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Parent – Children Relationship in William Shakespeare's "King Lear": A Profound Exploration

Introduction: domestic aspect of william shakespeare's "king lear" , the vastness of domestic themes in shakespeare's 'king lear'.

The Dynamics of Filial Relationships in "King Lear"

The dominance of instinct and the tragic consequences in "king lear", cordelia's tender embrace: unveiling the profound parent-daughter relationship in "king lear", post a comment.

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Single Parenting and Family Dynamics Then and Now: King Lear

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Introduction

This unit will combine elements of King Lear's and Gloucester's familial relationships in what we today call a single parent environment, so students can identify with specific issues they confront in their daily lives. We will blend Lear's and Gloucester's familial situations and show how, in our current environment, the many students who live within a single parent household undergo filial conditions that are not much different those in Shakespeare's day depicted in King Lear. The dealings children experience with their parents, among their siblings, and within their extended families will be visited in this unit as we study Lear's and Gloucester's family dynamics and comparing/contrasting students' family situations.

"Oh, no, here it comes! We have to read another Shakespeare play. Why don't these teachers realize that we have absolutely nothing in common with a dude who wrote plays four hundred years ago? Why can't we at least read something more up-to-date and less depressing than this old junk? What is their objective in making us do this stuff over and over every year? It's just not fair that we're punished like this!" This is the general consensus among high school students at Westside High School in Houston, Texas when they are saddled with having to study a Shakespearean work; they think they are being punished by reading something with which they cannot identify. All of the three thousand students attending Westside - or any high school in the state of Texas - are exposed to various works of the bard during their tenure: freshmen romance their way through Romeo and Juliet, sophomores clash with Julius Caesar, prep/grade level seniors muddle through Macbeth, and Advanced Placement seniors are immersed in Hamlet and King Lear. Westside's demographic includes approximately 30% African American, 30% Caucasian, 30% Hispanic, and 10% Asian/Pacific Islander/Middle Eastern students. The school's classes consist of full inclusion for Special Education and 504-designated students; lessons and assessments for these students must have appropriate modifications or accommodations. Although this unit will be directed predominantly toward Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition students, it can certainly be adapted to address students in regular grade level classes, including those who are classified as 504 or Special Education, with appropriate modifications.

Students will receive a brief refresher course on the background of William Shakespeare and Elizabethan theater by watching a film lecture by Professor Eliot Engel (5). While viewing the film, students will complete a film quiz (Assignment 1), which we will discuss at the conclusion of the film lecture. This will give them a good foundation to understand the workings of the Elizabethan theater, Shakespeare's group of actors, and his theater, The Globe. They will review information about Queen Elizabeth, the English Renaissance, and the Queen's love and support of the theater. Students will be able to visualize the way the play would have been presented in Shakespeare's time on the small jutting stage of The Globe and appreciate the need for audience members to possess a great imagination to see and enjoy a performance in an outdoor theater in the middle of the afternoon in Renaissance England that includes night scenes and indoor and outdoor scenes, without the benefit of elaborate sets and costumes (3). To truly appreciate these theatrical masterpieces the audience's attention had to be focused on the characters and their dialogue.

Shakespeare was not always appreciated as the great dramatist we know and love today by all members of his society. A rival of his, Robert Greene, was an actor who was compared to Shakespeare's character of Falstaff and a "pamphleteer" who warned his supporters and readers against Shakespeare as a "puppet" when he wrote and circulated the following in one of his pamphlets:

"There is an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his tiger's heart wrapped in a player's hide supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you, and being an absolute Johannes-factotum ["jack-of-all-trades, master of none"] is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country."(2)

An understanding of the background of Elizabethan English society and theater-going behavior is crucial for students so that they recognize the importance of theater productions to the lives of even the poorest Renaissance Englishmen. Stage productions intimately related to the daily lives of the audience. The most ignorant member of the audience was able to understand what the action on the stage meant and could identify with and enjoy what modern audiences consider to be Shakespeare's most difficult works, like King Lear. Shakespeare's most tragic material, like Lear, contains comic moments not immediately grasped by today's audiences, but clearly understood by the poorest Englishmen, like the groundlings, as well as the more well-to-do members of the audience. Shakespeare could not write works to be enjoyed only by the Queen, her Court, and other members of the aristocracy, since, to make money to support himself, his theatrical troupe, and his theater, he had to attract lower members of society who would pay to see his work performed. (8)

Literary and dramatic devices will be discussed and identified throughout the play; for example (3):

Blank Verse Shakespeare used iambic pentameter verse paragraphs, which give the illusion of speech; this sometimes includes shared lines within the dialogue. Feminine endings Some lines include an extra unstressed syllable at the end of a line that may suggest indecisiveness or uncertainty. Stychomythia The Elizabethans borrowed this technique from the Roman dramatist Seneca; it is the exchange of single or paired lines in which the words of one speaker are picked up and tossed back by another, giving the effect of a duel with words. Imagery There is a pattern of storm images and sight images, which are significant in Lear. Puns/Metaphors/Similes Puns, metaphors and similes involve bringing remote areas of relationships, whether paternal or siblings, into focus and give them meaning. Conflict External conflict refers to a struggle between a character and an outside force such as nature or another character. Internal conflict is a mental conflict occurring within the character. Malapropism A humorous confusion of words that sound vaguely similar; from Mrs. Malaprop, a character in Sheridan' drama, "The Rivals", who makes amusing blunders in her use of words. Dramatic Irony A plot device in which the audience's knowledge of events or characters surpasses that of the characters onstage. The words and actions of the characters take on a different meaning for the audience or reader than they have for the play's characters. This may occur when a character reacts in an inappropriate or foolish way or when a character lacks self-awareness and acts under false assumptions. Allusions Various allusions refer to the Bible, classical mythology, English history, and events in Shakespeare's time. Hyperbole Gross exaggerations are used for effect. Foreshadowing Stop periodically during the close reading to identify events that have been foretold earlier in the story. For example, what did the sight imagery in the first scene of the first act foreshadow? Apostrophe Lear uses a figure of speech when he addresses the fool and suddenly breaks off and addresses (in the second person) a person who is not there. In Act I, Scene ii Edmund invokes "Nature" to justify his actions in deceiving his father.

We will identify these and other devices as we go through the play; students will be expected to define these terms connotatively, quote examples of these elements from the play, and cite how they are significant to the meaning of a character's traits and performance. As various literary, dramatic, and poetic devices are introduced, students will be held accountable for finding examples of literary/dramatic devices and explaining their significance within the text as we go through the play's characters and themes. They will also find examples of these devices as they occur in their daily lives, in their own homes, among their own families.

Little do today's high school students realize that the issues with which they are faced - single parent families, sibling rivalry, conflicts, and betrayals within their family units - are also problems confronted by families during the Elizabethan period, in which Shakespeare lived and wrote his plays. King Lear, who is a single father raising three daughters, and his cohort, Gloucester, who is likewise a single father with two sons - one of whom is illegitimate - suffer all the trials and tribulations of parent-child relationships that students wade through with their parents and siblings today. Likewise, the siblings in these two families bicker, love, laugh, and suffer through the gamut of emotions today's teenagers go through within their family units. (11) Just as students are very familiar with the people who make up their family dynamic, we will study the characters in King Lear in depth, searching for comparable familiarity, to draw parallels and observe contrasts within today's family units.

When Lear asks, "Tell me, my daughters, / Which of you shall we say doth love us most, / That we our largest bounty may extend / Where merit doth most challenge it?", Lear's two oldest daughters, Goneril and Regan, skillfully tell him whatever he wants to hear in order to receive a large share of his kingdom, although their sincerity is dubious at best. However, Lear's youngest and most beloved daughter, Cordelia, believes she should be honest with him in expressing her feelings when she comments, "Unhappy that I am, / I cannot heave my heart into my mouth, / I love your majesty / According to my bond, nor more nor less"; her honesty leads to her downfall within the family. When she states that she "cannot heave my heart into my mouth", she expresses her difficulty in making her inner self visible to her father; she is more concerned with maintaining her integrity than with protecting her father's feelings. (7) Cordelia may be interpreted as being such a na?ve innocent that she really believes her truthfulness will prevail, and she will remain in her father's good graces. However, Lear's response of "nothing can come of nothing" and his disowning of Cordelia sets the tragedy in motion.

As the tragedy unfolds, Goneril's husband, Albany, reaches a new level of awareness about the nature of his wife: "Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile; / Filths savour but themselves, / What have you done? / Tigers, not daughters, what have you performed?" Albany believes that an evil, vile person like Goneril can only perceive wickedness as good, while she accepts virtue as being toxic and distasteful: "See thyself, devil. / Proper deformity shows not in the fiend / So horrid as in woman ... / Howe'er thou art a fiend, / A woman's shape doth shield thee." Goneril involves herself in an affair with Edmund, which adds to her already immoral behavior, which she has plainly demonstrated toward her husband, her father, and her sisters. Regan goes hand in hand with her older sister; Albany calls her a "gilded serpent". She is ruthless and aggressive, and vies for Edmund's affections against her sister. Regan revels in violent and cruel acts, such as the blinding of Gloucester. When Cornwall gouges out one of Gloucester's eyes and stomps on it, Regan comments, "One side will mock another; t'other one too", indicating that his other eye should suffer the same fate. Once both eyes are plucked out, she demands he be "thrust out at the gates" so that he can "smell his was to Dover." She is relentless, and since such evil people dismiss goodness as hypocrisy, Regan never appreciates her virtuous sister, Cordelia, and in fact, she actively dislikes her. Both Goneril and Regan are ultimately recognized for what they are: "they are cultivated ladies of the court on the outside - elegant, well-spoken, and controlled - but inside they are fiends, serpents, dogs. It is not just that their true intentions are hidden; they are actually different kinds of being beneath the silky surface, creatures of another species. Ferocious killers lurk behind the ladylike appearance, occasionally bursting to the surface with fangs flaring." (12) Regan and Goneril are both compared to wild, predatory animals in the play: "It is harder to tell whose fangs are sharper - the lion's or the sisters'."

