Please post your analysis in the comment box below, using the following guidelines:
Choose a
particular monologue or passage of dialogue to analyze. (1) In your
analysis demonstrate an understanding of the passage's meaning within
its context. (2) Also, identify and discuss the significance of (at
least two) motifs within the passage. What does the use of the motifs
reveal, particularly about characters, conflicts, and themes? (3)
Finally, discuss the relationship between how the motifs are presented
in the passage and how the motifs are presented elsewhere in the play.
Post your response below. At the beginning of your post include your name, name the motifs, and quote the passages (include act.scene.line).
Daniel Carpenter the fool and appearance
ReplyDeleteFool. Dost thou know the difference, my boy, between a bitter
fool and a sweet fool?
Lear. No, lad; teach me.
Fool. That lord that counsell'd thee
To give away thy land,
Come place him here by me-
Do thou for him stand.
The sweet and bitter fool
Will presently appear;
The one in motley here,
The other found out there.
Lear. Dost thou call me fool, boy?
Fool. All thy other titles thou hast given away; that thou wast
born with.
1.4.141-154
This conversation with the fool and Lear is all about who plays the fool. The fool is making fun of lear for both giving away all his land before he is dead and disowning his daughter. This makes him a fool in the the eye of the Fool. This motif about people playing different parts and not being who they say they are can also be seen in how Kent has come back dressed in disguise. The role of the fool is very important, not only is he there to make sex jokes, but more importantly he is there to point out what is wrong with the king and show his insanity. The fool is the only one who can call him fool and live. Lear does not let this get to him but the reader can see and understand the plot better through the fool. The fool is on a sword's edge as he says later. The fool explains that if he does talk he will be whipped and if he doesn't talk he will be whipped. He is much smarter than he seems and tells lear he should do the same. “Mark it, nuncle. Have more than thou showest, Speak less than thou knowest,” it is better to hold back in this case both in knowledge and in wealth.
Rachael Shahin. Betrayal, Love/The Bond Between Parent and Child
ReplyDeleteKENT
Royal Lear,
Whom I have ever honour'd as my king,
Loved as my father, as my master follow'd,
As my great patron thought on in my prayers,--
...KENT
Fare thee well, king: sith thus thou wilt appear,
Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here.
To CORDELIA
The gods to their dear shelter take thee, maid,
That justly think'st, and hast most rightly said!
To REGAN and GONERIL
And your large speeches may your deeds approve,
That good effects may spring from words of love.
Thus Kent, O princes, bids you all adieu;
He'll shape his old course in a country new.
(1.1.142-192)
In this passage, Kent tries to direct King Lear into realizing truly mad he seems by disowning Cordelia whom Kent knows does not love her father least of all the sisters. Kent then tried to explain that if Lear he is persuaded by simply flattery and nothing else then he will be taken advantage of as a king. Lear becomes very angry with Kent and threatens him to stop talking before he is killed, to which Kent replies that it is his job to steer the king in the right direction even if it costs him his life. King Lear then becomes furious with Kent, stating that Kent is a traitor who is trying to make a liar out of him by having him revoke his decision to disown Cordelia, and banishes him from the kingdom. Kent agrees to leave but first tells Cordelia that she had spoken the right words her father just couldn’t see that. He also addresses Regan and Goneril saying that he hopes they can prove their enormous claims of love for their father so that they can be rewarded. The motif of a parent/child bond is evident in the passage, yet Kent seems to know better how the bond should be than Lear does. Kent’s attempts to convince Lear that love for a parent is made of more than just grand proclamations but by the actions of the child. Cordelia may not have announced her love as her sisters had, but she did not love her father any less than they did. Kent tries to enlighten Lear on this point saying that “Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least;/Nor are those empty-hearted whose low sound/Reverbs no hollowness,” (1.1.156-158). In other words, Goneril and Regan’s strong words could simply be masking their empty hearts. Which is later seen as true when Goneril wishes to get her father away from her home and writes to her sister so she will do the same, thus preventing Goneril from seeming less loving. The bond between a parent and child is also portrayed in Gloucester and Edmund’s relationship in which Edmund wants to be accepted as more than just a bastard child but a true son. Betrayal also comes up in the eyes of Lear with Kent and Cordelia. He sees Cordelia’s lack of flourished words to be a betrayal of love and loyalty. He also sees Kent’s defense of Cordelia to be him betraying him. The way King Lear sees Kent and Cordelia’s actions as betrayals causes him to make rash decisions and expel them from his life. Betrayal again can be seen later in the play through Edmund in his attempts to be fully accepted by his father. He chooses to betray his brother Edgar in order to appear as the more loving, worthy son in the eyes of his father.
Emily Neves. Nothingness. Betrayal. (1.1.81-97)
ReplyDeleteKING LEAR
To thee and thine hereditary ever
Remain this ample third of our fair kingdom;
No less in space, validity, and pleasure,
Than that conferr'd on Goneril. Now, our joy,
Although the last, not least; to whose young love
The vines of France and milk of Burgundy
Strive to be interess'd; what can you say to draw
A third more opulent than your sisters? Speak.
CORDELIA
Nothing, my lord.
KING LEAR
Nothing!
CORDELIA
Nothing.
KING LEAR
Nothing will come of nothing: speak again.
CORDELIA
Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave
My heart into my mouth: I love your majesty
According to my bond; nor more nor less.
KING LEAR
How, how, Cordelia! mend your speech a little,
Lest it may mar your fortunes.
In this scene, Cordelia leaves King Lear feeling unappreciated. He has just received the highest of praises from both of his other daughters, and yet his youngest and most favored daughter can see that though he is their father, that does not mean she needs to love him more than that. King Lear does not like that Cordelia doesn't worship him as a great father and king and is therefor not giving her any inheritance rights and cuts her off. Doing this dooms her two possible matches, and Burgundy no longer is interested in her because he would receive nothing more than Cordelia herself in their marriage.
The use of betrayal as a common theme in the tragedy shows the truth of the relationship between Cordelia and Lear. She does not worship him and is quite independent, whereas her sisters are quick to please their father. The theme of betrayal also reveals, besides the feelings between Cordelia and her father, the use of lies and deceit when Edgar and Edmond talk about the letter containing the murder of their father by Edgar, even though Edmond wrote it and is framing his brother to be the heir. Edgar, because of his brothers betrayal, must hide from authorities and become a common beggar on the street so no one will capture him and kill him for Gloucester.
From my freshman year latin class and from AP Language & Composition last year (reading "Grendel"), I can take the philosophical phrase "ex nihilo nihil fit" to explain the deep, inner meaning when Lear says that "nothing will come from nothing." The Latin phrase means exactly that, and though it appears that Lear is telling Cordelia that she will get nothing from him if she gives him nothing to work with, there is much more to the scene than that. Nothing comes from nothing, and later in the play the fool tells Lear that without power and his crown, he is no one. Nothing, as a common motif, shows the reader that Shakespeare has a feeling of emptiness behind the motivations of the characters in the tragedy; Edmond casts away Edgar out of empty greed, Lear wants to hear praises to build himself up. Both of those actions were done, I believe, to fill an emotional void of emptiness.
