King Lear | Kingship and the Themes of Shakespeare's Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth
In this essay, R. Moore examines the manner in which Shakespeare treats the nature of kingship in the three works, and how that treatment reflects the essential tone and themes of the works.
The manner in which Shakespeare treats the nature of kingship in Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth reflects the essential tone and themes of these works. In Hamlet, a play in no small part pervaded by abstractions, paradoxes and conscious role playing, the kingship is described in terms of abstractions, paradoxes and the self-conscious "playing" of the king. In King Lear, a play which contrasts natural relations with the power of real politic, we find that a duality characterizes Lear's kingship. Finally, in Macbeth, a work of dark and supernatural...
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