Cordelia never really stands a chance of being understood by her father when both of her sisters conspire against her. She is the youngest daughter and her father's favorite. However, because she refuses to compromise her integrity and fawn over her father, she is disinherited. She tries to tell her father that when she marries, she will only be able to give him half of her love because the other half is reserved for her husband, but Lear refuses to accept her response. His behavior might have been different if he had a female counterpart to offer her input, but the absence of a mother figure makes Lear's treatment of Cordelia unforgivable because there is no form of nurturing or forgiveness, most often attributed to mother figures, even from her two sisters. He ultimately realizes that Cordelia is his true and faithful daughter. When he reaches the state of being a poor outcast after Goneril and Regan send him away, he better understands the plight he cast upon Cordelia: "Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are, / That bide the pelting of this pitiless night, / How shall you houseless heads and unfed sides, / Your looped and windowed raggedness, defend you / From seasons such as these? O, I have ta'en / Too little care of this! Take physic, pomp, Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel, / That thou mayst shake the superflux to them /And show the heavens more just." Although Cordelia is married and living with the King of France, she was unceremoniously exiled from her home and her father, whom she had loved all her life. She may feel obligated to care for France because he is her husband, but she has suffered the loss of familial love. Lear also experiences this significant loss but comes to have a greater comprehension of the poor and homeless that he previously scorned, thus instilling in him compassion and a broader vision of social justice. In a paradoxical sense, he is a richer man now than when he was the undisputed king of Britain. In this same vein, when she reconciles with her father, Cordelia learns to put on an act for the sake of other people's feelings, rather than valuing her honesty and integrity above all, and she understands that kind words can be better than the truth.

Lear's ultimate madness sobers him, and he reconciles with Cordelia: "Pray, do not mock. / I am a very foolish, fond old man, / Fourscore and upward, and to deal plainly, / I fear I am not in my perfect mind. / Methinks I should know you, and know this man; / Yet I am doubtful, for I am mainly ignorant / What place this is; and all the skill I have / Remembers not these garments; nor I know not / Where I did lodge last night. / Do not laugh at me, / For as I am a man, I think this lady / To be my child, Cordelia." He is no longer the powerful, egotistical, arrogant king but is, quite literally, a rather decrepit old man full of self-doubt, perhaps recovering from a serious mental blackout, which may have been partially brought about by the deception of Goneril and Regan.

Gloucester mirrors Lear's behavior in a way when he mistakenly sides with his illegitimate son, Edmund, over his legitimate child, Edgar, and in the end, he suffers for this decision. Edmund, the bastard son, deceives Gloucester by pretending to have a traitorous letter penned by Edgar. Gloucester, convinced of Edgar's perfidy, tells Edmund, "Find out this villain, Edmund; it shall lose thee nothing." Edgar, who is unjustly rejected by his father, roams around in the guise of a beggar, Poor Tom. Edmund's very first act is to make his father believe that Edgar is about to deceive and betray him. However, Edmund believes that he is possibly evil by nature and not by intention when he remarks, "Some good I mean to do, / Despite of mine own nature." When Gloucester is betrayed by Edmund and struck blind by Regan and Cornwall, his physical blindness allows him to see that "Edgar was abused." Edgar, who is forced to disguise himself as the beggar, Poor Tom, to survive, although he is a virtuous man, makes his father believe that he is saving him from suicide at the white cliffs of Dover, although they are nowhere near the cliffs, thus allowing Edgar to emerge as a truly virtuous hero.

A major theme in King Lear is the intolerance, deception, and betrayal the family members have for each other, both among Lear and his daughters and Gloucester and his sons. (10) The play presents an interpretation of a seriously dysfunctional family. Lear brings out the worst in his daughters Goneril and Regan by allowing these two women to triumph as deceitful, greedy, manipulative, foul, loathsome creatures who easily give rise to suffering and discord within their family unit. When they achieve their self-serving goals of attaining their father's entire kingdom, they vie for the same man, Edmund, and eventually evoke the downfall of each other. Goneril's husband, Albany, is good at heart, and although he eventually denounces the evil trio of Goneril, Regan, and Cornwall, he is slow to act and indecisive. Although Cordelia initially embodies a positive female image, Lear is irrational in his decisions toward her due to his ideas of how a female should honor her father. She is dishonorably cast out of the family and forced to marry the King of France, a man she neither knows well nor probably wants to marry. He is clearly the second choice after Burgundy refuses to marry her because she is disinherited and has no dowry. Additionally, she is having to leave her homeland to live in a foreign environment among total strangers; she is removed from all that is familiar to her. This theme of family dysfunctionality transcends time, thus allowing today's students to identify with the hostility that ensues between Lear and his daughters as well as between the three siblings. Students today experience similar events in their lives because so many of them either live in single parent families, with grandparents or other relatives, or in other undesirable environments, yet they manage to survive. They can convey their feelings about Lear and Gloucester and their familial relationships compared to how their circumstances may parallel Lear's or Gloucester's.

Another strong theme that aligns with the familial relationships addresses the battle between good and evil among the family members. (4) The main characters are betrayed by the people closest to them, the people they should love the best. Although the Lear's and Gloucester's betrayal of their children is basically unintentional, the other children deceive their fathers due to their greed and their hunger for power. Lear believes Goneril when she says, "Sir, I love you more that word can wield the matter; / Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty", and likewise, he believes Regan when she remarks, "...I profess / Myself an enemy to all other joys / Which the most precious square of sense possesses, / And find I am alone felicitate / In your dear Highness's love." Even when Cordelia brings it to his attention that "Why have my sisters husbands, if they say / They love you all? ... / Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters / To love my father all," he pays no attention. Only later when these two eldest daughters rebuke him and cast him out of their homes is he driven to understand the true meaning of love and devotion, which Cordelia felt for him all along. Similarly, Gloucester too quickly believes Edmund when he is told that Edgar, his biological son, is set on betraying him and is, in fact, plotting his death. Shakespeare presents two patriarchal families and tackles problems arising within single parent families.

Journaling / Socratic discussion / connecting to life

Each class period begins with journaling. Students engage in silent sustained writing about a journal prompt on the board; the prompts are relevant to the topics we will be discussing in class that day, for example:

Explain the significance of Cordelia's statement to her father that she loves

him "according to [her] bond, no more no less".

Explain why Edmund is determined to trick Gloucester into thinking that Edgar

is plotting to betray his father. Be very specific in your response. Explain the

apostrophe in I, i. Cite evidence.

Write a persuasive paragraph about how France sees Cordelia's "tardiness in

nature". Is her inarticulate nature with her father a source of human frailty OR is

it a vice? Choose one side. Be sure to cite evidence to defend your response.

Students share their responses to the journal prompts aloud in class, which promotes Socratic discussions about the characters and their actions. From there we launch into active conversations regarding the characters and how they fit into today's society and family dynamics. Students may share anecdotes that parallel with the actions of the characters and literary devices.

Vocabulary in Context / Frayer Model

Close reading of the play requires that students define words they do not know in the text. Students identify words and phrases that are unfamiliar to them and determine connotatively what they mean in context. Students have the Frayer Model format to use for defining words and phrases. This model offers students the opportunity to learn what the word/phrase means, the antonym, and a visual expression of the word/phrase. If a parallel text is used, like the Perfection Learning Edition of King Lear (13), many words are identified and explained.

Episodic Notes / Think in Outline Format

Students will take notes episodically in an outline format. This format will be modeled for them through the use of an Elmo and overheads. Since the play is, of course, in sequential order, episodic notes will be easier for the students to master to help them order events and improve their writing skills. This ability will allow students to get their list episodes as they occur quickly, examine transitions from one episode to the next, and synthesize their ideas when they have practice timed writings and finally, will enable them to be really successful when they have forty minutes to read a passage, pre-write a brief outline, and complete a full, focused essay on the AP exam.

Graphic Organizers

Allow students access to graphic organizers for: 1) the outline for writing about literature, 2) Cornell Notes, 3) Frayer Model, 4) Jane Shaffer essay format. When students are familiar with several options for graphic organizers, they are able to choose what works best for them to take notes, outline, define terms in context, and organize/write a comprehensive essay.

Think / Pair / Share

Students are assigned a theme or motif in the play concerning familial relationships, conflict resolution, bullying, or sibling rivalry. Each student will spend about seven minutes thinking and freewriting about their assigned topic. After this time, they will group together with the other students who have the same topic and brainstorm, making notes as they work. After fifteen minutes in their groups, they will share with the class how their group has analyzed and interpreted their topic as it is presented in the play. This again promotes Socratic discussion in the class and promotes Cornell notetaking. This activity allows students to think on their own, interact with a group, and present to the class by peer teaching.

Through close reading of the play, students will look for patterns of grammar, like inverted sentence structures, shared lines, and short lines to see how this impacts understanding the text. We will also look at obsolete language to clarify meanings in context.

Filial and sibling relationships dominate in the play, as Shakespeare pits a father against his daughter, brother against brother, and sisters against each other. The Elizabethans believed in established natural laws and natural order in the universe in their concept of child/parent relationships; this concept is turned upside down by the filial treachery of Lear, Regan and Goneril against Cordelia, and by Edmund's relentless campaign against Edgar. As filial relationships crumble, the natural hierarchy is upset, unleashing the full fury of the physical elements, which are no longer subject to order. (6) Therefore, it is fitting to address the conflict between man's law and nature's law; characters who adhere to divine justice - Kent, Albany, Edgar, and Cordelia - act instinctively for the common good, while their counterparts - Goneril, Edmund, Regan, and Cornwall - act without conscience as they plot their evil schemes. Lear is the undisputed King of Britain by divine right, but he, unfortunately, divides his kingdom between Goneril and Regan, which naturally gives their husbands a stake in the estate. Goneril's husband, Albany, ultimately denounces her deception and vile actions because he has a conscience and believes she, Regan, and Cornwall are wrong in their aggressive, greedy behaviors. Regan and Goneril not only act completely without any sense of right or wrong regarding their father and younger sister, they betray each other further in vying for Edmund's attention and affection, to no avail. Both Kent and Edgar are disguised for a large part of the play because they fear for their own survival; their loyalties remain with Lear. Lear and Gloucester eventually turn to natural law to understand why their children have betrayed them. This strain of thought also opens the door to address Shakespeare's own political views as they apply to the state rather than just to the individual and a government that is unified and centralized without a system of checks and balances. Certainly single parent households may be tyrannical arrangements in that the children are expected to do exactly what is ordered by the parent. When they do not, as in the case of Cordelia, they may be extricated from the family unit. In order to restore order in the family, sanctions have to be lifted and unification has to be achieved.

