Kastan “For Shakespeare…” uncertainity | For Shakespeare, uncertainty is the point |
Kastan “Shakespeare’s tragedies” | Shakespeare’s tragedies provoke questions about the cause of suffering |
A.C Bradley | pre-eminently the story of one person, the hero |
A.C Brad “a total-reverse…” | A total reverse of fortune; a man who stood in high degree |
A.C Bradley “his fate…” | His fate affects the welfare of a nation’ and when he suddenly falls, his fall produces a sense of contrast, the powerlessness of a man |
Rutter … “pieta” | Lear as Mary, arms full of Cordelia as Christ |
Rutter… “lear Knows”.. tears | Lear knows his tears make a woman of him and that of his daughters (causing him to weep) are to blame for having power to shake my manhood thus |
Rutter “fury ous” | Fury-ous authority beyond the male control or political practice |
Rutter ‘sisters” | Having learnt his language to survive his love test, they now assume the male voice |
Rutter- “lear command” | Lear’s command that his daughters should speak- put against cultural practice, the audience’s expectation that good women should keep their mouths shut |
Essential Shakespeare- Bickley “marxist readings” | Marxist readings of Lear would identify inequality as central to the test |
Fintan O’toole ‘Enter Lear with Cordelia in his arms’ | Overwhelming sense of justice break through the even balancing of good and evil. |
King Lear Critical Anthology
July 28, 2019