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Born 1564; died 1616
Author, playwright, actor, and poet
Usually credited with writing 37 plays and 154
sonnets
Plays are divided into the early plays (e.g., The
Taming of the Shrew),the comedies (e.g., Much Ado
About Nothing), the histories (e.g., Henry V), the
tragedies (e.g., King Lear), the problem plays (e.g.,
Measure for Measure), and the romance plays (e.g.,The
Winter’s Tale)
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The story of King Lear originated 400 years
before Shakespeare wrote his version.
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Lear was a British King who reigned before the
birth of Christ allowing Shakespeare to
implement some polytheistic elements into the
plot.
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British mythology refers to a “Lyr” or
“Ler” who was the basis of a King Lear story
by Geoffrey of Monmouth in 1137 which
Shakespeare used as a source as well as
Raphael Holinshed’s “Chronicle of England,
Scotland and Ireland”.
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Shakespeare also “borrowed” plot and
subplot ideas from Edmund Spencer’s “The
Faerie Queen” and John Higgins’ “A Mirror
for Magistrates” among others which he then
interwove into the basic King Lear tale to
create his own version, ignoring much of the
older Monmouth storyline.
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Scholars believe the play was written after
“Othello” but before “Macbeth” assigning
it a creation date of 1604-05.
 Shakespeare
also “borrowed” from a
convenient contemporary true story of
a gentleman of the court of Elizabeth
I named Sir Brian Annesley whose
daughters tried to have him declared
insane in late 1603 so they could
legally take control of his estate.
His youngest daughter, named Cordell,
intervened on his behalf.
 Many
students find Shakespeare difficult
to read and to understand.
 If you understand his language, you can
better understand his plays.
 This plays are written in two forms:
prose and poetry.
 Shakespeare
uses figurative language as
he speaks with metaphors, similes, and
personification. Recognizing when his
characters are speaking figuratively
helps in understanding the play.
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Most of Shakespeare’s plays are written in
verse. A character who speaks in verse is a
noble or a member of the Upper Class. Most
of his plays focused on these characters.
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The verse form he used is BLANK VERSE.
There is no rhyme, but each line has an
internal rhythm with a regular rhythmic
pattern. The pattern he liked most was
iambic pentameter – 10 syllable line with
accent on every other syllable. It is most
regular. He sometimes found it necessary to
remove a vowel so that the rhythm would
work.
 http://www.shmoop.com/king-lear/photo-
lear-forrest.html
 With
a partner, view the pictures and
construct a story.
Protagonist dies while defeating antagonist
 In revenge tragedy, the protagonist is
driven by desire to exact revenge, which
leads to his/her demise
 The tragic hero is dominated by a fatal flaw
in character, which leads to his/her
downfall
 The tragic hero is held in high standing,
making the downfall more tragic for the
audience
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1. Gloucester and his sons / Lear and his daughters
2. Suicide and the world view that demonstrates the
belief that the souls of all who take their lives
will be damned forever – punished for her
wickedness
3. The attraction between some key characters -shows
the attraction between like-minded individuals – It
involves seeking in others for that which you
possess in yourself
Lear has three legitimate daughters.
Gloucester has one legitimate son and
one illegitimate one.
Evil is not confined either to gender or
to being illegitimate. It can occur
anywhere.
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In King Lear, appearances, station, and how what others
think influences our actions are examined through
relationships found in family and service: father and child;
nobleman and servant. Even though we believe that what
we look like and what we say are reflections of who we
are, Shakespeare, in King Lear, shows that appearances
and words are ever deceiving and are not clear indications
of the soul or the mind. Even though Goneril and Regan are
of noble birth, they hardly show noble souls; and although
Lear can hardly be considered to have a fair countenance,
he does develop a most fair and loving soul.
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One of man’s most persistent characteristics is the
desire to organize the world about him, so that he can
understand and explain it. He sets out to create a world
picture that is rational and meaningful to him.
The Elizabethans operated on TWO assumptions:
1. All activity takes place in a world with good moral
order.
2. The universe is a Christian universe created and
controlled by God. Order has its source in God.
There is also evil, and its source is Satan, who
revolted against the order of God, which subsequently
brought about Man’s fall (from grace).