Edgar's speech at the end of the play exposes the difficulties involved in managing a union of love and justice in relationships between parents and children: "We must accept the burdens of this difficult time; / say what we feel, not what we ought to say. / The oldest have carried the heaviest burdens. We who are young / shall never see so much happen, nor live so long."

Through the study of King Lear , students will come to understand and appreciate the roles of parents and children, filial expectations, the nature of familial relationships, and their deterioration and renewal as these concepts apply to their daily lives. Just as Shakespearean audiences enjoyed the plays because the performances related to their daily lives, our students today can enjoy the plays for the same reasons.

Classroom Activities

Engel film summary video quiz.

While watching the video (Engel), complete all of the following questions. Be very

specific in your responses. All answers must be written in complete sentences.

• 1How does Professor Engel describe William Shakespeare as a writer?
• Why is Shakespeare's writing different from that of other authors? What is the "problem" with Shakespeare's works?
• What was it like to attend the theater in Shakespeare's day? Be detailed in your response.
• Define the origin of the term "box office".
• What three items were sold at the theater's refreshment stands? What item was most popular? Why?
• What determined whether or not the play was bad and if the audience got a refund?
• Why did actors think it was dangerous to be down stage if there were a lot of groundlings in the audience?
• What is the origin of the phrase "break a leg"?
• What did Shakespeare change in Macbeth when he rewrote the script? Why?
• Explain why a pig was killed before each performance of Julius Caesar.
• What is Shakespeare's best-loved play? Why?
• What are the three "opening scene promises" in all of Shakespeare's plays?
• What is Shakespeare's most difficult play? Why?
• Cite two reasons why the study of Shakespeare's work is difficult today.
• Explain the "fairy tale motif" used in the plots of Shakespearean tragedies.
• Cite two reasons that let you know when you are reading a tragedy.
• How does "Humpty Dumpty" teach even the most ignorant people like the groundlings the basic principle of great tragedy?
• How did Shakespeare use characters' words to allow all people to understand his plays?
• Shakespeare was a master of language and coined hundreds of words and phrases that are still used today. List ten that are mentioned in the film.
• Vocabulary: Write a connotative definition of the following terms as they are explained in the film:

WRITING ASSIGNMENT

Choose ONE of the following characters with which you most identify. List the character's traits; list your traits that most closely mirror this character. Construct an essay in which you compare your life today with the life of this character as he/she is portrayed in King Lear, detailing why you chose this character and how he/she most represents your place in your family. Be sure to cite evidence to defend your stance.

Timed Writing

(40 minutes)

This writing assignment will be completed during a single class period. Students will read their essays aloud for peer review.

Read the following passage, and write a clear, cohesive essay in which you fully explain Lear's emotions and why he is railing against Goneril and Regan. Be sure to cite evidence to defend your response. You must show your pre-writing preparation.

Culminating Project

Complete ONE of the following options as a culminating project for the study of WilliamShakespeare and King Lear.

• Write a one-act play - SATIRE/PARODY - about King Lear. The work will have a maximum of five characters. You will design the setting, write stage directions for the actors, design costumes, cast your play, and direct it. The work may be in a contemporary setting. You have two options for presenting your play to the class:
• Film the production on a DVD to show to the class, or
• Present a live performance in class (mini-theater)
• ur final presentation/production must be very well prepared and show effort and professionalism. You will give the instructor a copy of your script before you present.
• Construct a model of The Globe. Your model must be to scale of the current Globe in London. You will illustrate a scene from King Lear on the jutting stage of your theater. You will write a paper (minimum FIVE pages, typed, double-spaced, 12-pt. Times font, 1" margins, separate page listing references in MLA format) about the history of the theater in Elizabethan/Shakespearean times. Be sure to label all parts of your model appropriately. You are required to make an oral presentation - minimum five minutes - and have a handout to distribute to your classmates.
• Write a research paper about the life and times of William Shakespeare and the history of King Lear. The paper will be a minimum of 15 pages long; you must have a minimum of six verifiable references, at least three of which will be from books; you may have a maximum of three internet sources.

The paper will be typed, double spaced, 12 pt. Times font, 1" margins. References should be cited appropriately in the text and listed in MLA format on the "References" page.

You will include a poster depicting a time line of Shakespeare's life, including when he penned King Lear. You are required to make an oral presentation - minimum five minutes - and have a handout prepared to distribute to your classmates.

Annotated Bibliography

1. Absolute Shakespeare, http://absoluteshakespeare.com/pictures/william_shakespeare.htm (This website has pictures for public use, copyright free.)

2. Barnet, Sylvan (Gen. Ed.), The Complete Signet Classic Shakespeare, Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Inc., New York, NY, 1972, pp. 1174-1226. (The section of this volume that is used is the text of King Lear and the introductory materials to the play.

3. Burger, Sidney, "That Rough Magic: Teaching Shakespeare's Plays", Houston Teachers Institute, University of Houston, Spring, 2009. (Information presented by Dr. Burger in a Shakespearean seminar at the University of Houston)

4. Craig, Hugh, "Defining Shakespeare", Shakespeare Quarterly, 55:4, 2004, pp. 462-464. (A refereed journal that publishes articles about research into Shakespeare's life and works.)

5. Engel, Eliot, William Shakespeare, The Writing Wonders Series (film), SVE and Churchill Media, Chicago IL, 1996, 50 minutes. (This film is a lecture by Professor Eliot Engel that presents background on Elizabethan theater and William Shakespeare.)

6. Friedlander ER (2003) Enjoying "King Lear" by William Shakespeare Retrieved Dec. 25, 2003 from http://www.pathguy.com/kinglear.htm (This site gives a overview of the play.)

7. Garber, Marjorie, Shakespeare After All, Anchor Books, Div. of Random House, New York, NY, 2004, pp. 649-94 (Individual essays written by Ms. Garber about each of the plays)

8. Greenblatt, Stephen, Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare, W.W. Norton & Company, 2004, ISBN: 0-393-05057-2, 430 p. (Mr. Greenblatt explains how Shakespeare used events in his life and his world to write his plays.)

9. Hinman, Charlton (Ed.), The First Folio of Shakespeare Academic Edition, W.W. Norton Company, Inc., New York NY, 1968, Frontispiece, pp, ix-xxii. (This volume presents Shakespeare's works as they were first written and offers a comprehensive Introduction.)

10. Lamb, Sidney (Ed.), Shakespeare's King Lear, Wiley Publishing Company, New York NY, 2000, 224 p. (This book offers a study guide to understanding some of Shakespeare's meanings in a contemporary setting.)

11. Lettiere, Argo Community High School, "Mr. Lettiere's English on the Web, http://www.argo217.k12.il.us/departs/English/blettiere/shakeback_beg.htm (This site offers a teacher's perspective of Shakespearean study for today's students.)

12. McGinn, Colin, Shakespeare's Philosophy: Discovering the Meaning Behind the Plays, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY, 2006, pp. 109-133, 153-204. (Presents McGinn's philosophy about the plays, gender roles, psychology, and tragedy)

13. Shakespeare, William, King Lear, The Shakespeare Parallel Text Series, Third Edition, 2004, Perfection Learning Corporation, Logan IA, 367 p.

14. Texas Education Agency, TEKS skills for English IV, http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter110/19_0110_0030-1.pdf10_0030-1.pdf (This website has the criteria for teachers in Texas.)

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) (14)

Texas Education Agency Requirements for English IV ELA:

Reading/Comprehension Skills: Students use a flexible range of metacognitive reading skills in both assigned and independent reading to understand an author's message. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasingly more complex texts as they become self-directed, critical readers. The student is expected to: (A) reflect on understanding to monitor comprehension (e.g., asking questions, summarizing and synthesizing, making connections, creating sensory images); and (B) make complex inferences (e.g., inductive and deductive) about text and use textual evidence to support understanding. Specific skills addressed in this unit are:

110.45 (2)(C)Writing/writing processes. The student uses recursive writing processes when appropriate. The student is expected to use vocabulary, organization, and rhetorical devices appropriate to audience and purpose;

110/45 (3)( B) The student relies increasingly on the conventions and mechanics of written English, including the rules of usage and grammar, to write clearly and effectively. The student is expected to demonstrate control over grammatical elements such as subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, verb forms, and parallelism Writing/grammar/usage/conventions/spelling.

110.45 (7)(B) Reading/word identification/vocabulary development. The student acquires an extensive vocabulary through reading and systematic word study. The student is expected to rely on context to determine meanings of words and phrases such as figurative language, idioms, multiple meaning words, and technical vocabulary.

110.45 (7)(D) Research word origins as an aid to understanding meanings, derivations, and spellings as well as influences on the English language.

110.45 (18)( D) Listening/speaking/evaluation. The student evaluates and critiques oral presentations and performances. The student is expected to identify and analyze the effect of artistic elements within literary texts such as character development, rhyme, imagery, and language.

110.45 (16) (A) Listening/speaking/purposes. The student speaks clearly and effectively for a variety of purposes. The student is expected to use conventions of oral language effectively, including word choice, grammar, and diction

110.45 (19) (B) Viewing/representing/interpretation. The student understands and interprets visual representations. The student is expected to analyze relationships, ideas, and cultures as represented in various media.

(Source: Texas Education Agency, http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter110/ch110c.html#110.45)

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THE FATHER-DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP IN SHAKESPEARE'S KING LEAR FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF BOWEN FAMILY SYSTEMS THEORY

2023, JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE ANC COMMUNICATION

King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, describing a father’s sorrow over his daughters’ unfilial or disobedient behavior. Although the father-daughter relationship in the play is often studied, to date, this relationship has not been investigated from the perspective of the Bowen family systems theory. Thus, the present study adopts the new interdisciplinary research method, the Bowen theory, to interpret the father-daughter relationship in King Lear. The focus of this article is to analyse the level of self-differentiation of Lear and the three daughters, namely Regan, Goneril, Cordelia in King Lear. It will thoroughly investigate the fusion and differentiation in their interactions with their original and nuclear families and examine the projection of Lear’s chronic anxiety on his daughters. Chronic anxiety due to social factors, such as humanism, feudalism, and patriarchy, and their impact on the father-daughter relationship in the tragedy, will also be investigated. It argues that the father-daughter relationship in King Learis dysfunctional due to the lower level of differentiation of self between Lear and his three daughters, the projection of Lear’s anxiety onto the daughters, and the chronic anxiety brought about by societal regression. Hence, through the lens of the Bowen family systems theory, the study of the father-daughter relationship in the play can provide a new method for examining the dysfunctional family relationship in literary works.

