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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
It feels weird to give King Lear less than five stars, but this is not my favorite work of Shakespeare. King Lear is like an Aeschylus play in that it contains all the machinery of a classic tragedy (and obviously is one of the highest order) but somehow isn't fun to read.
Selections:
- "Who is it that can tell me who I am?"
- "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."
- "I have no way and therefore want no eyes
I stumbled when I saw. Full oft 'tis seen
our means secure us, and our mere defects
prove our commodities."
- "Who is it that can tell me who I am?"
- "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."
- "I have no way and therefore want no eyes
I stumbled when I saw. Full oft 'tis seen
our means secure us, and our mere defects
prove our commodities."
the byline for these editions are "the page becomes the stage." King Lear has never been numbered among my favorites; I can never remember the plot; but how tremendously these quirky, disturbing illustrations guided me through the text this time. All the references to sight and blindness, nature and kingship, kept leaping out with great clarity. I also found David Gibson's brief introduction to the play to be very useful and enlightening. I'm really burning to see this as an actual production now.
incidentally OH my goodness how I HATED Regan. I know, Goneril is just as bad, but I really hated Regan.
incidentally OH my goodness how I HATED Regan. I know, Goneril is just as bad, but I really hated Regan.
King Lear is full of deeply flawed characters acting in an evil manner and speaking a beautiful poetic language. The depth of the nihilism in the play approaches surrealism. None of the characters suffering leads to personal growth or redemption. This has been the most tragic of the Shakespearian tragedies I have read.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Off the bat, it was boring. I didn't really get into the story until the fourth act. I had to keep looking up which character was which, their names are crazy in this one. Thinking of Cordelia's death makes me upset. She did not deserve a single bit of all the hate she received from her father or anyone for that matter. She came back to help and horny Edmund just sent her away to be killed by Goneril's orders. Just for Goneril to get all vulnerable and sensitive over a potential marriage and ends up stabbing herself to death??..oh not before she poisons her sister for "stealing her man"???? Ridiculous. Is Kent in love with Lear?? He banished him just for Kent to be like no you can't get rid of me until I serve you for the rest of my life my king. I hated the ego-boost that Edmund received from the Duchess'. I don't think he deserved it. I'm sad for the outcome of Gloucester, I thought it was sweet of him to offer shelter for the men during the storm. I'm still not sure where I stand on the topic of supporting King Lear or not, he did say and do a lot of things but I don't think he deserved to be treated AS BAD as his daughters treated him. Though, maybe they did that because he made it obvious that Cordelia was his favorite daughter. I still cannot believe the Goneril killed herself and her sister OVER A MAN!!! Glad that Edgar got the happy ending he deserved.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It seemed like it took us so long to complete King Lear. It wasn't my favorite and the Edgar/Edmund subplot didn't seem to add much to the story.