Themes

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  • Created by: Anj_
  • Created on: 05-06-14 14:24
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  • Themes
    • Nothingness
      • Cordelia's "nothing, my Lord"
        • Refusal to participate in love trial starts off chain of events
          • Aristotle
      • Edmund's "nothing, my Lord"
        • Pretends his fake letter is "nothing" knowing Gloucester will demand to see it - bait
          • "Evil has been released into the atmosphere" Frank Kermode
          • "Bastards are evil in renaissance drama" Susan Bruce
      • Gloucester reduced to nothing causes him to understand
      • "Edgar I nothing am"
      • Cordelia and Kent are exiled, implying they mean nothing to Lear but remain loyal (same with Gloucester/Edgar)
      • Nothing can save all the characters
    • Sight/Blindness
      • Metaphor to see potential consequences before taking actions
        • "see better Lear"
      • Gloucester's blindness is a revelation
        • "I stumbled when i saw"
          • "Gloucester has to undergo intense suffering before he can identify with the deprived" Jonathan Dollimore
      • Fathers
        • G = physical blindness mirrors L= spiritual blindness - blind to disloyal children
        • Lear is reunited with Cordelia and able to see but it is too late - previous blindness set of events
      • Kent, Fool, Cordelia and Edgar allow Lear to see
      • Lear is a candle (light/life of kingdom) once he burns, everyone associated with him must too
        • "out went the candle and we were left darkling"
      • Lear refuses to cry
        • Eyes fail him as he cries on Cordelia's return and her death
          • "howl, howl, howl"
        • "best object"
          • Sees Cordelia's value

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