Winslow Lewis
ReplyDeleteFear of Losing Importance and Betrayal
(Unknown page numbers but towards the end of Act 1 Scene 4)
GONERIL
This admiration, sir, is much o' the savour
Of other your new pranks. I do beseech you
To understand my purposes aright:
As you are old and reverend, you should be wise.
Here do you keep a hundred knights and squires;
Men so disorder'd, so debosh'd and bold,
That this our court, infected with their manners,
Shows like a riotous inn: epicurism and lust
Make it more like a tavern or a brothel
Than a graced palace. The shame itself doth speak
For instant remedy: be then desired
By her, that else will take the thing she begs,
A little to disquantity your train;
And the remainder, that shall still depend,
To be such men as may besort your age,
And know themselves and you.
KING LEAR
Darkness and devils!
Saddle my horses; call my train together:
Degenerate bastard! I'll not trouble thee.
Yet have I left a daughter.
In this encounter, after a tremendous show of patience from Goneril, she finally decides she can no longer bear housing Lear and his 100 man entourage. She is quite mad at this point so her tone is quite annoyed and forceful. However, she doesn’t actually ask for Lear and his men to leave, she just asks him to reduce the size of his crew. She also comments on the behaviour of Lear himself, saying that the kind of behaviour he’s been showing isn’t fit for a man of his age and stature. This critique is most certainly not welcomed by Lear, as he once again lashes out at something one of his daughter’s says. Immediately he decides that his whole troupe will leave. He also calls his daughter a degenerate bastard and renounces her as his child. He goes on to say more and more nasty stuff about Goneril, but she is basically unphased by this verbal abuse.
Truthfully, it likely didn’t matter what Goneril told Lear to do. The fact that his daughter felt that she could order Lear around was likely the reason he lashed out. Now that he’s older, he seems to be less respected amongst his kingdom. He’s in his decline, and others around him are starting to notice that, and take advantage of it. He’s not quite ready to let go of his importance yet. He is afraid of not being taken seriously, so he comes down hard in his punishments whenever his authority is questioned. This happened earlier in the book when his other daughter, Cordelia, stood up to him. These two encounters are almost identical in cause and effect; a daughter of Lear’s says something Lear does not find pleasing, so Lear proceeds to renounce her as his child.
Goneril’s act of defiance towards her father could be considered another example of betrayal in the play. While to the reader, it seems Goneril is completely within her rights to call out her father on his disorderly behaviour, to Lear it is another act of betrayal towards him. The fact that Lear considers this act a betrayal again speaks to his fear of losing prominence and importance as a king. Goneril feeling that she can stand up to her father speaks to how others are beginning to see Lear. Act one of King Lear seems to be filled with these acts of betrayal. Not only was there Cordelia’s betrayal of Lear but also Edmund’s betrayal of Edgar.
Spencer Taft
ReplyDeleteLoyalty and faithfulness, Status and wealth.
(1.4.102)
FOOL: Why? for taking one’s part that’s out of favor.
[To Kent] Nay, an thou canst not smile as the
wind sits, thou’ll catch cold shortly. There, take my
coxcomb. why, this fellow has banished two on’s
daughters and did the third a blessing against his
will. If thou follow him, thou must needs wear my
coxcomb.--How now, nuncle? Would I had
two coxcombs and two daughters.
LEAR: Why, my boy?
FOOL: If I gave them all my living, I’d keep my cox-
combs to myself. There’s mine, beg another of thy
daughters.
A fool’s hat is its primary defining feature, and even though the fool in King Lear is arguably one of the smarter characters therein, the perception and connotation of the word “fool” is played with here. First of all, obviously the fool’s offering of his coxcomb to Kent is a backwards way of referring to him as a fool, but more than that, it shows that the fool recognizes the stereotype about his trade, and he uses that to insult the king under the guise of foolishness. This connects to the motif of loyalty, as the fool clearly works for the king, but bashes him and Kent to their faces, showing that indeed not only is the fool the only one who will directly tell the king of the error of his ways, but the truth in his statements are ignored because of his status, which connects to the motif of status and royalty as well. Thus, the fool, in a joking nod towards passing his status on to Lear and Kent, shows the fundamental problems with Lear’s actions, and shows that even as a king, one can always metaphorically “play the fool” This theme of not being what your status entails connects back to the Edgar and Edmund subplot as Edmund’s betrayal, brought on by his dismissal as a bastard, actually brings him more power. Thus, having a lower status provides secret power, just like the power that the fool holds.
CORDELIA
ReplyDeleteNothing.
LEAR
How? Nothing will come of nothing. Speak again.
CORDELIA
Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave
My heart into my mouth. I love your majesty
According to my bond, no more nor less.
LEAR
How, how, Cordelia? Mend your speech a little,
Lest you may mar your fortunes.
CORDELIA
Good my lord,
You have begot me, bred me, loved me. I
Return those duties back as are right fit—
Obey you, love you, and most honor you.
Why have my sisters husbands if they say
They love you all? Haply when I shall wed
That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry
Half my love with him, half my care and duty.
Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters,
To love my father all.
This passage breaches the motifs of love vs. deceit and betrayal vs. truth. Cordelia’s proclamation that she loves her father no more and no less than what surfaces from the bond of father-daughter is preceded by the two speeches of her sisters. Both Cordelia and Goneril swear oaths of love for their father, and only their father, and their word is perceived as truth, as law, by the ear of their father once the words leave their lips. Their proclamations are made with the intent to receive land from their father at whatever cost and their deception is deemed honest because it is what King Lear wanted to hear. He believes himself to be great and to hear so from his daughters only affirms his belief. People are apt to believe lies of flattery due to how the flattery reflects upon personal beliefs of themselves. Cordelia speaks honestly of her feelings towards her father and, while they are not negative, they are not all-worshipping. King Lear, bearing himself on a pedestal of esteem and self-worth, is shocked by her confession and banishes her from his relation and any right to land she has. Her truth is seen as a betrayal while Cordelia and Goneril use deceit to make King Lear feel he is loved. Similarly Edmund deceives his father in order to feel loved himself. Deceitful actions seem realistic to the deceived because often the truth is more repulsive. King Lear would rather believe that Cordelia has betrayed him than he would that he is not worshipped by his other two daughters. Gloucester would rather believe that his son Edgar is planning to kill him than that his son Edmund, a bastard child, would have the plight to destroy Edgar’s reputation, Gloucester’s trust in Edmund, and move himself into a position of inheritance. Deceit, ironically, allows people to avoid seeing the ugliness the truth often brings.