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Fathers, Children, and Siblings

The personal drama of King Lear revolves around the destruction of family relationships. Tragedy emerges from bonds broken between parents and children—and, at a secondary level, from the loss of ties among siblings. Lear, misreading Cordelia's understated, but true, devotion to him renounces his "parental care" (1.1.127) of her. This rejection is twofold. Lear withdraws his "father's heart" (1.1.142); he also strips Cordelia of the financial and political support that formerly made her attractive to…

Authority and Order

At the beginning of the play, Lear is an authority figure, embodying order in his own person and commanding it from his family and followers. (This is how he is able to compel his elder two daughters to participate in the dramatic ceremony dividing the kingdom by professing their absolute love on cue, precisely when he demands it; this is why Gloucester, Kent, and others respectfully watch the ceremony unfold, despite thinking that Lear's plan…

Disintegration, Chaos, Nothingness

Although Lear begins as a figure of authority and order, when he gives up his power and Goneril and Regan turn against him, he falls apart, going mad. Moreover, his personal decline parallels a farther-reaching dissolution of order and justice in the British state. Lear's error, based on blindness and misjudgment, doesn't just ruin him personally. It leads to a political situation in which there is no order to guarantee justice, despite his (and Gloucester's)…

Originally, Lear wishes to free himself of the burdens of ruling his kingdom because he is aware of his old age and wishes to "crawl unburdened toward death" (1.1.42). As his choice of the verb "crawl" suggests, Lear has a sense that old age forces the individual to remember his or her animal aspect—that is, the fact that human beings, like animals, are subjected to the forces of physical nature and have physical needs.

Fooling and Madness

From early on in the play, the Fool is probably the character with the greatest insight into what the consequences of Lear's misjudgments of his daughters will be. (The Fool's only competition in this respect comes from Kent in 1.1; in 1.2 Gloucester seems only to have a vague intuition that Lear's decision was a mistake.) Calling Lear himself a Fool and admonishing him that he has reduced himself to "nothing" by dividing and handing…

Blindness and Insight

The tragic errors that King Lear and Gloucester make in misjudging their children constitute a form of figurative blindness—a lack of insight into the true characters of those around them. Reminding the audience of this fact, the language of the play resounds with references to eyes and seeing from the very beginning. Cornwall and Regan make these images and metaphors of (failed) vision brutally literal when they blind Gloucester in 3.7. For the remainder of…

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Investigate character relationships.

See how their relationship changes during the play by moving the bar to the marked points.

The relationship between these characters remains the same throughout the play.

Lear in the 2016 production of King Lear.

King Lear in the 1999 production of King Lear.

Lear in the 2004 production of King Lear.

Lear in the 2007 production of King Lear.

Lear in the 1968 production of King Lear.

Lear in 2010 production of King Lear.

King Lear is the elderly but still ruling king of Ancient Britain. He has decided to abdicate his responsibilities as king and divide his kingdom in three to be ruled over by his three daughters and their husbands. He intends to spend his retirement enjoying the companionship of his hundred knights: hunting and drinking, and staying with each of his daughters in turn. When his youngest daughter Cordelia behaves unexpectedly, he disowns her, but soon realises his remaining two daughters are not as lovingly grateful and obedient towards him as he expected them to be.

Facts we learn about King Lear:

• He has ruled the kingdom for many years.
• He is used to gratitude and respect from his family and his subjects.
• He believes that by dividing his kingdom between his daughters and their husbands he will prevent them from fighting over the kingdom in the future.
• His favourite child is Cordelia.

Things they say:

‘I loved her most, and thought to set my rest / On her kind nursery .’ (Lear, 1:1)

Lear says publicly that he loved Cordelia more than his other daughters and hoped to spend most of his retirement with her. This suggests that the sisters already know that Cordelia is their father’s favourite, which may have affected their relationships in the past.

‘they told me I was everything: ’tis a lie, I am not ague-proof . ’ (Lear, 4:5)

Lear begins to realise that being flattered all his life because he is king was not helpful in making him see his own weaknesses.

‘I am a very foolish fond old man, / Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less, / And to deal plainly, I fear I am not in my perfect mind’ (Lear, 4:6)

Towards the end of the play, Lear recognises the limitations of being over 80 years old. He tells Cordelia he feels foolish and silly and fears his mental health has suffered.

Things others say about them:

‘'Tis the infirmity of his age: yet he hath ever but slenderly known himself.’ (Regan, 1:1)

King Lear’s judgement has got worse with age but his daughters don’t think he was ever very self aware.

‘You strike my people, and your disordered rabble / Make servants of their betters.’ (Goneril, 1:4)

Lear allows his followers to be rowdy.

LEAR: Dost thou call me fool, boy? FOOL: All thy other titles thou hast given away, that thou wast born with. (1:4)

Lear doesn’t always behave wisely or sensibly.

Cordelia in the 2016 production of King Lear.

Cordelia in the 2007 production of King Lear.

Cordelia in the 2010 production of King Lear.

Cordelia in the 1950 production of King Lear.

Cordelia in the 1962 production of King Lear.

Cordelia is the youngest daughter of King Lear and known to be his favourite. He has arranged for her to marry either the Duke of Burgundy or the King of France. When called upon to make a public expression of love for her father, Cordelia does not feel she can make a flattering speech in the way her sisters do. Her father is angry with her and disinherits her so she has no entitlement to the portion of the kingdom he was going to give as a dowry. The King of France agrees to marry her without this land and she leaves with him. She is concerned that her sisters will not care for their father as she would have done and returns to Britain with a French army to fight against them. She is eventually reunited with her father who asks her forgiveness for his poor judgement regarding her. The French troops lose the battle and Cordelia is imprisoned with her father and murdered.

Facts we learn about Cordelia:

• She is unmarried at the start of the play but leaves Lear’s court to marry the King of France.
• The Earl of Kent and the Fool, two of Lear’s most loyal companions, are very fond of her.
• Although she loves her father, she feels unable to make a flattering speech about how much she loves him.

‘I love your majesty / According to my bond, no more nor less.' (Cordelia, 1:1)

Cordelia loves her father as much as any child loves their parent but does not feel she can flatter her father by making him feel there is no room in her heart for any other love.

‘If for I want that glib and oily art / To speak and purpose not, since what I will intend / I’ll do’t before I speak’ (Cordelia, 1:1)

Cordelia prefers to show rather than describe her feelings.

'No blown ambition doth our arms incite, / But love, dear love, and our aged father’s right‘ (Cordelia, 4:3)

Cordelia proclaims that she is leading a French invasion against the British army out of love for her father, not political ambition.

‘she whom even but now was your object , / The argument of your praise, balm of your age, / The best, the dearest’ (France, 1:1)

As a visitor to Lear’s court, France has been led to believe that Cordelia is very much Lear’s favourite child and worthy of his praise.

‘You have obedience scanted , / And well are worth the want that you have wanted.' (Goneril, 1:1)

Goneril suggests that her younger sister has not done her duty in refusing to flatter the King in public and deserves to be rejected for not showing such love.

Goneril in the 2010 production of King Lear.

Goneril and Regan in the 1962 production of King Lear.

Goneril in the 2016 production of King Lear.

Lear and Goneril in the 1953 production of King Lear.

Goneril and Lear in the 2004 production of King Lear.

Goneril in the 2007 production of King Lear.

Goneril in the 2012 Young People's Shakespeare production of King Lear.

Goneril is the eldest of King Lear ’s three daughters. She is married to the Duke of Albany and does not yet seem to have any children. She makes a flattering speech declaring her love for her father, for which she is rewarded with a third of the kingdom to rule over with her husband. This increases to half the kingdom when her younger sister is disinherited by their father. Her marriage does not seem to be a happy one and Albany does not support her in the arguments arguments with Lear about how his knights behave in their house and he grows increasingly disgusted by how she treats her father. Goneril later falls in love with Edmund and plots with him to get rid of Albany so that she can marry Edmund instead.

Facts we learn about Goneril:

• She feels her father has shown poor judgement in banishing Kent and disowning Cordelia.
• She resents how her father allows his knights to behave in her house.
• She has a loyal and trusted servant called Oswald who carries messages for her.
• She does not love her husband.

‘Sir, I love you more than word can wield the matter, / Dearer than eyesight, space and liberty’ (Goneril, 1:1)

Goneril knows how to play the game her father sets up and makes a flattering and effective public speech about her love for her father.

‘By day and night he wrongs me: every hour / He flashes into one gross crime or other / That sets us all at odds.’ (Goneril, 1:3)

Goneril is offended by how her father treats her and how he behaves in her house.

‘I had rather lose the battle than that sister / Should loosen him and me.’(Goneril, 5:1)

Edmund has become the most important thing in Goneril’s life and she is determined not to lose him to her sister.

‘she hath tied / Sharp-toothed unkindness, like a vulture, here‘ (Lear, 2:2)

Lear says that his daughter’s behaviour towards him feels like a vulture pecking at his heart.

‘See thyself, devil! / Proper deformity seems not in the fiend / So horrid as in woman’ (Albany, 4:2)

Albany calls his wife a fiend and a devil and implies her evil behaviour is all the worse because she is a woman.

Regan in the 2016 production of King Lear.

Regan in the 2007 production of King Lear.

Regan and Cornwall in the 1962 production of King Lear.

Regan in the 2010 production of King Lear.

Regan and Goneril in the 1999 production of King Lear.

Regan and Lear in the 1936 production of King Lear.

Regan is the middle of King Lear ’s three daughters. She is married to the Duke of Cornwall and does not yet seem to have any children. She makes a public speech at the start of the play in which she tries to outdo her older sister Goneril in expressing her love for her father. She is rewarded with a third of the kingdom and, when her youngest sister Cordelia is disinherited, she rules half the kingdom alongside Goneril. Regan follows Goneril’s lead in refusing to accept Lear bringing his knights to stay in her home. She meets her father at Gloucester ’s house where she and Goneril let Lear walk off into the storm rather than allow him to bring his knights into their homes. She regards Gloucester as a traitor for helping Lear escape to Dover and supports her husband in gouging out Gloucester’s eyes. When Cornwall dies, she puts Edmund in charge of her army and declares her intention to marry him.

