King Lear | Love
In the first excerpt, Marilyn Gaull argues that King Lear depicts two kinds of love: divine love, associated with universal order, and erotic love, associated with chaos and destruction. When Lear abdicates his royal responsibilities, the critic asserts, he plunges his kingdom into a state of spiritual and emotional disorder. In the second selection, Simon Lesser notes that the king looks chiefly to his favorite, Cordelia, for love and praise. The extraordinary intensity and possessiveness of his love for her makes Lear more vulnerable to disappointment, Lesser argues.
Marilyn Gaull
[Gaull argues that King Lear depicts two kinds of love: divine love, associated with universal order, and erotic love, associated with chaos and destruction. When Lear abdicates his royal responsibilities, the critic asserts, he plunges his kingdom into a state of spiritual and emotional disorder. Gaull suggests that Lear's choice of corrupt, erotic love over divine love results in a transference of sexuality; the king becomes emasculated as he is gradually stripped of the symbols of his traditional role, while at the same time Goneril and Regan...
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- King Lear: Introduction
- King Lear: Summary
- King Lear: William Shakespeare Biography
- King Lear: Reading Shakespeare
- King Lear: List of Characters
- King Lear: Historical Background
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King Lear: Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scene 1: Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scene 2: Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scene 3: Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scene 4: Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scene 5: Summary and Analysis
- Act II, Scene 1: Summary and Analysis
- Act II, Scenes 2 and 3: Summary and Analysis
- Act II, Scene 4: Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scene 1: Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scene 2: Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scene 3: Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scene 4: Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scene 5: Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scene 6: Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scene 7: Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scene 1: Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scene 2: Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scene 3: Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scene 4: Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scene 5: Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scene 6: Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scene 7: Summary and Analysis
- Act V, Scenes 1 and 2: Summary and Analysis
- Act V, Scene 3: Summary and Analysis
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King Lear: Quizzes
- Act I, Scene 1: Questions and Answers
- Act I, Scene 2: Questions and Answers
- Act I, Scene 3: Questions and Answers
- Act I, Scene 4: Questions and Answers
- Act I, Scene 5: Questions and Answers
- Act II, Scene 1: Questions and Answers
- Act II, Scenes 2 and 3: Questions and Answers
- Act II, Scene 4: Questions and Answers
- Act III, Scene 1: Questions and Answers
- Act III, Scene 2: Questions and Answers
- Act III, Scene 3: Questions and Answers
- Act III, Scene 4: Questions and Answers
- Act III, Scene 5: Questions and Answers
- Act III, Scene 6: Questions and Answers
- Act III, Scene 7: Questions and Answers
- Act IV, Scene 1: Questions and Answers
- Act IV, Scene 2: Questions and Answers
- Act IV, Scene 3: Questions and Answers
- Act IV, Scene 4: Questions and Answers
- Act IV, Scene 5: Questions and Answers
- Act IV, Scene 6: Questions and Answers
- Act IV, Scene 7: Questions and Answers
- Act V, Scenes 1 and 2: Questions and Answers
- Act V, Scene 3: Questions and Answers
- King Lear: Essential Passages
- King Lear: Themes
- King Lear: Character Analysis
- King Lear: Principal Topics
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King Lear: Essays
- Is Lear a Tragic Hero?
- The Power of Language and the Language of Power in King Lear
- King Lear and Comedy
- A Brief Critical History of King Lear
- King Lear: Saints and Sinners
- The Tragic Ending of King Lear
- Good and Evil Children in King Lear and Henry IV
- Textual and Contextual Analysis of the Opening Scene in Shakespeare's King Lear
- Contrast in Character in The Tragedy of King Lear
- Kingship and the Themes of Shakespeare's Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth
- Madness in King Lear
- Two Critical Episodes in Shakespeare's King Lear
- King Lear: Criticism
- King Lear: Selected Quotes
- King Lear: Suggested Essay Topics
- King Lear: Sample Essay Outlines
- King Lear: Modern Connections
- King Lear: FAQs
- King Lear: Bibliography and Further Reading
- King Lear: Pictures
- Copyright
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