Goneril to Oswald Motif: time passing/ betrayal Act1 Scene3
ReplyDeleteGoneril- By day and night he wrongs me; every hour
He flashes into one gross crime or other,
That sets us all at odds: I'll not endure it:
His knights grow riotous, and himself upbraids us
On every trifle. When he returns from hunting,
I will not speak with him; say I am sick:
If you come slack of former services,
You shall do well; the fault of it I'll answer.
Goneril is discussing with Oswald her father’s wrongdoing, in spite of his best laid plan his daughter is more displeased with him than ever. Her father has scolded Oswald for “chiding his fool” and that offends Goneril’s honor as her gentleman is above the king’s fool. Goneril says that when her father returns from his hunting trip she shall not speak to him.
Over a very short period of time the king has made a mess of things by splitting his land and betraying his daughter’s expectations, nothing he does pleases her “By day and night he wrongs me; every hour”. Also, if the decision to split his land was made at a different time, when the king was younger, the outcome may have been very different. This makes Goneril appear righteously annoyed but also petty because she will not communicate directly with her father.l
He has betrayed her by allowing himself and his knights to act raucous and “riotous” and not treating her home with honor, no matter that she professed her love to him as best she could. This is in turn puts Goneril and her husband and Regan and her husband at “odds.” The way her father has arranged things has made it all the more likely that she will betray her sister or that her sister will betray her. Elsewhere in the play, the king has also betrayed himself because in betraying his daughters it has become quite clear that he is not in his right mind and what he says may not be what he actually wants.
10
(1.4.220-242)
ReplyDeleteFOOL
For you know, nuncle,
The hedge-sparrow fed the cuckoo so long,
That its had it head bit off by it young.
Sp out went the candle, and we were left darkling.
LEAR
Are you our daughter?
GONERIL
I would you would make use of your good wisdom,
Whereof I know you are fraught, and put away
These dispositions which of late transport you
From what you rightly are.
FOOL
May not an ass know when the cart draws the horse? Whoop, Jug, I love thee!
LEAR
Does any here know me? This is not Lear.
Does Lear walk thus, speak thus? Where are his eyes?
Either his notion weakens, his discernments are lethargied- Ha! Waking? ‘Tis not so. Who is it that can tell me who I am?
FOOL
Lear’s shadow.
LEAR
I would learn that, for, by the marks of sovereignty, Knowledge, and reason, I should be false persuaded I had daughters.
FOOL
Which they will make an obedient father
Two motifs: Foolishness vs. Wisdom
This witty passage between Goneril, the fool, and King Lear explore the motifs of foolishness versus wisdom. Goneril has just asked King Lear to get rid of his entourage of knights in an attempt to complete her scheme of reducing his power to nothing. Goneril uses her sympathetic facade to force King Lear to question his sanity. As soon as King Lear gave up his kingdom, he has been questioning the possibility of madness and identity. Goneril pretends to be sympathetic saying, “ I would you would make use of your good wisdom, /Whereof I know you are fraught, and put away/These dispositions which of late transport you /From what you rightly are.” In reality, she is using this deceit to get Lear to give up his kingdom to her. Not only does this passage touch of the beginning of King Lear’s journey to insanity but it uses other characters such as Goneril and the fool to explore the wisdom behind their decisions.
The fool is very close to Lear and gives him wise advice masked in the jargon of foolishness. Shakespeare creates irony by the wisest characters, such as Lear making foolish decisions (such as splitting up his Kingdom) and the foolish characters, such as the fool giving the wisest advice. Similarly, Gloucester is presented as a wealthy nobleman and is expected to be educated enough to make wise decisions; however, he doesn’t give a second thought to Edmund’s scheme about Edgar trying to kill him making him one of the most foolish characters in the play. Regan and Goneril consider Cordelia foolish because she gave up her rights to the kingdom. As the play progresses, she is actually seen as a character with wisdom for keeping herself not only truthful but for staying out of the schemes and deceit that are most likely to get everyone involved in danger. The characters portrayed as wise are found making the most foolish decisions in an attempt to show role reversal within the hierarchy of King Lear’s kingdom.
“GONERIL This admiration, sir, is much o’ th’ savor/ Of other your new pranks. I do beseech you/ To understand my purpose aright./ As you are old and reverend, should be wise./ Here do you keep a hundred knights and squires,/ Men so disordered, so debauched and bold,/ That this our court, infected with their manners,/ Shows like a riotous inn. Epicurism and lust/ Makes it more like a tavern or a brothel/ Than a graced palace. The shame itself doth speak/ For instant remedy. Be then desired,/ By her that else will take the things she begs,/ A little to disquantity your train,/ And the remainders that shall still depends/ To be such men as may besort your age,/ Which know themselves and you.” (1. 57. 244-259)
ReplyDeleteA common trend that seems to be highly relevant within King Leer would be fortune. The words of money and gold are not shown directly within the quoted excerpt above, but is instead stream through a series of phrases. The whole point of Goneril’s speech here is to point out to Leer the overabundance of men in the castle, which creates a rather unpleasant atmosphere. Although an overabundance of men does not seem like a fortune, it really is. Leer is a king, this is rather obvious, and to have knights is also obvious. To have Goneril to go to the point to complain about the overabundance of men that the whole place is full of slobs to wreck a palace gives in to the setting of the fortune and that Leer does not really about his expensive palace. This ties into Leer’s traits as a whole that connects him to the motif of the Fool. Within the 1 Act that we have read so far Leer has been titled a fool by his own fool and his daughters. A major point of Goneril’s speech above is telling his father how un kept and stupid he is being in light of the current situations. Goneril even says “As you are old and reverend, should be wise.” which is outright stating that Leer himself is going against what he should be as he should be old and wise.
Not old and stupid.
Joseph Cominelli
ReplyDeleteMotifs: Betrayal, Natural forces
EDMUND
Thou, Nature, art my goddess; to thy law
My services are bound. Wherefore should I
Stand in the plague of custom, and permit
The curiosity of nations to deprive me,
For that I am some twelve or fourteen moonshines
Lag of a brother? Why bastard? wherefore base?
When my dimensions are as well compact,
My mind as generous, and my shape as true,
As honest madam's issue? Why brand they us
With base? with baseness? bastardy? base, base?
Who, in the lusty stealth of nature, take
More composition and fierce quality
Than doth, within a dull, stale, tired bed,
Go to th' creating a whole tribe of fops
Got 'tween asleep and wake? Well then,
Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land.
Our father's love is to the bastard Edmund
As to th' legitimate. Fine word- 'legitimate'!
Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed,
And my invention thrive, Edmund the base
Shall top th' legitimate. I grow; I prosper.