Facts we learn about Regan:

• She seems happy in her marriage to the Duke of Cornwall.
• She agrees to work with Goneril in order to control their father’s behaviour.
• She encourages Cornwall in his violence towards Gloucester.
• She is attracted to Edmund.

‘I am made of that self-mettle as my sister, / And prize me at her worth. In my true heart, / I find she names my very deed of love: / Only she comes too short‘ (Regan, 1:1)

Regan knows how to flatter her father, publicly declaring her love to be even greater than her sister’s.

‘It was great ignorance, Gloucester’s eyes being out, / To let him live: where he arrives he moves / All hearts against us.’ (Regan, 4:4)

This shows Regan’s callous attitude towards the suffering of Gloucester, but also her understanding that others will feel sorry for Gloucester and that this might make them take sides against her.

‘My lord is dead: Edmund and I have talked, / And more convenient is he for my hand / Than for your lady’s’ (Regan, 4:5)

In telling Oswald to warn Goneril away from Edmund, Regan seems very practical in deciding that she should marry Edmund.

‘thou better know’st / The offices of nature, bond of childhood, / Effects of courtesy, dues of gratitude: / Thy half o’th’kingdom hast thou not forgot, / Wherein I thee endowed .’ (Lear, 2:2)

Lear believes that Regan is different to her older sister and that she will be grateful to him for all he has given her.

‘I would not see thy cruel nails / Pluck out his poor old eyes‘ (Gloucester, 3:7)

Gloucester accuses Regan of cruelty in how she has treated her father.

Gloucester receives a message in the 2010 production of King Lear.

Edmund, Gloucester and Kent in the 1968 production of King Lear.

Gloucester in the 2016 production of King Lear.

Kent and Gloucester talk in the 2007 production of King Lear.

The Earl of Gloucester is a rich, powerful and loyal subject of King Lear . He has two sons: his eldest son Edgar is legitimate - the son of Gloucester’s wife; the younger son Edmund is illegitimate - the son of a woman with whom Gloucester committed adultery. Gloucester says he loves both sons the same, but it is only Edgar who will inherit his wealth and title. Gloucester believes Edmund’s story that Edgar is plotting against his life in order to inherit sooner. Edmund then betrays his father’s confidence by telling Cornwall that Gloucester has news of an invading French army and plans to help the King. Gloucester is tortured and has his eyes gouged out because of this. He then learns that it is Edgar who is loyal to him, not Edmund. He tries to throw himself off a cliff but Edgar, in disguise, cares for him until Gloucester finally dies near the end of the play.

Facts we learn about Gloucester:

• He is loyal to King Lear.
• He is superstitious.
• He is very ready to believe what Edmund tells him.
• He tries to do what he thinks is right in helping Lear.

‘O, madam, my old heart is cracked, it’s cracked!’ (Gloucester, 2:1)

Gloucester tells Regan that his heart is broken by the discovery that his son Edgar has been plotting against him.

‘my duty cannot suffer / T’obey in all your daughters’ hard commands’ (Gloucester, 3:4)

Gloucester feels a strong sense of duty and loyalty to the old king which is stronger than his sense of duty to obeying the new rulers when their commands seem cruel.

‘I stumbled when I saw.’ (Gloucester, 4:6)

Gloucester realises that he was blind to the truth when he still had his eyes and was mistaken in how he judged his sons.

’A credulous father’ (Edmund, 1:2)

Edmund thinks his father is easily fooled.

‘a published traitor’ (Oswald, 4:5)

Gloucester has been proclaimed as a traitor by the lawful leaders of the country.

Edmund in the 2007 production of King Lear.

Edmund in the 2010 production of King Lear.

Edmund, Regan and Gloucester in the 1936 production of King Lear.

Edmund in the 2016 production of King Lear.

Edmund flirts with Goneril in the 1962 production of King Lear.

Edmund is the younger and illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester . He resents being treated differently to his older, legitimate half-brother Edgar and secretly plots against both his father and his brother in order to gain their lands and title. He impresses the Duke of Cornwall when he shows his father up as a traitor for secretly receiving letters about the French invasion. Cornwall rewards Edmund by making him Duke of Gloucester in place of his father. Edmund swears his love to both Goneril and Regan and, when Cornwall dies, Regan puts him in charge of her troops and intends to marry him. After the battle against the French, because of all his betrayals, Edmund is challenged to a duel by Edgar, who kills him.

Facts we learn about Edmund:

• Edmund’s mother was not Gloucester’s wife.
• Edmund resents the fact that as ‘a bastard’, he will not inherit his father’s lands.
• He has been away from the court for nine years and is due to go away again soon.
• Edmund seems to have a good relationship with his brother at the start of the play.
• Both Goneril and Regan are attracted to him.

‘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. I should have been that I am had the maidenliest star in the firmament twinkled on my bastardizing.’ (Edmund, 1:1)

Edmund does not believe in the superstitions of astrology that say he should be a certain way because of the position of the stars when he was born.

‘This seems a fair deserving and must draw me / That which my father loses: no less than all. / The younger rises when the old doth fall.’ (Edmund, 3:3)

Edmund seems to believe that when the old behave foolishly, the young should take their place. He suggests his father deserves to be betrayed and that he deserves to take all his father’s wealth.

‘Yet Edmund was beloved: / The one the other poisoned for my sake / And after slew herself.’ (Edmund, 5:3)

Edmund feels that Goneril and Regan’s fatal jealousy proves they did love him. This might suggest it is the first time he has felt loved.

’I have so often blushed to acknowledge him that now I am brazed to’t.’ (Gloucester, 1:1)

Gloucester talks openly with Kent about Edmund’s illegitimacy, suggesting that Edmund may often have heard people talk about him in this way.

‘ Maugre thy strength, place , youth and eminence, / Despise thy victor sword and fire-new fortune, / Thy valour and thy heart, thou art a traitor: / False to thy gods, thy brother and thy father, / Conspirant gainst this high illustrious prince’ (Edgar, 5:3)

Edmund has achieved what he set out to achieve, taking his father’s place and achieving victory in the battle, but he has betrayed his religion, his family, and his country in the process.

Edgar in the 2010 production of King Lear.

Edgar and Edmund in the 2007 production of King Lear.

Edmund warns Edgar in the 1953 production of King Lear.

Edgar in the 2016 production of King Lear.

Edmund tells Edgar to flee in the 1962 production of King Lear.

Edgar is the Earl of Gloucester ’s son and heir. He has a younger half-brother called Edmund who is illegitimate. Edmund tricks their father into believing that Edgar is plotting against his life. Edmund then makes Edgar believe that he is trying to help him and, on Edmund’s advice, Edgar runs away. Edgar gives up all his comforts and disguises himself as a ‘Bedlam beggar’ called ‘Poor Tom’. As ‘Poor Tom’ he meets King Lear during the storm. He then meets his father when Gloucester is turned out of his own home, blinded. Dressed as ‘Poor Tom’, Edgar guides his father to Dover. While there, in order to try and give his father hope, Edgar tricks Gloucester into believing he has thrown himself from the top of a cliff. Gloucester later dies and Edgar challenges Edmund to a duel and he defeats Edmund.

Facts we learn about Edgar:

• Edgar is Gloucester’s eldest son and is heir to his lands and title.
• He seems to have a good relationship with Edmund at the start of the play.
• Edgar disguises himself as ‘Poor Tom’ and even his father does not realise who he is.
• Edgar forgives his father and tries to help him.

‘Poor Turlygod, poor Tom! / That’s something yet: Edgar I nothing am.’ (Edgar, 1:1)

Edgar has to give up everything including his home, his comforts and his identity, in order to become ‘Poor Tom’.

‘A most poor man, made tame to fortune’s blows, / Who, by the art of known and feeling sorrows, / Am pregnant to good pity .’ (Edgar, 4:5)

Although he is speaking in disguise as ‘Poor Tom’, Edgar also seems to be speaking about himself as he tells his blinded father of how his misfortunes have made him more sympathetic to the misfortunes of others.

‘Men must endure / Their going hence, even as their coming hither: / Ripeness is all’ (Edgar 5:2)

Edgar is trying to encourage his father to keep going but this also seems to suggest something about his beliefs – that we must be ready to deal with whatever life sends us and keep going.

‘a brother noble, / Whose nature is so far from doing harms / That he suspects none: on whose foolish honesty / My practices ride easy.’ (Edmund, 1:2)

Edmund regards his brother as honest, trustworthy and someone easy to fool because he believes that everyone else is as honest and trustworthy as him.

'Methought thy very gait did prophesy / A royal nobleness’ (Albany, 5:3)

Albany sensed that Edgar was a gentleman of royal blood by the way he walked and presented himself.

The Fool in the 2007 production of King Lear.

The Fool and Lear in the 2010 production of King Lear.

The Fool and Lear in the 1962 production of King Lear.

The Fool and King Lear in rehearsals for the 1968 production of King Lear.

The Fool in the 1950 production of King Lear.

The Fool in the 2012 Young People's Shakespeare production of King Lear.

The Fool is King Lear ’s jester and close companion. The Fool does not appear until after the division of the kingdom when Lear and his knights are staying at Goneril ’s house; he then stays by Lear’s side and is Lear’s only companion in the storm until Kent and Gloucester find them. The Fool has no further lines after Lear leaves Gloucester’s house to go to Dover. At the end of the play Lear says, ‘And my poor fool is hanged’, although he may be referring to Cordelia . In the six scenes in which he appears, the Fool uses his wit and his songs to help Lear realise what he has lost.

Facts we learn about the Fool:

• Lear is very fond of him and allows him to say things he does not allow others to say.
• The Fool is very loyal to Lear and tries to help him.
• The Fool is very fond of Cordelia.

‘But I will tarry , the fool will stay, / And let the wise man fly: / The knave turns fool that runs away, / The fool no knave, perdy .' (The Fool, 2:2)

The Fool is loyal to Lear and stays with him despite understanding that others are abandoning him because of his change in fortunes .

‘This cold night will turn us all to fools and madmen.’ (The Fool, 3:4)

As the Fool sees Lear and Poor Tom behaving and speaking as though they have lost their minds, his own comments become more straightforward.

‘A bitter fool’ (Lear, 1:4)

The Fool’s role is to speak the truth to those in power. Many of the Fool’s jokes reflect the truth to Lear, which can seem bitter to him, rather than being funny.