In a world dependent on words for
communication, each of us comes to value
the spoken and written word. We can all
readily identify with a child who “says
what his parents want to hear.” So, in
“Lear”, you can’t always trust what is
said or what is recorded.
 Elizabethans,
three centuries ago,
struggled with the same type of
questions. In King Lear, Shakespeare
offers a world where the natural and
unnatural are intertwined, appearances
and self-perception are confused, and
words—written and spoken—are deceptive.
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True to Shakespearean tradition, King Lear borrows
its tragic elements from several types of tragedies
that were popular during the Elizabethan Renaissance.
Even though King Lear is classified as a chronicle
play (a type of drama which draws its English
historical materials from the sixteenth-century
chronicles—such as Holinshed’s), Shakespeare uses
elements of tragedy sometimes called Classical
tragedy, and the morality play.
To enhance this chronicle with a tragedy of character,
Shakespeare incorporates a few classical elements: (1) the
use of stock characters—a faithful male servant (Kent);
(2) the employment of sensational themes drawn from Greek
mythology, involving much use of “blood and lust;” and
(3) stichomythia—dialogue that is conducted by two
characters speaking in alternate lines (though strict
regularity is not maintained).
To balance the stock characters, Shakespeare also used
characters that were consistently good or evil in their
intent, echoing the pattern of a morality play. Edmund,
Regan, and Goneril embody avarice, envy, anger, lust, and
pride; while Edgar and Cordelia embody faithfulness and
unconditional love.
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As a tragedy, King Lear portrays a protagonist whose
fortunes are conditioned by his hamartia. As defined
by Aristotle, the protagonist of a tragedy should be
a person “who is not eminently good or just, yet
whose fortune is brought about by some error or
frailty.” This error is not necessarily a flaw in
character; hamartia can be an unwitting misstep in
definite action or the failure to perform a definite
action.
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Lear’s hamartia is the impulsive division of his
powers and kingdom before his death—more
particularly, disowning Cordelia because she will
speak “nothing.”
Note that the following themes demonstrate
Shakespeare’s use of opposition. Many of his plays
present the conflict between two extremes. In so
doing, Shakespeare seems to urge readers to assess
their own capacity to deal with life’s extremes.
Perhaps it is in this process that a Shakespearean
tragedy can help a reader learn to avoid undue
suffering by finding a happy middle ground on which
to live.
Appearances vs Reality
Much of the play deals with the characters’
failures to understand the intentions of the
people around them. The evil characters in
particular make use of deceit and lies to
achieve their goals. Other characters
assume disguises for their own protection.
Moral values in the play can be reversed;
that which appears to be good may be evil,
while that which is evil may actually be
good. In Shakespeare’s tragedies
characters often learn that appearances are
deceiving.
Blindness and Sight
(or The Foolish vs the Wise)
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This theme is directly linked to the theme of “Appearances
vs Reality”. Some characters are described as “blind” to
the realities of the world around them due to their
ignorance, poor judgement or lack of insight. Such
characters are often referred to as fools for their inability
to perceive reality correctly, while those with correct
insight are described as wise. Great suffering ensues as
these “blind” characters peel away layers of deception to
discover the truth. Gloucester is literally blinded when he
is deceived by false appearances; ironically, it is only when
blinded that he learns to truly see.
Order vs Chaos
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The Medieval concept of the Great Chain of Being is at work
in King Lear. This view of the universe assumes that a
strict moral order (having its source in God) binds all of
creation together. This order demands love, honour and
obedience from all beings to those who are of superior rank
in the “Great Chain”. Woman must be obedient to man.
Child must honour parent.
Subject must be loyal to king.
Evil seeks to destroy this order by breaking bonds of
loyalty and love; the result is chaos. Evil is therefore
considered to be unnatural since it opposes the natural
order of the universe. In King Lear notice how chaos is
demonstrated through tainted family relationships,
political instability, and the mental deterioration of
characters.