Now, gods, stand up for bastards!
(1.2.1-23)
Edmund starts his monologue off with declaring that his “services are bound” to nature’s law, including that motif as part of his speech. In the passage, Edmund makes references to the nature through moon patterns and his natural “shape.” Edmund is upset that he must stand for not receiving any land because he is illegitimate. He asks, “Why bastard? Wherefore ‘base’?” because he is challenging societies expectations, questioning why he should be treated differently when his “dimensions are as well compact,” his “mind as generous,” and his “my shape as true” as his brother that is only twelve or fourteen months younger. In this way, there is a contrasting feature between Edmund's illegitimacy and what might be socially accepted or spiritual. Challenging what others expect seems to be a theme in the play, since Cordelia challenged King Lear's expectations by not flattering him in attempt to get some of his land. Edmund takes a mocking tone toward those born in wedlock, and states that a “legitimate” conception would occur less spontaneously than an illegitimate one, in a “dull, stale, tired bed.” He is frustrated that although a “whole tribe” of fools may be born and be considered legitimate, society accepts the fools while outcasting him. Edmund is jealous of his brother and wants his land and his father’s love. Edmund once again mocks the term”'legitimate'” before demanding the “gods, stand up for bastards!” which works with the theme of natural forces.
Edmund's betrayal of his brother is a motif Shakespeare deploys to add to the power struggle in the play. While Edmund is trying to gain his own wealth and respect as an illegitimate son, other character’s such as Goneril and Regan play up their love for their father to get more land. France, who was only interested in Cordelia because of her land, shows a similar greed. This greed is exposed by Edmund’s plot against his brother, but is complicated because his intentions, although wrong, are driven by societies mockery of him. From this perspective of Edmund being the victim to society, Edmund’s betrayal against his brother seems more justified. Shakespeare blurs the line between just and unjust greed, and presents the issue of determining to what point to the ends justify the means. Other occurrences of betrayal in the play include Cordelia not attempting to flatter her father, which made him furious. This betrayal is felt from King Lear, but from Cordelia's perspective, she sees herself as not being in the wrong. She has loved her father the required amount, and she felt she did not owe him any more love. This type of betrayal differs from Edmund’s betrayal because Edmund intends to do harm, ultimately making the motif characterize each character differently. King Lear again feels betrayed by one of his daughters when Goneril tells him that his court of knights is “more like a tavern or a brothel.”
The motif of nature and natural forces plays a significant role in this passage, since society, god, and Edmund’s current position of being an illegitimate son are tied into natural forces. The natural forces serve to make the characters seem out of control, and it appears that there is an underlying force to everything. Edmund wants the gods to “stand up for bastards,” suggesting that he felt that they were against them and him. Edmund wants a change in the natural forces, introducing this new conflict. There has been mention of planets and other celestial bodies as a reference to some external force. I am going to assume that Shakespeare will have some characters accept society and nature, and have others, like Edmund, who defy it.
DeleteEverest Crawford
ReplyDelete1. Astrology
2. Deception/deceit
(act 1, scene 2, 125)
This is the excellent foppery of the world, that,
when we are sick in fortune,--often the surfeit
of our own behavior,--we make guilty of our
disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars: as
if we were villains by necessity; fools by
heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves, and
treachers, by spherical predominance; drunkards,
liars, and adulterers, by an enforced obedience of
planetary influence; and all that we are evil in,
by a divine thrusting on: an admirable evasion
of whoremaster man, to lay his goatish
disposition to the charge of a star! My
father compounded with my mother under the
dragon's tail; and my nativity was under Ursa
major; so that it follows, I am rough and
lecherous. Tut, I should have been that I am,
had the maidenliest star in the firmament
twinkled on my bastardizing.
Edmund, deep in the creation of his plot against Edgar, contemplates the inequality of his situation through a thoughtful monologue prior to his brothers entry. This passage is a fantastic example of Shakespeare's powerful use of motifs to convey messages throughout his plays. Certain motifs are extremely important to the mystery and intrigue of King Lear. The motif of astrology and the heavens, a common Shakespearean motif, is the most prevalent throughout this monologue of Edmund's. The motif is crucial to his developing argument as well, “we make guilty of our/disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars: as/if we were villains by necessity”. Edmund's soliloquy about actions, guilt and consequences is not critical but rather supplementary to the understanding of his thought process. Shakespeare's use of motifs highlights Edmund's inner thinking and how he interacts with the characters around him. “fools by/heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves, and/treachers, by spherical predominance”, it is almost as if Edmund himself believes, or wants to believe that his actions, or perhaps primarily the actions of his father (while they have consequences) are not totally outside the realm of the heavens, therefore fate. He wants not to correct the actions of his father, but follow through with what he sees as his star told mission, and even if it makes him a villain, it is by necessity.
Another important motif that follows the opening act of King Lear and is also clear throughout other works of Shakespeare is that of deceit. While not apparent through the language in Edmund s short monologue, Edmund's plan and goals reek of deception and deceit, and important trend to follow. Even in the early stages of the play, underhanded letter passing and forgery are present and add meaning and depth to the plot. Without the deceit of its characters, King Lear would lose most of its mystery, and timeless interest.
Hannah LeClerc
ReplyDeleteAct 1.Scene2.Line1
Motifs: Property/Wealth, Parents/Children
Edmund:
Thou, Nature, art my goddess. Tho thy law
My services are bound. Wherefore should I
Stand in the plague of custom, and permit
The curiosity of nations to deprive me
For that I am some twelve or fourteen moonshines
Lag of a brother? Why “bastard”? Wherefore “base,”
When my dimensions are as well compact
My mind as generous and my shape as true
As honest madam’s issue? Why brand they us
With “base,” with “baseness,” “bastardy,” “base,”
“base,”
Who in lusty stealth of nature, take
More composition and fierce quality
Than doth within a dull, stale, tired bed
Go to th’ creating a whole tribe of fops
Got ‘tween asleep and wake? Well then,
Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land.
Our father’s love is to the bastard Edmund
As to th’ legitimate. Fine word, “legitimate.”
Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed
And my invention thrive, Edmund the base
Shall [top] th’ legitimate. I grow, I prosper.
Now, gods, stand up for bastards!