‘your all-licensed fool’ (Goneril, 1:4)

Lear allows the Fool to get away with behaviour that other servants would not get away with.

‘Since my young lady’s going into France, sir, the fool hath much pined away.’ (Knight, 1:4)

The Fool seems to have been close to Cordelia and misses her.

Kent in the 2016 production of King Lear.

Kent in the 2010 production of King Lear.

Kent in the 2007 production of King Lear.

Lear, Kent and the Fool in the 1999 production of King Lear.

Kent in the 1962 production of King Lear.

The Earl of Kent is a rich and powerful man who is loyal to King Lear . When Lear disinherits Cordelia , Kent tries to step in and advise the King but Lear banishes him from the kingdom. Kent returns in disguise as a working man called ‘Caius’ and gains the King’s trust in order to become his servant. Kent’s defence of Lear gets him into trouble with Cornwall and Regan when he fights with Goneril 's messenger Oswald. Kent stays loyal to Lear during the storm and helps Lear to escape to Dover. In Dover, Kent is reunited with Cordelia and they both continue to support the King.

Facts we learn about Kent:

• Kent is banished from Lear’s kingdom on pain of death for speaking up when Lear disinherits Cordelia.
• He returns in disguise as ‘Caius’ and Lear employs him as his trusted messenger.
• Kent keeps in touch with Cordelia, through exchanging letters.
• Kent remains fiercely loyal to Lear throughout the play.

‘My life I never held but as pawn / To wage against thine enemies, ne’er fear to lose it, / Thy safety being motive.’ (Kent, 1:1)

Kent is fiercely loyal to Lear and his loyalty includes speaking up when he feels the king needs advice.

LEAR: Will’t break my heart? KENT: I had rather break mine own. (3:4)

Kent tells King Lear he will put his life before his own.

‘It is the stars, / The stars above us govern our conditions, / Else one self mate and make could not beget / Such different issue.’ (Kent, 4:3)

Kent, like Gloucester, believes that people’s characters are made by the position of the stars at their birth.

’And the noble and true-hearted Kent banished! His offence, honesty! ’Tis strange.’ (Gloucester, 1:2)

Kent seems to be regarded by other courtiers, such as Gloucester, as a good man who is loyal to the king.

‘This ancient ruffian’ (Oswald, 1:2)

Because of his insults, attitude, and insistence on fighting , Oswald, Cornwall and Regan regard the disguised Kent as an old thug.

‘O thou good Kent, how shall I live and work / To match thy goodness? My life will be too short, / And every measure fail me.’ (Cordelia, 4:6)

Cordelia is deeply grateful to Kent for looking out for her father at such risk to himself.

Albany in the 2016 production of King Lear.

Albany and Goneril receive news in the 2007 production of King Lear.

The Duke of Albany is married to King Lear 's eldest daughter Goneril . When the kingdom is divided between Goneril and Regan , it is their husbands, the Dukes of Albany and Cornwall, who rule half the kingdom each. Albany believes Lear should be allowed to continue behaving as he wishes and does not support his wife in her complaints against Lear’s knights. Throughout the play, rumours abound and grow about division between the Dukes of Albany and Cornwall. Albany grows increasingly disgusted at the behaviour of his wife and her sister but fights with them against Cordelia and her invading French army. At the end of the play Albany is left to rule, along with Edgar .

Facts we learn about Albany:

• He is married to Goneril.
• Goneril and Albany do not seem to have any children yet.
• Albany is loyal to the king and dislikes the way his wife treats her father.

‘Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile: / Filths savour but themselves.’ (Albany 4:2)

Albany believes he is right to feel loyalty to the king rather than siding with his wife, who seems vile and filthy to him.

‘Where I could not be honest, / I never yet was valiant.’ (Albany 5:1)

Albany regards honesty as an important value.

’never man so changed. / I told him of the army that was landed, / He smiled at it: I told him you were coming, / His answer was ‘The worse’’ (Oswald, 4:2)

Albany seems happy that the French army has landed and unhappy that his wife has returned home. Oswald feels this is a change in his master’s attitude.

‘ Milk-livered man, / That bear’st a cheek for blows, a head for wrongs’ (Goneril, 4:2)

Goneril regards her husband as a coward who does not know what he is doing.

Explore their relationships

King lear - kent.

Kent is loyal to the king and sees it as his duty to question the king’s judgement in disowning Cordelia. Lear feels Kent has betrayed him by challenging him in this way and banishes him.

‘Royal Lear, / Whom I have ever honoured as my king, / Loved as my father, as my master followed, / As my great patron thought on in my prayers’ (Kent, 1:1)

‘Five days we do allot thee for provision / To shield thee from disasters of the world, / And on the sixth to turn thy hated back / Upon our kingdom: if on the next day following / Thy banished trunk be found in our dominions, / The moment is thy death’ (Lear, 1:1)

Kent returns to serve the king loyally, disguised as a servant ‘Caius’. Kent remains loyal to the king to the very end of the play. When Albany asks him to help rule the war-torn kingdom, Kent refuses, suggesting he cannot live any longer now Lear is gone.

‘I have a journey, sir, shortly to go: / My master calls me, I must not say no’ (Kent, 5:3)

King Lear - Gloucester

Gloucester is a trusted courtier at the start of the play and remains loyal to Lear throughout. Gloucester risks making Regan and Cornwall angry to protect the king and get him safely to Cordelia in Dover. As a result, Gloucester loses both his influence and his eyes. When he meets Lear again on the beach at Dover, he is still loyal.

‘O let me kiss that hand’ (Gloucester, 4:5)

King Lear - Albany

Kent and Gloucester suggest in the first line of the play that Lear had favoured Albany over Cornwall, but he has divided the land equally so that can’t be true. Albany seems loyal to the king, and does not support Goneril’s complaints about Lear’s hundred knights.

Albany reluctantly sides against King Lear by fighting Cordelia’s French forces. When the battle is over, he declares that he will give all his power back to Lear, but Lear dies a few lines later.

‘For us we will resign / During the life of this old majesty / To him our absolute power’ (Albany, 5:3)

King Lear - Goneril

At the start of the play, Goneril makes a speech about her love for her father that pleases him and he rewards her with a third of his kingdom. She knows she is not his favourite child and is concerned about how he might behave as he gets older.

‘Then must we look from his age to receive not alone the imperfections of long-engrafted condition, but therewithal the unruly waywardness that infirm and choleric years bring with them’ (Goneril, 1:1)

Goneril grows impatient with the riotous knights who are Lear’s followers. He becomes furious with her when she suggests he needs fewer followers and curses her with infertility.

'Into her womb convey sterility, / Dry up in her the organs of increase, / And from her derogate body never spring / A babe to honour her’ (Lear, 1:4)

Lear refuses to listen to Goneril and Regan when they both insist he get rid of his followers. He insults them and curses them. Goneril lets him walk off into the storm. She suggests he deserves to suffer because of his own foolishness.

‘No, you unnatural hags, / I will have such revenges on you both’ (Lear, 2:2)

’Tis his own blame hath put himself from rest / And must needs taste his folly’ (Goneril, 2:2)

King Lear - Cordelia

At the beginning of Act 1, Lear thinks of Cordelia as his favourite child and intends to spend much of his retirement with her. She loves him but is not sure how to express her love.

‘I loved her most, and thought to set my rest / On her kind nursery’ (Lear, 1:1)

'I am sure my love’s / More ponderous than my tongue’ (Cordelia, 1:1)

When Cordelia is unable to express her love for her father in a way that pleases him, he completely disowns her.

‘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’ (Lear, 1:1)

By the time Lear is reunited with Cordelia, he believes again that she is the daughter who loves him most and asks her forgiveness for how he treated her. She readily forgives him.

'If you have poison for me, I will drink it. / I know you do not love me, for your sisters / Have, as I do remember, done me wrong: / You have some cause, they have not.' (King Lear, 5:1)

'No cause, no cause.' (Cordelia, 5:1)

King Lear - Regan

At the start of the play, Regan makes a speech about her love for her father that pleases him and he rewards her with a third of his kingdom. She feels that her father is behaving more oddly as he grows older but comments that he has never been very self-aware.

’Tis the infirmity of his age: yet he hath ever but slenderly known himself’ (Regan, 1:1)

When Lear realises that Regan is siding with Goneril and against him, he curses her. She lets him walk off into the storm, suggesting that it is the only way he will learn to behave more reasonably.

'O, sir, to wilful men / The injuries that they themselves procure / Must be their schoolmasters. / Shut up your doors’ (Regan, 2:2)

King Lear - The Fool

Cordelia - king lear, goneril - edmund.

On the way back to Goneril’s house from Gloucester’s castle, Goneril and Edmund form an attachment. He swears his love to her and she promises to marry him once her husband is out of the way. Edmund, however, also promises his love to Regan.

‘Wear this; spare speech. / Decline your head: this kiss, if it durst speak, / Would stretch thy spirits up into the air. / Conceive, and fare thee well’ (Goneril, 4:2)

Edmund seems touched that Goneril was so loyal to him as to kill her sister out of jealousy for him and then to kill herself when she realises she cannot marry him.

'The one the other poisoned for my sake / And after slew herself’ (Edmund, 5:3)

Goneril - King Lear

Regan - king lear, gloucester - king lear, gloucester - edgar.

Gloucester tells Kent at the start of the play that he loves Edmund as much as Edgar. Edgar seems to believe that he has a good relationship with both his father and his half brother.

‘I have a son, sir, by order of law, some elder than this, who yet is no dearer in my account’ (Gloucester, 1:1)

Gloucester threatens Edgar’s life, believing Edmund’s lies that Edgar wants to kill Gloucester.

‘Let him fly far: / Not in this land shall he remain uncaught, / And found — dispatch’ (Gloucester, 2:1)

Gloucester realises he has been mistaken about Edgar when Regan tells him it was Edmund that betrayed Gloucester to them. Edgar is horrified to see his father being turned out of his own home after having his eyes gouged out. Edgar then looks after Gloucester, disguised as 'Poor Tom’.

