King Lear Characterisation

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  • King Lear
    • His behaviour and actions
      • Lear cuts rashly Cordelia off from her inheritance and dismisses his loyal follower as he will not tolerate disobedience
      • (Laying his hand on his sword) These stage directions highlight Learsimps–iveactionsashethreatensKents impulsive actions as he threatens Kents life
    • What he says about himself
      • "Since thou has sought to make us break our vow" - He is determined not to go back on his word
      • "Which we durst never yet, and with strained pride" - Lear is stubborn and prefers to disregard the consequence of his actions
    • What others say about him
      • "Tis the infirmity of his age; yet he hath ever but slenderly known himself" - Goneril and Regan
      • "What wouldst thou do, old man?" - Kent is aware that Lear is nothing but an old man without his titles and duties
      • "Ill tell thee thou dost evil"
    • The nature of his language
      • In A1S1, Lear`s use of the royal 'we' shows the formal nature of his words, expressed in blank verse and the fact that he readily gives commands tells the reader a great deal about his status and authority.
      • He speaks as a king would and the content of his speeches reveals that he expects reverence and obedience from all those present
      • The language used by Lear is aggressive at times as he is characterised to have a short temper, especially when his pride as a King is tested 'Come not between the dragon and his wrath' 'Kent on thy life no more' 'Out of my sight!'
    • The Love Test
      • The purpose of the Love Test is to satisfy Lear`s own vanity and ego as the division of the kingdom has already been decided
        • "Which of you shall we say doth love us most?" - vain?pompous? shallow? self-centred?
      • Both Goneril and Regan compliment King Lear with highly poetic language to suit their own purpose- their words are superficial and hyperbolic. The rich poetry cloaks their real thoughts
      • In the Love Test, Cordelia who is Lear's youngest and favourite daughter who`s plain speech contrasts the language of her sisters. Lear is blind to the fakeness of the words of Goneril and Regan, which Cordelia sees
    • Self discovery
      • Lear is hasty and selfish, he continually desires for others to declare their affection for him but shows little sign of deserving it.
      • Other people, like his daughters, know him better than he knows himself. He is only able to lean more about himself by learning more about the human conditions and the effects of power and authority on the lives of others
        • Through the course of the play he realises that there is far more to kingship than command, that power corrupts and the responsibility for one's subjects is not optional
      • Lear eventually comes through his exposure to suffering. He realises that only by suffering will he find what he requires to develop
    • Hero
      • The loyalty and love which Cordelia, Kent, The Fool and Glouchester clearly have for Lear cannot be ignored and serves to establish him as a character worth of our respect (element of a tragic hero)
      • Lear`s tragic flaw (hamartia) is his pride. This is demonstrated through The Love Test which has reserved the best portion of land for the daughter who flatters him the msot
      • The recognition of his flaws and of what truly matters in life confirms Lear is a tragic hero
        • "A man cannot become a hero until he sees the root of his own downfall" - Aristotle
      • Learsheartacheasheholdsalife?ssCor?ia?hisarmsissincere,thesuffer?gandmad?ssheenduresevokesasenseofsympathy(pathos)omtheaudience.Theaudiencecanexperiencecatharsisthroughwit?ssingLears heartache as he holds a lifeless Cordelia in his arms is sincere, the suffering and madness he endures evokes a sense of sympathy (pathos) from the audience. The audience can experience catharsis through witnessing Lears suffering
      • Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel presented the view that a tragic hero is one whose spirit is discordant. The tragic conflict arises due to the hero`s singular devotion to an ethical principle, stubbornly refusing to engage with opposing views
        • Lear`s recognition of his error draws pity from the audience. His acceptance of his wrong doing, attempts to correct his flaws in order to regain a moral balance; his self judgement and readiness to be punished are features of a Hegelian tragic hero
      • According to Bradley the hero is in conflict with himself - conflicts with other characters are secondary to his individual emotional, inner conflict. The hero must have important social status so that the effects of his downfall can be seen to have wide-reaching consequeces. The tragic hero must die and their suffering are caused by human action (rather than supernatural forces
    • Status
      • King Lear`s status is reflected in his use of language "we" which is royal and formal in nature
      • The ceremony upon Lear`s entrance of 'horns within' remind us of his status. This pomp announcing of his arrival is only given to a King
      • The play opens with the introduction of King Lear who is growing old and has decided to abdicate his land and responsibility to his daughters. However he wishes to retain his title as King and a retinue of one hundred knights. His status is more important to him than his duty
    • Relationships
      • Kent
        • From the beginning of the play we can see that Kent is extremely loyal to Lear. The relationship breaksdown when Lear threatens Kent`s life and banishes him after he publicaly defies him by bravely defending Cordelia
          • Kent calls Lear: 'my liege' 'Royal Lear' 'my father' 'my master' 'my great patron' 'my King' - his respect for Lear is clear and exceeds that of a servant - this is friendship
      • Goneril and Regan
        • The relationship between Lear and his two older daughters, Goneril and Regan, is fractured, especially with Goneril. He is blind to their artificial words in the Love Test as he is too self centred and is only concerned with receiving admiration from them.
      • Cordelia
        • Cordelia is described in the beginning as Lear`s favourite 'I loved her most' and this love was returned by Cordelia. She shows her love for her father in an unusual and unexpected way. During the Love Test instead of flattering her father with poetic hyperbolic language like her sisters, Cordelia remains honest 'I love your Majesty according to my bond; nor more nor less' The lack of admiration and flattery used shocks and angers Lear resulting in him rashly disowning his daughter
    • Terminology
      • Pathos - a quality that evokes pity or sadness
      • Catharsis - the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions
      • Hamartia - A fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine. According to Aristotle "A man cannot become a hero until he sees the root of his own downfall"

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