Edmund is expressing his right to his father’s land despite the fact that he is a bastard child. He feels as though he is not any less of a human being, his “dimensions are as well compact” and his “mind as generous and my shape as true”. For him to branded and looked upon as only a bastard is unfair and illogical to him. He is just as much of a man, he may feel even more so, than his “legitimate” brother may be. Edmund does not understand how he is in flesh, just as much of a human being as his brother but in custom he is viewed as inadequate and quite frankly, a mistake. Two prominent motifs in this passage are parents/children and property/wealth. Edmund has felt that his relationship with his father is not the same that his brother and father may share because of Edmund’s own “bastard status”. However, he seems to show no resentment towards his father but only towards his brother. This is in part due to the fact that Edmund’s brother, Edgar, will inherit land that Edmund does not have access due because of Edgar’s “legitimate status” over Edmund. This is where property/wealth comes into play. Edmund is willing to set up his brother, by sending a letter to their father, Gloucester, making it seem as though Edgar wishes to assassinate Gloucester. Edmund is doing this in hopes of accruing land, which in turn will give him power in wealth in the kingdom. Although the relationship between Edmund and Gloucester is not the same as between Cordelia and King Lear, both conflicts include a feeling of inadequacy in the child, which in some way causes anger in the parent. Lear is angered when Cordelia exclaims she cannot express through words the type of love she has for her father, and if she did, she would be lying because she will one day marry and love another man just as so. Gloucester is angered when he finds out Edgar supposedly wants to murder him, but this is caused by Edmund plotting to gain land that he cannot obtain otherwise due to his inadequacy. The property/wealth situation is present although not the same in both conflicts. Cordelia is denied the right to land because she will not speak, and it is divided up between her two other sisters. Edmund is fighting for the right to obtain land, while Cordelia was going to have it handed to her. Both families have a passing of wealth/property from the hands of the parent to the hands of the children.
Act 1. scene 1. pg 23-25
ReplyDeletePaula Costa
motifs: wealth and power vs. honesty and principle
CORDELIA
I yet beseech your majesty,--
If for I want that glib and oily art,
To speak and purpose not; since what I well intend,
I'll do't before I speak,--that you make known
It is no vicious blot, murder, or foulness,
No unchaste action, or dishonour'd step,
That hath deprived me of your grace and favour;
But even for want of that for which I am richer,
A still-soliciting eye, and such a tongue
As I am glad I have not, though not to have it
Hath lost me in your liking.
KING LEAR
Better thou
Hadst not been born than not to have pleased me better.
KING OF FRANCE
Is it but this,--a tardiness in nature
Which often leaves the history unspoke
That it intends to do? My lord of Burgundy,
What say you to the lady? Love's not love
When it is mingled with regards that stand
Aloof from the entire point. Will you have her?
She is herself a dowry.
BURGUNDY
Royal Lear,
Give but that portion which yourself proposed,
And here I take Cordelia by the hand,
Duchess of Burgundy.
KING LEAR
Nothing: I have sworn; I am firm.
BURGUNDY
I am sorry, then, you have so lost a father
That you must lose a husband.
CORDELIA
Peace be with Burgundy!
Since that respects of fortune are his love,
I shall not be his wife.
KING OF FRANCE
Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich, being poor;
Most choice, forsaken; and most loved, despised!
Thee and thy virtues here I seize upon:
Be it lawful I take up what's cast away.
Gods, gods! 'tis strange that from their cold'st neglect
My love should kindle to inflamed respect.
Thy dowerless daughter, king, thrown to my chance,
Is queen of us, of ours, and our fair France:
Not all the dukes of waterish Burgundy
Can buy this unprized precious maid of me.
Bid them farewell, Cordelia, though unkind:
Thou losest here, a better where to find.
KING LEAR
Thou hast her, France: let her be thine; for we
Have no such daughter, nor shall ever see
That face of hers again. Therefore be gone
Without our grace, our love, our benison.
Come, noble Burgundy.
In this passage, King Lear is seen telling the men supposed to be marrying Cordelia, his daughter, that he has disowned her and has no love for her. Cordelia stands by her words spoken when her father asked how much she loved him and why she should get a part of the land which only aggravates the king even more. Cordelia explains that she prefers being someone who tells the truth than someone who lies for her own benefit. She claims to love King Lear but that she needs to be truthful to him and herself even though that it has lost her his “liking”. Burgundy, one of the men supposed to marry her, immediately rejects her when he learns the king will give him nothing if he marries her while France, the other gentleman, is not affected by that decision and thinks of Cordelia as even more valuable as a wife.
(it didnt let me post all of it)
DeleteThis passage shows a glimpse of what the play is like majority of the time. Most characters are struggling somehow to gain wealth and power while the only one who seemed to refuse all this was Cordelia, and thats is why she stands out as a character. Her brutal honesty is a wake up call to the reader so we can see how much the characters are consumed by the concept of money (gold) in this play. They are seeking to have the larger amount of state and power. When Cordelia speaks truthfully from her heart, she makes her sisters look like greedy and ungrateful daughters who only think of themselves. The characters from the play might not be aware, but the reader is, causing some sense of irony in the play. Shakespeare plays even more with irony when he makes Cordelia, the daughter that the king cast away with such cruelty, be the person to help out King Lear in his moment of need, while being betrayed by the other daughters who wanted the wealth and power to themselves. The play ends up in tragedy mostly because almost everyone in it was blinded by greed wanting what they could not have.The clash between the motifs of wealth and honesty are important because provides the play with reasons for its tragedies; it provides a good and evil kind of concept that is present in most Shakespearean. It creates a dynamic play that the audience can relate to and understand because they are very simple concepts like the concept of right or wrong and how they can be misinterpreted and interacted with. Cordelia is the only daughter who truly cared about the king, and if his ego was not so big and he didn’t cared about land and wealth so much, he would have seen that Cordelia’s principles were his best interest. The passage ends with the king telling France to take Cordelia away without his grace and love.
Cody Eaton Motifs:stars/planets and conception
ReplyDeleteThis is the excellent foppery of the world, that,
when we are sick in fortune,--often the surfeit
of our own behavior,--we make guilty of our
disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars: as
if we were villains by necessity; fools by
heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves, and
treachers, by spherical predominance; drunkards,
liars, and adulterers, by an enforced obedience of
planetary influence; and all that we are evil in,
by a divine thrusting on: an admirable evasion
of whoremaster man, to lay his goatish
disposition to the charge of a star! My
father compounded with my mother under the
dragon's tail; and my nativity was under Ursa
major; so that it follows, I am rough and
lecherous. Tut, I should have been that I am,
had the maidenliest star in the firmament
twinkled on my bastardizing.
(1.2.132)
Edmund may be deceitful, but he speaks openly concerning the drama in the kingdom. Provoked by the preceding passage in which Gloucester reckons that “These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend
no good to us,” Edmund denounces the projection of manly errors upon the powers of nature. He recognizes that our fortune is all too often the result of our own behavior, and highlights our inability to cope with that reality by employing a series of overstated expressions of authority: “...drunkards, liars, and adulterers, by an enforced obedience of planetary influence.” He maintains his transparency in his application of such views to his own being, noting that he would be the same lecherous person he is whether he was conceived under Ursa major or the “maidenliest star in the firmament.” The motif of stars/planets provide those characters in denial with a scapegoat for their situations, or an explanation for unfortunate events. The characters in the play can quite fairly be grouped upon this belief: those who acknowledge wrongdoing and those that do not wish to see their flaws. Kent, Edmund, Cordelia, and the Fool all fall in the former while King Lear, Gloucester, and Oswald fall in the latter. I expect this conflict of accurate and blurred life views will continue to influence the plot, as those who deem themselves the creators of their own destiny will take action against those oblivious to it. The motif is brought in to the play quite explicitly by Gloucester, but once mentioned in Edmund’s passage it is dealt with as a complex metaphor for human behavior.
