King Lear Group at eNotes

King Lear is perhaps the most disturbing and the most ruthless tragedy...

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 12:08:58 PST

King Lear is perhaps the most disturbing and the most ruthless tragedy of Shakespeare. Redemption in the world of the play at least apparently is rather repressed if not absent. On the level of paternal relations and emotional economy, there is misunderstanding ranging to incomprehension. Then, there is betrayal both fraternal and paternal; there is political betrayal too in the world of the play. As the mad Lear says in the Heath scene, it is...

To add to the above ideas, also another portrayal of regeneration in...

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 04:59:29 PST

To add to the above ideas, also another portrayal of regeneration in King Lear is that by the end of the play, there is nothing standing in Edgar's way to re-generate society and move it forward due to the events of the play.

King Lear by William Shakespeare would be an almost impossible pit of...

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:28:59 PST

King Lear by William Shakespeare would be an almost impossible pit of depression to watch/read were it not for the presence of the fool. He adds a little light relief and holds the audience interest when things are bleak.This fool often seems different to all the other fools in Shakespeares plays, having the naive qualities of a what might unpolitely have been called 'the village idiot' in times gone by.He is still there to be the king's loyal...

Cordelia is particularly striking, as she is on her own. She does seem...

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:21:37 PST

Cordelia is particularly striking, as she is on her own. She does seem to hold a different position, from the very start of the play, a position that is created by her father. Lear sets up a game of manipulation; his daughters have to make a public gesture to show how much they love him. Cordelia observes the actions of her sisters, and says " if for I want that glib and oily art to speak and purpose not, since what I well intend, I’ll do...

The fool commonly conducts an interaction between himself and a person...

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:18:24 PST

The fool commonly conducts an interaction between himself and a person who society defines as wise by acting stupid and cunning at the same time, an interaction which would always end in the fool winning in this uneven matching of wits. The fool constantly questions our perceptions of wisdom and truth and their relationship to everyday experience.

What is the dramatic significance of the fool in the play?

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:35:28 PST

What is the dramatic significance of the fool in the play?

Old king Lear banishes his good daughter, Cordelia, in his...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:15:37 PST

Old king Lear banishes his good daughter, Cordelia, in his characteristic fit of anger, and it initiates the play's action. Cordelia's banishment is suggestive of the abandonment of reason in Lear and his impending madness. Cordelia leaves her father with the king of France who seeks her in marriage. When, later in the play, Lear leaves his two evil daughters and appears on the heath in storm and rain, it is Cordelia who returns to rescue and...

Discuss how in King Lear Cordelia plays a very important role.

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:56:46 PST

Discuss how in King Lear Cordelia plays a very important role.

King Lear comes on stage holding his dead daughter, Cordelia. He asks...

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:54:21 PST

King Lear comes on stage holding his dead daughter, Cordelia. He asks for a mirror to see if she is breathing: "Howl, howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones;Had I your tongues and eyes, I'd use them soThat heaven's vault should crack. She's gone forever!I know when one is dead, and when one lives;She's dead as earth. Lend me a looking glass;If that her breath will mist of stain the stone,Why, then she lives."Act 5 Scene 3" After this...

What are some good quotes to memorize for essay questions?

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:06:41 PST

What are some good quotes to memorize for essay questions?

Short note on improbalities and inconsistencies in the play King Lear.

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:42:47 PST

Short note on improbalities and inconsistencies in the play King Lear.

Lear's language style changes from ornate and sophisticated to simple,...

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 08:28:42 PST

Lear's language style changes from ornate and sophisticated to simple, monosyllabic. Can you help me find more examples of this?

The old story of the British king and his daughters, as dramatised by...

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 20:18:13 PST

The old story of the British king and his daughters, as dramatised by Shakespeare in King Lear, has at its centre the theme of filial ingratitude. In the legendary opening scene, the octogenarian king declares to divide his kingdom among his three daughters on the basis of their expressions of love for the father. The whole idea sounds very ridiculous because Lear brings down love of children for their parents to the grossness of sheer...

Give short notes on: parent/child relationship theme in King Lear,...

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 16:40:38 PST

Give short notes on: parent/child relationship theme in King Lear, Cordelia's hanging justified, & improbabilities/inconsistencies in the play.

The two main places where I see redemption in King Lear are in the...

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:53:59 PST

The two main places where I see redemption in King Lear are in the stories of King Lear and Gloucester, respectively. Both Lear and Gloucester sin, if you will, early in the play. Lear is cruel to the daughter who least deserves it, while Gloucester disinherits Edgar. Both Gloucester and Lear suffer terribly as a result of the wrongs they have done to their children. Through their suffering they come, by the end of the play to have more...

How is redemption present in "King Lear?"

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:38:01 PST

How is redemption present in "King Lear?"

Everything about Lear is over the top. His vanity and foolishness are...

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:09:17 PST

Everything about Lear is over the top. His vanity and foolishness are extreme, and his eventual suffering seems beyond human endurance, yet he endures, in agony. The depth of Cordelia's abiding, sacrificial love makes the play's irony terribly poignant. The play emphasizes the darkness and the light of the human heart and the human condition in such a deeply personal, universal way that it touches us profoundly.

A true tragedy at once horrifies and elevates, and King Lear is no...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:26:01 PST

A true tragedy at once horrifies and elevates, and King Lear is no exception. As we see scenes of physical horror such as the blinding of Gloucester, his eyes being plucked and stamped out, and the more psychological ripples of terror of mad old Lear's ravings on the heath in storm and rain, we are surely horrified. But as we notice the octogenarian king in tattered clothes, accompanied by his Fool and the Bedlamite beggar, encounter the fury...

Reading or seeing King Lear is a horrifying as well as uplifting...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:49:02 PST

Reading or seeing King Lear is a horrifying as well as uplifting experience. Discuss.

In Shakespeare's dramatisation of the story of King Lear and his three...

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:56:16 PST

In Shakespeare's dramatisation of the story of King Lear and his three daughters, Cordelia is the youngest and the most loved of the three daughters of the old king. Cordelia seems to be a Cinderella figure, with Regan & Goneril as the wicked step-sisters. She is the 'good daughter' who refuses to quantify her love for her father while the other two sisters flatter their father to get their shares of kingdom. Cordelia is banished by Lear...