A2 Lit Lear and Themes

A2 ENGLISH LITERATURE

POETRY AND DRAMA PRE 1800

KING LEAR – SOME THEMES

A note on themes

Themes are recurring ideas or abstract concepts that are presented through a work of literature. Sometimes a writer will consciously engage with a theme that will contain a message; this maybe a moral position. Sometimes a theme may develop and evolve through a work.

At other times a writer may just want to present an idea and explore and examine this idea in detail. For example in the play Othello Shakespeare wants to present us in close detail the concept of jealousy. This concept is defined and presented to us.

Sometimes we reflect on a work of literature and notice a pattern or an idea that seems to be unintended by a writer and yet it is an idea that is glaringly obvious to us. Was Shakespeare aware of the role of women in his play Othello? Today it feels like a very modern key theme but was Shakespeare using women only as a plot device?

So now to King Lear. What follows is a list of key topics and one or two basic responses from me.

Nothing –  is a concept we attach to Lear. It follows him like a shadow or a ghost in every scene we see him in. We are constantly challenged by the image of the man he was - king with the man he has become – begger.  We are confronted by his expectations as a father and a king with the reality of his isolation and destitution. Lear - divinely appointed, the natural king - rejects his responsibilities, his role, his identity. What becomes of a king who is no longer a king? What is a  man who has rejected the only role he has? He has become nothing, nameless, titleless, daughterless with just the fool chasing Lear into the darkness. 

Sight and Blindness – this is a theme Shakespeare returns to again and again in his drama. It forms an important part of the play Othello. A man who sees but is manipulated to interpret what he sees as something completely different.

In King Lear the theme of blindness and sight focuses on the main characters of the main and sub plots – Lear and Gloucester. Their physical and moral sight has become impaired partly by old age and partly by manipulation. Their inability to see things physically and morally accurately eventually leads to their deaths.

Madness – is a theme Shakespeare repeats in his drama. In Hamlet we are presented with two kinds of madness. Firstly the false madness of Prince Hamlet used as a disguise to mask the terrible secret and commission he has been given by his dead father. The second madness is that of Ophelia. Driven to madness by the death of her father and the rejection of the man she loves – Prince Hamlet. This is a genuine madness.

In Lear we are presented with the different stages of madness experienced by Lear as he descends from kingship in to destitution.

Nature – is used in a number of ways in the play. Human nature is presented in conflicting ways. Edmund, Gonerill and Regan are presented as motivated by their own human nature, ambitious, instinctive, powerful, self centred and cruel. In contrast to this we are also presented with a benign nature that is loving, virtuous, loyal and self sacrificing. This is presented by the characters of Cordelia, Edgar, Kent and Albany. There is also the presentation of the natural elements – the force of nature presented by the heath. And there is the idea firmly embedded in the play of the natural order of the universe.

Justice – the quality of being fair and reasonable - consider the natural justice of the universe restored by the work of Edgar, Cordelia, Kent and Albany. Consider also the abuses of the rule of law represented by Kent’s punishment and the blinding of Gloucester. Justice is seen in Lear’s mock court scene in the hovel with Poor Tom. Consider the world ruled by Edmund, Gonerill, Regan and Cornwall. This is a world dominated by selfish ambition and cruelty. There is little room for justice in this world.

Other concepts and ideas you may want to follow up on are the concepts of Suffering, The gods and Animals.