The second motif I observed was conception, made rather awkwardly noticeable around Edmund’s presence. It addresses the issue of status quo in the era, as one’s making spoke much more loudly than one’s merit, as evidenced by Edmund’s second-class treatment. The explicit mention of conception by Gloucester, and his address of lust in the process: “there was good sport at his making” shows that the denotation is really quite superficial, but necessary nonetheless. Gloucester makes a point of his son’s acceptance in 1.1.10: “I have so often blushed to acknowledge him, that now I am brazed to it.” This acknowledgement of superficiality is echoed by Edmund himself when he points out that his conception is independent of his character.
Kate Parisi
ReplyDelete“Arrogance” and “directing blame”
(1.2.132)
Edmund
This is the excellent foppery of the world, that,
when we are sick in fortune,—often the surfeit
of our own behavior,—we make guilty of our
disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars: as
if we were villains by necessity; fools by
heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves, and
treachers by spherical predominance; drunkards,
liars, and adulterers by an enforced obedience of
planetary influence; and all that we are evil in,
by a divine thrusting-on: an admirable evasion
of whoremaster man, to lay his goatish
disposition to the charge of a star!
My father compounded with my
mother under the dragon’s tail and my nativity was
under Ursa Major, so that it follows I am rough and
lecherous. Fut, I should have been that I am, had the
maidenliest star in the firmament twinkled on my
bastardizing.
Criticizing the actions of Kent’s banishment, Edmund points out the ignorance of the world and how we deal with our emotions and actions, that is, instead of facing them head on, we turn and place blame elsewhere. He then uses his bastard state as an example-- how is it that the stars and the moon are to blame for his mother and father birthing an illegitimate child, when it was their own act of conception that truly gave him life. When Lear banishes Kent for speaking the truth, Edmund is dumbfounded by the king’s inability to take responsibility for his own action of overreacting with Cordelia, and instead lashes out on Kent. Edmund sees the king’s arrogance and inability to take responsibility as promotion to rid his conscious by putting the blame elsewhere. Arrogance seems to appear in the sisters as well, as they are under the impression that they are outsmarting the king for his land and riches, which again goes hand in hand with blame as they blame their sister Cordelia for dishonoring their father when in reality, she’s probably the only one with a genuine love for him, and not his fortune, which is ironically not like the elder sisters who claim to love him so dearly. Arrogance seems to spike this godly “man of steel” attitude in the characters, and in compensation for their choices, they direct the blame elsewhere to rid themselves of guilt.
ReplyDeleteCORDELIA
Nothing, my lord.
KING LEAR
Nothing!
CORDELIA
Nothing.
KING LEAR
Nothing will come of nothing: speak again.
CORDELIA
Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave
My heart into my mouth: I love your majesty
According to my bond; nor more nor less.
KING LEAR
How, how, Cordelia! mend your speech a little,
Lest it may mar your fortunes.
CORDELIA
Good my lord,
You have begot me, bred me, loved me: I
Return those duties back as are right fit,
Obey you, love you, and most honour you.
Why have my sisters husbands, if they say
They love you all? Haply, when I shall wed,
That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry
Half my love with him, half my care and duty:
Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters,
To love my father all.
KING LEAR
But goes thy heart with this?
CORDELIA
Ay, good my lord.
KING LEAR
So young, and so untender?
CORDELIA
So young, my lord, and true.
KING LEAR
Let it be so; thy truth, then, be thy dower:
For, by the sacred radiance of the sun,
The mysteries of Hecate, and the night;
By all the operation of the orbs
From whom we do exist, and cease to be;
Here I disclaim all my paternal care,
Propinquity and property of blood,
And as a stranger to my heart and me
Hold thee, from this, for ever. The barbarous Scythian,
Or he that makes his generation messes
To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom
Be as well neighbour'd, pitied, and relieved,
As thou my sometime daughter.
Throughout this scene Lear demonstrates the two motifs madness and cruelty very well. In this scene Lear is shaming his daughter Cordelia after she refuses to proclaim her love for him. Lear takes this as an insult and strips her of her inheritance and her dowry, planning to leave her without a groom. In this scene there are mixed versions of the same motif. King Lear is very cruel to his daughter by stripping her of her titles and abandoning her but he also considers Cordelia cruel because he believes she doesn’t love him. This is caused by the madness that is enveloping Lear’s mind throughout the play. The madness in his words are what harbor the cruelty his bestows on his youngest child. The use of these motifs show just how mad King Lear is. After Cordelia has spoken only a few lines he spirals into a tangent of madness cursing her out because of her actions. The motifs are important because they show how far Lear’s patience goes, which is not that far because he snaps right away at Cordelia.
Ella Bonfield
ReplyDeleteMotifs: Parent vs. Child Relationship, Fools
GONERIL
Put on what weary negligence you please,
You and your fellow servants. I’ll have it come to question.
If he distaste it, let him to our sister,
Whose mind and mine I know in that are one,
Not to be overruled. Idle old man
That still would manage those authorities
That he hath given away! Now by my life,
Old fools are babes again and must be used
With checks as flatteries, when they are seen abused.
Remember what I have said.
I choose this passage because I thought it dealt uniquely with the parent-child relationship as well as the “fools” motif. Goneril is quite aware of her father’s deteriorating mental state and it comes up here in her conversation with Oswald. What I thought particularly interesting was what seems to be a reversal of parenting roles; Goneril is saying that her father is like a misguided baby. The fool motif is very present in this act and it seems to be a running theme so far to point out that the real fool is King Lear. Goneril, Kent, and the Fool himself have all made pointed statements about the King and his lack of reasoning behind his actions throughout the play so far and she highlights it in this passage. Cordelia we know was the first to take no part in her father’s developing madness, but here seems to be Goneril’s turning point where she neither can put up with his behavior. Another recurring event that seems to follow characters who, so to speak, put there foot down have an opposite effect on Lear and further push him towards complete madness, as we have seen with Cordelia, Kent, and finally directly after this passage, with Goneril.
Michael Munroe
ReplyDeleteMotifs: Foolishness and giving away possessions
(1.4.119)
FOOL
Mark it, nuncle:
Have more than thou showest,
Speak less than thou knowest,
Lend less than thou owest,
Ride more than thou goest,
Learn more than thou trowest,
Set less than thou throwest;
Leave thy drink and thy whore
And keep in-a-door,
And thou shalt have more
Than two tens to a score.