Loyalty
vs Disloyalty
This theme is directly linked to the concept of Order
vs Chaos”. Shakespeare shows us that many
characters are willing to use deceit and treachery
for their own personal gain, even when it means being
disloyal to someone that should be honoured and
respected. These characters are depicted as evil,
spreading disloyalty like a disease to bring chaos
to an entire country. In contrast, there are
characters who remain loyal, thus reminding us that
the forces of goodness and virtue are always at work
to restore a sense of order in the play. However,
Shakespeare warns that there is no honour in blind
loyalty to people who are corrupt and evil (Such as
Oswald’s loyalty to Goneril).
Fate vs Free Will (or Fatalism vs Opportunism)
This theme is common among the Greek tragedies that
Shakespeare used as models for his Renaissance
tragedies. The play asks readers to consider whether
the course of our lives (reward and suffering) is
determined by the gods, or whether we determine our
own life paths through choice and making the most of
our opportunities. Do fate and freedom maintain a
delicate coexistence? Perhaps we should never
completely depend on fate or surrender our capacity
for freedom and choice.
Patience vs Passion (or Reason vs Emotion)
Shakespeare warns us that allowing one’s extreme
emotions or passions (esp. wrath , sorrow, or
despair) to govern our actions without first being
patient and being guided by rational thought can lead
to pain and suffering. Characters often call upon
patience to sustain them in adversity, though many
are unable to control their overwhelming emotions.
The Classical school of thought known as Stoicism
espoused the belief that we can most effectively cope
with death and suffering by facing them with calm and
dignity and mastering the passions that can overwhelm
us.
The Need for Humanity
One of Lear’s greatest lessons results when he loses the
title of “king” and discovers who he is as a human being.
The play teaches us that we must all (especially those in
power) have compassion for those who live in misery. In
fact, it is this compassion and respect for other human
beings that can be an active force for order and goodness
in the world.
On the other hand, evil dehumanizes. The
evil characters in the play are not “humane” and this
leads to their moral degeneration and general chaos. They
are often portrayed as bestial or animal-like as they seek
personal advancement and live by the law of the jungle
(“survival of the fittest”). Shakespeare reminds us that
our capacity to act morally is what distinguishes humans
from beasts.
The Nature of Evil and Justice
One of the purposes of tragedy is to explain the problem of
evil in our world. What are the consequences of evil
deeds? Some characters in King Lear cling to the belief
that there is a universal power of justice (nemesis) that
will punish evil deeds and restore moral order. The evil
characters in the play do receive their just rewards. But
Shakespeare does not give us a simple solution, since good
characters also suffer. In the end, the play seems to
suggest that evil and suffering in life are unavoidable. We
must therefore accept their inevitability and be ready to
face them with courage (Stoicism).
Motifs
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Clothing and Nakedness – A recurring image which may
represent the following:
-loss of status or identity
-Clothing in disarray or nakedness can symbolize insanity
-Nakedness can represent the discovery of one’s humanity,
liberated from the trappings of civilization.
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Bird and Animal Imagery - A recurring use of birds and
animals to symbolize human conditions and behaviours.
Often the animals to which humans are compared are dark and
violent to denote the bestiality within human beings who
give way to evil impulses.
Letters
- A recurring plot device used by
characters to help them carry out evil
deeds. Ironically, it is also because of
these letters that these evil characters get
caught.
Symbols
The
 The
 The
 The
 The
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heath
hovel
castle
coronet
storm
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A foil is a character who can be compared and contrasted to
another character
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Used to clarify character traits and issues in the play
King Lear and Gloucester
Old friends
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Both are betrayed by their children
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Neither has the wisdom to see through duplicious love
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Lear’s insanity leads him to clear perception; Gloucester’s
loss of his eyes leads him to clear vision
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Both die after having been reunited with their faithful children
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Equal in evil
Neither sister has love for good beings
Both sisters are attracted to Edmund
Neither sister possesses compassion for love
Exclusive thoughts of themselves
Actively feed on the wickedness of the other
Brothers; Edgar is legitimate; Edmund is
illegitimate
 Clear opposition of good and evil, with good
prevailing in the end
 As Edmund tries to push his father away;
Edgar tries to protect his father from a
distance
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Both try to speak the truth to King Lear; he
is deaf to both characters
 Kent is part of the action until Lear’s
death; the Fool exits the play as soon as
his usefulness is exhausted
 Although they belong to different classes,
they both show equal honour and loyalty
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