places Discussed
Heath. Large tract of uncultivated land covered with small plants and shrubs (the type of landscape also known as a “moor” in Britain), on which the play’s memorable scenes are set. Barren and desolate, far removed from civilized society, the heath represents elemental Nature, a place for fools and madmen—and tragic kings. In the pelting rain and stripped of the garments of majesty, Lear vents his grief and anger by railing against his daughters’ ingratitude, the injustice rampant in society, and the forces of Nature surrounding him.
Lear’s...
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