‘O, my follies! Then Edgar was abused. / Kind gods, forgive me that, and prosper him!’ (Gloucester, 3:7)

‘Met I my father with his bleeding rings, / Their precious stones new lost, became his guide, / Led him, begged for him, saved him from despair’ (Edgar, 5:3)

Gloucester - Edmund

Gloucester tells Kent that he loves Edmund as his son even though he is illegitimate. Edmund tells the audience of his anger at being treated differently for being illegitimate.

‘though this knave came something saucily to the world before he was sent for: yet was his mother fair, there was good sport at his making and the whoreson must be acknowledged’ (Gloucester, 1:1)

‘Why brand they us / With base? With baseness? Bastardy? Base, base?’ (Edmund, 1:2)

Edmund’s forged letter and lies have convinced Gloucester that Edmund is the son he can trust and Edgar has betrayed him. Gloucester promises Edmund that he will inherit the Gloucester wealth instead of Edgar.

‘and of my land, / Loyal and natural boy, I’ll work the means / To make thee capable’ (Gloucester, 2:1)

Edmund betrays his father’s trust by telling Cornwall about the letters Gloucester has received from France and about his intentions to help the king. This leads to Gloucester being tortured and hunted for his life.

‘This courtesy forbid thee shall the duke / Instantly know, and of that letter too: / This seems a fair deserving and must draw me / That which my father loses: no less than all. / The younger rises when the old doth fall’ (Edmund, 3:3)

Edmund - Goneril

Edmund - gloucester, edgar - gloucester, the fool - king lear, kent - king lear, albany - king lear, teacher notes.

On this page students can arrange the characters on the screen, showing the connections between the characters and their relationships. They can then print this using the button on the page and label them with their own quotes.

The following activities are also great ways of exploring specific relationships in the classroom.

Lear and the Fool (2016)

This activity can be found on pages 6-7 and takes approximately 30 minutes.

Edmund and Edgar (2016)

This activity can be found on page 8 and takes approximately 20 minutes.

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King Lear Family Quotes

I thought the King had more affected the Duke of Albany than Cornwall.

– William Shakespeare

KENT: Is not this your son, my lord? GLOUCESTER: His breeding, sir, hath been at my charge. I have so often blushed to acknowledge him, that now I am brazed to ‘t. KENT: I cannot conceive you. GLOUCESTER: Sir, this young fellow’s mother could: whereupon she grew round-wombed, and had, indeed, sir, a son for her cradle ere she had a husband for her bed. Do you smell a fault?

But I have a son, sir by order of law, some year elder than this, who yet is no dearer in my account. Though this knave came something saucily to the world before he was sent for, yet was his mother fair, there was good sport at his making, and the whoreson must be acknowledged. – Do you know this noble gentleman, Edmund?

Our son of Cornwall, And you, our no less loving son of Albany, We have this hour a constant will to publish Our daughters’ several dowers, that future strife May be prevented now. The two great princes, France and Burgundy, Great rivals in our youngest daughter’s love, Long in our court have made their amorous sojourn, And here are to be answered. Tell me, my daughters – Since now we will divest us both of rule, Interest of territory, cares of state – Which of you shall we say doth love us most, That we our largest bounty may extend Where nature doth with merit challenge. Goneril, Our eldest born, speak first.

Sir, I love you more than word can wield the matter, Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty, Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare, No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honour; As much as child e’er loved, or father found; A love that makes breath poor, and speech unable. Beyond all manner of so much I love you.

I am made of that self mettle as my sister And prize me at her worth. In my true heart I find she names my very deed of love; Only she comes too short, that I profess Myself an enemy to all other joys Which the most precious square of sense possesses, And find I am alone felicitate In your dear Highness’ love.

I cannot heave My heart into my mouth. I love your Majesty According to my bond, no more nor less.

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.

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 neighboured, pitied, and relieved As thou my sometime daughter.

LEAR: [To Kent] I loved her most, and thought to set my rest On her kind nursery. [To Cordelia] Hence and avoid my sight! – So be my grave my peace, as here I give Her father’s heart from her.

Royal Lear, Whom I have ever honoured as my king, Loved as my father, as my master followed, As my great patron thought on in my prayers.

A wretch whom Nature is ashamed Almost t’ acknowledge hers.

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!

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.

GLOUCESTER [Reads]: "This policy and reverence of age makes the world bitter to the best of our times; keeps our fortunes from us till our oldness cannot relish them. I begin to find an idle and fond bondage in the oppression of aged tyranny; who sways, not as it hath power, but as it is suffered. Come to me, that of this I may speak more. If our father would sleep till I waked him, you should enjoy half his revenue for ever, and live the beloved of your brother, Edgar." Hum? Conspiracy? "Sleep till I waked him, you should enjoy half his revenue," – My son Edgar! Had he a hand to write this? a heart and brain to breed it in? – When came this to you? Who brought it?

O villain, villain! His very opinion in the letter. Unnatural, detested, brutish villain! Worse than brutish! Go, sirrah, seek him; I’ll apprehend him: abominable villain! Where is he?

He cannot be such a monster.

Love cools, friendship falls off, brothers divide; in cities, mutinies; in countries, discord; in palaces, treason; and the bond cracked ‘twixt son and father.

By day and night he wrongs me. Every hour He flashes into one gross crime or other That sets us all at odds.

E’er since thou mad’st thy daughters thy mothers. For when thou gav’st them the rod and put’st down thine own breeches.

They will make an obedient father.

Ingratitude, thou marble-hearted fiend, More hideous when thou show’st thee in a child Than the sea-monster!

Hear, Nature, hear, dear goddess, hear! Suspend thy purpose if thou didst intend To make this creature fruitful. Into her womb convey sterility. Dry up in her the organs of increase, And from her derogate body never spring A babe to honour her! If she must teem, Create her child of spleen, that it may live And be a thwart disnatured torment to her. Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth, With cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks, Turn all her mother’s pains and benefits To laughter and contempt, that she may feel How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is To have a thankless child! – Away, away!

How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is To have a thankless child! – Away, away!

CORNWALL: Edmund, I hear that you have shown your father A childlike office. EDMUND: It was my dury, sir.

My face I’ll grime with filth, Blanket my loins, elf all my hairs in knots, And with presented nakedness outface The winds and persecutions of the sky. The country gives me proof and precedent Of Bedlam beggars who with roaring voices Strike in their numbed and mortifièd arms Pins, wooden pricks, nails, sprigs of rosemary, And, with this horrible object, from low farms, Poor pelting villages, sheepcotes, and mills, Sometime with lunatic bans, sometime with prayers, Enforce their charity. "Poor Turlygod! Poor Tom!" That’s something yet. "Edgar" I nothing am.

Edgar I nothing am.

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.

O, how this mother swells up toward my heart! Hysterica passio, down, thou climbing sorrow, Thy element’s below!

O, sir! You are old; Nature in you stands on the very verge Of her confine. You should be rul’d and led By some discretion that discerns your state Better than you yourself. Therefore, I pray you That to our sister you do make return. Say you have wronged her.

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King Lear Essay | Essay

Parent/Child Relationships in "Corialanus" and "King Lear"

We delve straight into Lear's relationship with his daughters in Act One. Lear, in order...

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Parent-Child Relationship in “King Lear” Essay

• Category: Book
• Words: 1322
• Published: 02.11.20
• Views: 1090

In the middle of King Lear lies the relationship among father and child. Central to this filial theme is the conflict among man’s regulation and nature’s law.

Normal law is definitely synonymous with the moral power usually connected with divine rights. Those who adhere to the tenets of all-natural law will be those heroes in the textual content who take action instinctively for the common good–Kent, Albany, Edgar, and Cordelia. Eventually, Gloucester and Lear learn the significance of natural rules when they know that they have broken these fundamental tenets, with both finally checking out nature to find answers for why their children have betrayed them. Their counterparts, Edmund, Goneril, Regan, and Cornwall, represent the evil that functions in violation of natural law.

All four conspirators are devoid of conscience and lack recognition of higher ethical authority, simply because never consider divine proper rights as they plan their wicked. Their legislation is man-made, and it focuses on the consumer, not the favorable of the community. Tragedy unfolds as two carefully interwoven and seite an seite stories check out the desertion of normal order as well as the unnatural unfaithfulness of parent and child. In the principal plot, Lear betrays his youngest daughter and is tricked by his two most ancient daughters. In almost similar fashion, the subplot shows another daddy, Gloucester, who have betrays his older legit son and who is tricked by his younger illegitimate son.

In both instances, the natural filial marriage between daddy and kids is demolished through a lack of knowledge, a renunciation of standard fairness and natural buy, and hasty judgment depending on emotions. By the play’s end, the desertion of natural order leaves the stage littered with the dead body of fathers and their kids. In the starting act, Lear creates a love test to justify offering Cordelia a bigger share of his empire.

Although his kingdom ought to be divided equally, Lear clearly loves Cordelia more and really wants to give her the largest, choice section of his wealth. In exchange, Lear needs excessive flattery and full confessions of affection. But rather, Cordelia’s response is reinforced, honest, and reasonable–custom requires that your woman share her love between her husband and her father. Just like soon because Cordelia does not meet her father’s objectives, Lear disinherits her.

At Cordelia’s reduction, Goneril and Regan will be quick to take advantage. They might have truly loved their particular father previously, but they at this point seem sick and tired with having been approved over in favor of their younger sister. After Lear claims his obvious preference pertaining to Cordelia, the older siblings feel free to seek their revenge, turning the family’s organic order on its ear. At the same time, Lear fails to see the strength and justice in natural law, and disinherits his most youthful child, as a result setting in motion the disaster that follows.

Lear sets in place a competition between sisters that will hold them to their very own graves. Within a similar father-child relationship, the opening scene of California king Lear positions Gloucester being a thoughtless parent. The audience’s introduction to this second dad has him speaking of Edmund’s birth within a derogatory fashion. Although Gloucester says that he really loves both Edmund and Edgar equally, world does not consider the two as equal–and none does Gloucester, whose appreciate is limited to words and not actions of equality.

In accordance to nature’s law, Edmund is as much Gloucester’s son as Edgar is; yet according to man’s law of primogeniture, Edmund is usually not recognized as Gloucester’s heir. In one of the primary pieces of details offered about Edmund, Gloucester tells Kent that Edmund has been aside seeking his fortune, nevertheless he has now returned. Underneath English regulation, Edmund is without fortune in the home, nor any kind of entitlement. Edmund’s return looking for family good fortune provides the 1st hint that he will seize what The english language laws will never give him.