KENT
This is nothing, Fool.
FOOL
Then ‘tis like the breath of an unfee’d lawyer. You gave me nothing for ‘t. -Can you make no use of nothing, nuncle?
LEAR
Why no, boy. Nothing can be made out of nothing.
FOOL [to KENT]
Prithee tell him, so much the rent of his land comes to. He will not believe a Fool.
LEAR
A bitter fool.
FOOL
Dost thou know the difference, my boy, between a
bitter fool and a sweet fool?
KING LEAR
No, lad; teach me.
FOOL
That lord that counsell'd thee
To give away thy land,
Come place him here by me,
Do thou for him stand:
The sweet and bitter fool
Will presently appear;
The one in motley here,
The other found out there.
KING LEAR
Dost thou call me fool, boy?
FOOL
All thy other titles thou hast given away; that
thou wast born with.
The Fool in all his magnificent trickery and King Lear with all of his stupidity meet here. The Fool has some valuable advice for the King with his recent choices of who will receive his land, in regards to his three daughters. He informs him that the mere thought of the idea is preposterous, and whoever thought of it should be singled out as a fool himself. Because, you must keep a little of what you have to yourself or you will truly have nothing. If you reveal everything you know, you know only what others know, “Speak less than thou knowest”. Throughout King Lear the character himself and other characters are seen to be foolish; from the daughter’s responses to their father, or Lear’s decision to give away his land. Then, there is the process of “giving away”: Lear’s daughters to love, Lear’s land, and the Fool’s quote within line 120-129 (above). Giving away your possessions is connected directly to foolishness throughout the play, to them it appears that holding on to what you have for as long as possible is very important.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteContinued:
DeleteThe relationship between King Lear and his daughter in this passage is very interesting. This King is able to end his relationship with his daughter, Cordelia, after she refuses to explain to him how much she loves him like her sisters did. Cordelia is not willing to lie about the amount she loves him to gain land in the kingdom, however, her father resents her greatly for this fact. While Goneril and Regan were able ot play their father for land and power, Cordelia was not able to play her father, which shows that she has a certain amount of respect for him. In addition, Cordelia refers to her father as, “my lord” and “Majesty”, which shows that she respects the authority that he has, even if he is not about to understand that. The relationship between parent and child appears later in the novel. In act one scene three, it is apparent that Lear does not respect his daughter. While he is staying with Goneril, she says, “By day and night he wrongs me. Every hour/He flashes into one gross crime or other/That sets us all at odds”(1.3.3-5).
Motifs: Apperance versus reality and Parent and children relationships
ReplyDeleteLear....
what can you say to draw
A third more opulent than your sisters? Speak.
Cordelia. Nothing, my lord.
Lear. Nothing?90
Cordelia. Nothing.
Lear. Nothing can come of nothing. Speak again.
Cordelia. Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave
My heart into my mouth. I love your Majesty
According to my bond; no more nor less.95
Lear. How, how, Cordelia? Mend your speech a little,
Lest it may mar your fortunes.
Cordelia. Good my lord,
You have begot me, bred me, lov'd me; I
Return those duties back as are right fit, 100
Obey you, love you, and most honour you.
Why have my sisters husbands, if they say
They love you all? Haply, when I shall wed,
That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry
Half my love with him, half my care and duty. 105
Sure I shall never marry like my sisters,
To love my father all.
Lear. But goes thy heart with this?
Cordelia. Ay, good my lord.
Lear. So young, and so untender?110
Cordelia. So young, my lord, and true.
Lear. Let it be so! thy truth then be thy dower!
For, by the sacred radiance of the sun,
The mysteries of Hecate and the night;
By all the operation of the orbs 115
From whom we do exist and cease to be;
Here I disclaim all my paternal care,
Propinquity and property of blood,
And as a stranger to my heart and me
Hold thee from this for ever. The barbarous Scythian, 120
Or he that makes his generation messes
To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom
Be as well neighbour'd, pitied, and reliev'd,
As thou my sometime daughter.
This passage is one of the more important passages in the first act of the play, and it takes place just after King Lear announced that he will be dividing up his kingdom to his daughters based on which of his daughters love him the most. The King believes that the “largest bounty,”(1.1.53) should go to the most deserving. To him, that will be the daughter who claims to love him the most. Goneril speaks first, and she says that she loves her father, “Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty,/Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare,”(1.1.56-57). She claims she loves him more than anything, but the goal of her saying this is so she will be awarded the largest portion of the kingdom. Regan, the middle daughter, follows her sister with a similar speech. When it is Cordelia’s turn however, she refuses to say her love for land and wealth.
Appearance versus reality is a motif that is present in this passage, and throughout the play. As the King decides that all of the land in the kingdom will be based on how much his daughters say that they love him. When Goneril and Regan speak, they say that they live their father insurmountable amounts, more than any item or riches. While these two do love their father, the amount of love they have for him was exaggerated so they could accumulate land and power. Cordelia, the youngest daughter of the three, answered differently. At first she responded, “nothing, my lord” (1.1.89). She then clarified by stating, “I love your Majesty/According to my bond; no more nor less,”(1.1.95-96). In reality, Cordelia loves her father as much as expected of her, but unlike her sisters, she does not appear to love him more for power. The motif of appearance versus reality appears again in act one, when Kent, returns to talk to King Lear after he has been banished for supporting Cordelia for speaking the truth. Kent was able to talk to the King afterwards because he disguised himself.
The relationship between King Lear and his daughter in this passage is very interesting. This King is able to end his relationship with his daughter, Cordelia, after she refuses to explain to him how much she loves him like her sisters did. Cordelia is not willing to lie about the amount she loves him to gain land in the kingdom, however, her father resents her greatly for this fact. While Goneril and Regan were able ot play their father for land and power, Cordelia was not able to play her father, which shows that she has a certain amount of respect for him. In addition, Cordelia refers to her father as, “my lord” and “Majesty”, which shows that she respects the authority that he has, even if he is not about to understand that. The relationship between parent and child appears later in the novel. In act one scene three, it is apparent that Lear does not respect his daughter. While he is staying with Goneril, she says, “By day and night he wrongs me. Every hour/He flashes into one gross crime or other/That sets us all at odds”(1.3.3-5).
