King Lear Lecture 3

Term II : Lecture 3 Text - King Lear

King Lear: Act 1 Scene 2 Introduction of the Sub-plot  Gloucester’s two sons – Edmund & Edgar  Gloucester’s relationship with them  Sub-plot amplifies & reverberates themes and issues explored in the main plot

King Lear: Act 1 Scene 2 Edmund’s Speech in the beginning  The Issue of Nature  The Elements  Natural Order of Things  Nature , Natural & Unnatural  1st Explicit Invocation of the Theme of Identity

King Lear: Act 1 Scene 2 Structurally  The main plot & the sub-plot weave together  But do remain identifiably separate issues

King Lear: Act 1 Scene 2 Ideas Explored  Illegitimacy of a Natural Child  Spontaneous Feeling Vs Rule of Law (Edmund’s Opening Lines)  Conventions Vs Self-Perception

King Lear: Act 1 Scene 2  1 explicit invocation of identity in the play  This will be explored further in rest of the play

King Lear: Act 1 Scene 2 Characters  Gloucester - Gullible  Edmund – A bastard in both senses, dramatically intriguing, ingenious manipulator, clever plotter  Edgar – allows himself to be manipulated

King Lear: Act 1 Scene 3  What did we expect?  Is Goneril unreasonable if she is irritated by her father’s antics?  Are our suspicions confirmed by Goneril’s actions?

King Lear: Act 1 Scene 4 Kent Disguised • Disguise as an important feature of Shakespearean plays • Disguise Vs Identity

King Lear: Act 1 Scene 4 Purpose of Disguise  Dramatic irony, where the audience is aware of something (in this case the true identity of characters) that characters in the play are not. This creates tension in a play and excites the audience; actions take place on the stage, of which the audience knows the import, but characters on the stage do not. 

It also creates a setting for a great deal of irony where characters make comments that take on a double meaning.

King Lear: Act 1 Scene 4 Development of Features of Act 1 Scene 3 • Lear starting to lose grip • Goneril shows her true colours • Lear begins to regret

King Lear: Act 1 Scene 4 Entrance of the Fool • Traditional role of the fool • ‘Magic’ status of the fool • Ability to see & say what others can’t

King Lear: Act 1 Scene 4 Entrance of the Fool • The ‘Wise’ fool • Effect of the fool on Lear • The Fool’s Advice • Song 1 Line 120 • Song 2 Line 145