Take out reader response notebook
and prepare for notes
“King Lear is powerful in a fatalistic, inevitable,
and therefore very sincere and solemn
way….Every living person will someday be King
Lear…in the mean time, strive to be
Cordelia…oh, and when you go off to college,
avoid the Edmunds.”
-R. Bringham Lampert
William Shakespeare’s
King Lear
Date of Composition and Source
• Most difficult play to
pin down
• Written after Hamlet
and Othello
• Winter of 1605-1606
• “Leir” a folk legend king
who never actually
existed
• Published during his life
time
Original Title
• M. William Shak-speare: His
True Chronicle Historie of the
life and death of King Lear and
his three Daughters. With the
unfortunate life of Edgar,
sonne and heire to the Earle of
Gloster, and his sullen and
assumed humor of Tom of
Bedlam
Lear and European History
• One of the few plays to
take place in Britain
• Similar to other
tragedies- nobility
• Believed to be during
the Hundred Years War
(1337-1453)
• France loses the battle
Where did the story come from?
• The story of King Lear originated
400 years before Shakespeare wrote
his version.
• Lear was a mythological British King
who reigned before the birth of
Christ allowing Shakespeare to
implement some polytheistic
elements into the plot.
• 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.
The Plot and Subplot: Two Parallel Stories
• Lear and his daughters: Main Plot
• Edgar and his father and brother: subplot
• Parallel stories: their closeness in plot and direction
render them mirrors of each other
• Both Lear and Gloucester have faith in the wrong
child and reject the right one
• Hook: begins in media res (in the middle of things)
Kent, Gloucester (Gloss ter), and Edmund enter stage
already in conversation
Sidenotes
• 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
• 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
What’s the Significance
of the Subplot?
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.
Verse
• 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.
• 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.
Tragedy
• 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
Aristotelian Hamartia
• Poetics: tragic hero is one who is guilty of
hamartia, and perhaps hubris
• Hamartia: error of judgment
• Hubris: excessive pride
• Lear is guilty of both
• Existential Hero: architect of his own ruin
• Fall from high to low
Characters
• King Lear-Aging King of Britain
• Cordelia-Lear’s youngest daughter, disowned for
refusing to flatter him
• Kent-Nobleman who is loyal to Lear, but outspoken
• Gloucester-Nobleman to Lear, suffers a parallel fate
• Edgar-Gloucester’s older legitimate son
• Fool- Lear’s court jester who gives important advice
Characters- Evil
• Edmund-Gloucester’s Bastard Son who resents
his position; cunning in his schemes
• Regan (wife of Cornwall) and Goneril (wife of
Albany)- Lear’s daughters who are interested
in power and do not care about their father
Ah, Deception
• In King Lear,
Shakespeare offers a
world where the natural
and unnatural are
intertwined,
appearances and selfperception are
confused, and words—
written and spoken—
are deceptive.
“Tell Them What They Want to Hear”
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.
Major Themes
Order vs. Chaos
Pride
Madness
Good vs Evil
The Uncaring Universe
Loyalty vs. Disloyalty/ Blind Obedience
Appearance vs Reality
Fate vs. Free Will
Reason vs Emotion (Patience vs Passion)
The nature of Evil and Justice
The Need for Humanity
Lear’s journey
Pride  rage  suffering/humiliation 
madness  wisdom  death
Major Themes (continued)
Chaos and the Uncaring Universe
a. Chaos results from DIVISION (the
kingdom, families, brothers, sisters,
b. First Existentialist? (universe has no meaning- 19
th
etc.)
C)
“There is, therefore, no preexistent spiritual realm, no
soul…,no cosmic compassion for or interest in human
life, no afterlife, no transcendence of worldly existence,
no cosmic meta-narrative, no angels and devils…, no
divine will, no preset destiny, no inevitable fate.”
The Symbols
1. The Storm
2. Blindness and
sight
3. The Fool
The Symbols (continued
4. Nothingness
5. Nakedness and clothing
6. The Hearth
7. The Hovel
8. The Castle
9. The Coronet
Motifs
•
•
•
•
•
Clothing and nakedness
Blindness
Birds and Animal Imagery
Letters
Lies/ Betrayal