DeleteMotifs: Planet stars and fates, rank and status, sex and lust
ReplyDeleteEDMUND
This is the excellent foppery of the world, that,
when we are sick in fortune,--often the surfeit
of our own behavior,--we make guilty of our
disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars: as
if we were villains by necessity; fools by
heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves, and
treachers, by spherical predominance; drunkards,
liars, and adulterers, by an enforced obedience of
planetary influence; and all that we are evil in,
by a divine thrusting on: an admirable evasion
of whoremaster man, to lay his goatish
disposition to the charge of a star! My
father compounded with my mother under the
dragon's tail; and my nativity was under Ursa
major; so that it follows, I am rough and
lecherous. Tut, I should have been that I am,
had the maidenliest star in the firmament
twinkled on my bastardizing. Edgar--(1.2.140)
Edmund feels that he is constantly being discriminated against for being a bastard child. He feels that it is unfair that he is treated as lesser than his legitimate brother, because of the “spherical predominance” in that the moment his father had an affair with his mother. He also feels that his “lecherous” personality was already predestined because, he was conceived when his father could no longer hold back his sexual temptations, so he had an affair. He is also feels that everyone is already predetermined to fit a certain role be it a “fool”, a “knave”, or an “adulterer”, leaving very little room for someone to advance in society, or move up in rank. There seems to be no justice in that predestination, because his father’s actions decided his future for him, based on his actions. In the same manner Lear’s one act of disowning Cordelia in Act 1 Scene 1, left her with no choice but to marry Burgundy. King Lear is a product of his society, for his need to rank his daughters to discover who loves him best, in Act 1 Scene 1. However, King Lear is angered when Cordelia tells him she would be willing to give up marriage, meaning sex, in order to love him with all her heart. In terms of sexuality, so far Cordelia is a foil for Edmund.
Meghan Orlando
ReplyDeleteMotifs: Madness, Betrayal
Passage: Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 1-23
EDMUND
Thou, nature, art my goddess; to thy law
My services are bound. Wherefore should I
Stand in the plague of custom, and permit
The curiosity of nations to deprive me,
For that I am some twelve or fourteen moon-shines
Lag of a brother? Why bastard? wherefore base?
When my dimensions are as well compact,
My mind as generous, and my shape as true,
As honest madam's issue? Why brand they us
With base? with baseness? bastardy? base, base?
Who, in the lusty stealth of nature, take
More composition and fierce quality
Than doth, within a dull, stale, tired bed,
Go to the creating a whole tribe of fops,
Got 'tween asleep and wake? Well, then,
Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land:
Our father's love is to the bastard Edmund
As to the legitimate: fine word,--legitimate!
Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed,
And my invention thrive, Edmund the base
Shall top the legitimate. I grow; I prosper:
Now, gods, stand up for bastards!
In this soliloquy, Edmund puts on an elaborate scheme to condemn his brother Edgar, whom he is jealous of. Edmund goes through a whole lot to make sure his scheme pulls through, and Gloucester believes that Edgar is out to murder him to make his fortune come sooner, since he is the inheritor of his father’s belongings. The things Edmund goes through include forging a letter from his brother, pretending to hide the letter from his father (Gloucester), and telling Edgar to carry around a sword in order for him to seem like he was plotting to kill his father after all. The way that this all pans out is truly amazing, every part of Edmund’s scheme goes exactly as he plans it to. The themes of madness and betrayal are easily seen throughout the book, but especially in this scene. On one hand, Edmund seems mad for framing his brother, but on the other hand, how can he be mad when he was treated with less respect than his brother just because he is a bastard child? The motif of betrayal is also prevalent in King Lear. Edmund is full out betraying his brother and his father by not telling the truth and framing Edgar. Though these motifs are easy to locate in this scene, the entire play can be connected to the motifs of madness and betrayal. King Lear betrayed Cordelia, the rightful receiver of the Kingdom, because he let his pride and inflated ego get in the way of what should have been easy to see. It can be argued that Goneril and Regan are mad, because they go through so much to speed up how fast they receive their shares of the kingdom.
Matthew Ciaramitaro:
ReplyDeleteMotifs: blindness, betrayal, nakedness and clothing, parent-child relationships
passage:
“Kent: Your son and daughter found this trespass worth the shame which here it suffers.
Fool:Winter’s not gone yet if the wild geese fly that way.
Fathers that wear rags
Do make their children blind,
But fathers that bear bags
Shall see their children kind.
Fortune, that arrant whore,
Ne’er turns the key to th’ poor.
But, for all this, thou shalt have as many dolors for thy daughters as thou canst tell in a year.” (2.4.50-61)
Analysis: After King Lear banished Kent from the kingdom, Kent rejoins as a servant to His Majesty, under a guise. After these two betrayals, Goneril puts Kent in the stocks, betraying her father. King Lear very much exploits betrayal and trust to show the extent that lies can complicate, from Edmund the bastard trying to have his brother disposed of through lies of treachery, to the deceit of one’s loved ones. The fool declares that the fathers that are barely clothed, those that are not masked in lies and deceit, as little covers them, make their children blind. Yet, it is those that are fully masked that blind their children, from the truth. King Lear seems blind of the actions of his own children and he has the finest clothing money can buy. This is steaming, teeming, riddled, and bombarded with irony. The motifs are very much intertwined. Much of the betrayal is within the parent-child relationships, the nakedness is a metaphor for deceit, and blindness is the failure to see the deceit, such as Edgar and Edgar’s father cannot see Edmund’s deceit, or King Lear cannot see through Kent’s disguise. The motifs and the complex relationship they have to each other reveal the ever-growing complexities of relationships built on lies, and the tragic fall they are destined to take. Though this is yet to have happened in the play, it seems based on these motifs that something must collapse. Since madness is also a motif, this collapse could be seen through descent to madness, which is likely going to affect King Leer, but seems to have begun in Edmund since his conception. A mad bastard he is, and a liar, and a betrayer. As his family relations deteriorate, and the mind of King Leer deteriorates, it seems that lies lead to nothingness.
Lydia Christopher. Family. Betrayal.
ReplyDeleteLEAR
So young and so untender?
CORDELIA
So young, my lord, and true.
LEAR
Let it be so. Thy truth then be thy dower.
For by the sacred radiance of the sun,
The mysteries of Hecate and the night,
By all the operation of the orbs
From whom we do exist and cease to be—
Here I disclaim all my paternal care,
Propinquity, and property of blood,
And as a stranger to my heart and me
Hold thee from this for ever. The barbarous Scythian,
Or he that makes his generation messes
To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom
Be as well neighbored, pitied, and relieved
As thou my sometime daughter.
(1.1.107-122)
In this conversation between King Lear and his daughter Cordelia, she told him that she loves him as a father and nothing more, which didn’t make King Lear very happy. She backed up her statement saying that she’s just telling the truth instead of lying to him but in return, he disowns her. He names her a stranger. She will be as close to his heart as foreign savages. She means nothing to him.
The motifs are prominent in this little passage. They are talking about the love between their family and when Cordelia tells him how she feels, she’s betrayed. She thought she was doing the right thing by not lying like her sisters and just speaking about how she felt but in return it was turned around and used against her.
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