Evidently, Edmund’s activities are a result of his father’s preference–both legal and filial–for Edgar, his older and legit son. This kind of favoritism contributes to Edmund’s intend to destroy his father in an attempt to gain legitimacy and Gloucester’s estate. Again, the natural order of family is ignored. Gloucester rejects natural regulation and a parent’s like for his child when he is easily certain that Edgar–the son he claims to appreciate so much–has betrayed him.

Gloucester as well puts his faith in Edmund’s command word of persuasive language, when he rejects the love his eldest boy has constantly shown him. With this kind of move, the earl illustrates that he can be swayed by eloquence, a man-made construct for easy persuasion, which causes him to reject normal law as well as the bond between father and child. Edmund both neglects and embraces natural law. By betraying his father to Cornwall and Regan, Edmund’s self-serving course of action abandons nature’s purchase and instead foreshadows the neo-Darwinist argument to get survival from the strongest person.

His capability to survive and win can be not depending on competitive tactics or healthy and balanced family relationships; instead, Edmund will take what he desires by deceiving those who trust and appreciate him. Edmund’s greed favors natural law over man’s law because natural legislation doesn’t proper care that Edmund is illegitimate. He claims nature as his ally because he is a “natural” offspring, and because man’s legislation neglects to acknowledge his rights of gift of money. But , nature only serves Edmund as a convenient reason for his actions.

His actions against his buddy and daddy are more a facet of greed than any reliance in natural rules. One might argue that Gloucester’s cavalier attitude toward Edmund’s conception mitigates Edmund’s actions. When incorporating this possibility with Edmund’s final landscape, in which he tries to save Cordelia and Lear, Edmund clearly shows himself to get of different cloth than Goneril, Regan, and Cornwall.

In many ways, Gloucester is liable for what Edmund becomes. Edmund is as very much Gloucester’s boy as is Edgar. In enjoying the man-made laws that reject Edmund’s legal rights, Gloucester is denying natural laws that could make Edmund and Edgar equal. Gloucester also functions against characteristics in rejecting Edgar with out sufficient evidence of his wrongdoing; thus Gloucester shares responsibility for the actions stated in this article, just as Lear’s love test out results in his rejection of Cordelia. Both men are easily fooled and consequently, they both reject natural law and the children.

The two act with no deliberation, with hasty replies that ultimately betray their very own descendants. On the play’s bottom line, Goneril and Regan’s desertion of normal order and the subscription to evil features finally destroyed them. The group learns early on in the final scene that Goneril has poisoned Regan and killed herself.

Their very own deaths can be a result of unpleasant competition, the two for electric power and for take pleasure in. But Lear is the person who set in motion the necessity to establish durability through competition, when he rough sister against sister inside the love evaluation. For the audience, the generational conflict among parent and child is definitely an anticipated part of your life. We grow impatient with this parents and so they with us.

All of us attempt to control our children, and so they rebel. The moment Goneril complains that Lear and his males are disruptive and unmanageable, we can empathize–recognizing that our individual parent’s trips can expand too long or perhaps that our children’s friends is often rather noisy. Shakespeare’s examination of natural order is usually central to the own lives, and that is among the enduring features of California king Lear.

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William Shakespeare

• Literature Notes
• Parent-Child Relationships : The Neglect of Natural Law
• Play Summary
• About King Lear
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Act I: Scene 1
• Act I: Scene 2
• Act I: Scene 3
• Act I: Scene 4
• Act I: Scene 5
• Act II: Scene 1
• Act II: Scene 2
• Act II: Scene 3
• Act II: Scene 4
• Act III: Scene 1
• Act III: Scene 2
• Act III: Scene 3
• Act III: Scene 4
• Act III: Scene 5
• Act III: Scene 6
• Act III: Scene 7
• Act IV: Scene 1
• Act IV: Scene 2
• Act IV: Scene 3
• Act IV: Scene 4
• Act IV: Scene 5
• Act IV: Scene 6
• Act IV: Scene 7
• Act V: Scene 1
• Act V: Scene 2
• Act V: Scene 3
• Character Analysis
• Earl of Gloucester
• Earl of Kent / Caius
• Edgar / Poor Tom
• Duke of Albany
• Duke of Cornwall
• King of France
• Duke of Burgundy
• Character Map
• William Shakespeare Biography
• Critical Essays
• Major Themes
• Major Symbols
• Divine Justice
• Kingship and Lear
• Famous Quotes
• Film Versions
• Full Glossary
• Essay Questions
• Practice Projects
• Cite this Literature Note

Critical Essays Parent-Child Relationships : The Neglect of Natural Law

At the heart of King Lear lies the relationship between father and child. Central to this filial theme is the conflict between man's law and nature's law. Natural law is synonymous with the moral authority usually associated with divine justice. Those who adhere to the tenets of natural law are those characters in the text who act instinctively for the common good — Kent, Albany, Edgar, and Cordelia.

Eventually, Gloucester and Lear learn the importance of natural law when they recognize that they have violated these basic tenets, with both finally turning to nature to find answers for why their children have betrayed them. Their counterparts, Edmund, Goneril, Regan, and Cornwall, represent the evil that functions in violation of natural law. All four conspirators are without conscience and lack recognition of higher moral authority, since they never consider divine justice as they plot their evil. Their law is man-made, and it focuses on the individual, not the good of the community. Tragedy unfolds as two carefully interwoven and parallel stories explore the abandonment of natural order and the unnatural betrayal of parent and child.

In the primary plot, Lear betrays his youngest daughter and is betrayed by his two oldest daughters. In almost identical fashion, the subplot reveals another father, Gloucester, who betrays his older legitimate son and who is betrayed by his younger illegitimate son. In both cases, the natural filial relationship between father and children is destroyed through a lack of awareness, a renunciation of basic fairness and natural order, and hasty judgment based on emotions. By the play's end, the abandonment of natural order leaves the stage littered with the dead bodies of fathers and their children.

In the opening act, Lear creates a love test to justify giving Cordelia a larger share of his kingdom. Although his kingdom should be divided equally, Lear clearly loves Cordelia more and wants to give her the largest, choice section of his wealth. In return, Lear expects excessive flattery and gushing confessions of love. But instead, Cordelia's reply is tempered, honest, and reasonable — custom dictates that she share her love between her husband and her father.

Just as soon as Cordelia fails to meet her father's expectations, Lear disinherits her. At Cordelia's loss, Goneril and Regan are quick to take advantage. They may have genuinely loved their father at one time, but they now seem tired of having been passed over in favor of their younger sister. After Lear states his obvious preference for Cordelia, the older sisters feel free to seek their revenge, turning the family's natural order on its ear. At the same time, Lear fails to see the strength and justice in natural law, and disinherits his youngest child, thus setting in motion the disaster that follows. Lear puts in place a competition between sisters that will carry them to their graves.

In a similar father-child relationship, the opening scene of King Lear positions Gloucester as a thoughtless parent. The audience's introduction to this second father has him speaking of Edmund's birth in a derogatory manner. Although Gloucester says that he loves both Edmund and Edgar equally, society does not regard the two as equal — and neither does Gloucester, whose love is limited to words and not actions of equality. According to nature's law, Edmund is as much Gloucester's son as Edgar is; but according to man's law of primogeniture, Edmund is not recognized as Gloucester's heir.

In one of the initial pieces of information offered about Edmund, Gloucester tells Kent that Edmund has been away seeking his fortune, but he has now returned. Under English law, Edmund has no fortune at home, nor any entitlement. Edmund's return in search of family fortune provides the first hint that he will seize what English laws will not give him. Clearly, Edmund's actions are a result of his father's preference — both legal and filial — for Edgar, his older and legitimate son. This favoritism leads to Edmund's plan to destroy his father in an attempt to gain legitimacy and Gloucester's estate. Again, the natural order of family is ignored.

Gloucester rejects natural law and a parent's love for his child when he is easily convinced that Edgar — the son he claims to love so much — has betrayed him. Gloucester also puts his faith in Edmund's command of persuasive language, when he rejects the love his eldest son has always shown him. With this move, the earl demonstrates that he can be swayed by eloquence, a man-made construct for easy persuasion, which causes him to reject natural law and the bond between father and child.

Edmund both ignores and embraces natural law. By betraying his father to Cornwall and Regan, Edmund's self-serving course of action abandons nature's order and instead foreshadows the neo-Darwinist argument for survival of the strongest individual. His ability to survive and win is not based on competitive strategies or healthy family relationships; instead, Edmund will take what he desires by deceiving those who trust and love him.

Edmund's greed favors natural law over man's law because natural law doesn't care that Edmund is illegitimate. He claims nature as his ally because he is a "natural" offspring, and because man's law neglects to recognize his rights of inheritance. But, nature only serves Edmund as a convenient excuse for his actions. His actions against his brother and father are more a facet of greed than any reliance on natural law.

One might argue that Gloucester's cavalier attitude toward Edmund's conception mitigates Edmund's actions. When combining this possibility with Edmund's final scene, in which he tries to save Cordelia and Lear, Edmund clearly shows himself to be of different fabric than Goneril, Regan, and Cornwall. In many ways, Gloucester is responsible for what Edmund becomes. Edmund is as much Gloucester's son as is Edgar. In embracing the man-made laws that reject Edmund's legal rights, Gloucester is denying natural laws that would make Edmund and Edgar equal.

Gloucester also acts against nature in rejecting Edgar without sufficient proof of his wrongdoing; thus Gloucester shares responsibility for the actions that follow, just as Lear's love test results in his rejection of Cordelia. Both men are easily fooled and consequently, they both reject natural law and their children. Both act without deliberation, with hasty responses that ultimately betray their descendants.

At the play's conclusion, Goneril and Regan's abandonment of natural order and their subscription to evil has finally destroyed them. The audience learns early in the final scene that Goneril has poisoned Regan and killed herself. Their deaths are a result of unnatural competition, both for power and for love. But Lear is the one who set in motion the need to establish strength through competition, when he pitted sister against sister in the love test.

For the audience, the generational conflict between parent and child is an expected part of life. We grow impatient with our parents and they with us. We attempt to control our children, and they rebel. When Goneril complains that Lear and his men are disruptive and out of control, we can empathize — recognizing that our own parent's visits can extend too long or that our children's friends can be quite noisy. Shakespeare's examination of natural order is central to our own lives, and that is one of the enduring qualities of King Lear .

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