Comparing Lear, Nietzsche, And Kierkegaard

Comparative Essay In William Shakespeare’s timeless play King Lear and in Akira Kurosawa’s critically acclaimed film Ran, Tragic heroes Lord Hidetora and King Lear experience the rotation of power due to their major character flaws. In the renditions of King Lear preformed by James Earl Jones and Lawrence Olivier, the elements of tragedy are well demonstrated through exceptional acting and great character development.

In the “Story of an Hour” we observe many instances in which irony takes place.

Irony is used in many different types of texts for the purpose of teaching us a lesson. We experience irony in our lives through our own encounters as well as through texts and media. There are three types of irony: situational, verbal, and dramatic. Each type has a way of teaching us an important lesson, although some are more common than others. In the Poem “The Old Man’s Lazy” by Peter Blue Cloud, irony is used throughout the text, allowing us to learn from the characters’ mistakes.

"Irony is a device that protects him (the artist) from the pain of his experience so that he may use it objectively in his art(Susquehanna. "New Critical")." In The Glass Menagerie, it is ironic how Tom speaks badly of his father and his leaving home but in the end he leaves home just like his father, the man "in love with long distances (Williams 30)''. The fact that Amanda wants what is best for her children is ironic because she worries so much over it that she doesn't realize what is best for them.

One’s downfall may be caused by many factors, such as an individual’s traits. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s cynical behaviour towards those around him causes him to see his classmates around him in a negative perspective. Similarly, in King Lear, King Lear’s attitude towards his honest daughter, Cordelia causes him to banish his most-loving and caring daughter away from England. Then, both protagonists are prompted to a punishment of physical humiliation. Likewise, both protagonists are mentally ill and have reached a breaking point, causing psychological problems. In The Catcher in the Rye and King Lear, Holden and King Lear are led to an eventual downfall due to their behaviour towards those around them, physical humiliation, and

Without doubt, Edgar Allan Poe’s story is one of the author’s masterpiece. The story is an exhibit of artistic genius with various literary features well incorporated. Among them, irony, defined as, “A figure of speech which is a contradiction or incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs”, is the most evident. Allan Poe demonstrates the use of various types of irony throughout the play, which he uses to pass the intended message to the audience.

I will begin by, imposing the distinction between Socratic irony, and the one that is more familiar. As mentioned in the preceding section. The basic irony is simply

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, and Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying are considered to be all significant pieces in English literature. With that, it seems as though these pieces share a many commonalities. One of these commonalities would be the motif of irony. Shakespeare’s Hamlet contains a great deal of irony.

Comedy holds a very special place in the world of tragedy. Although, comedy can be seen as inappropriate at times, it is a crucial aspect of furthering both a storyline and characterization. In both the film Ran, directed by Akira Kurosawa and the play King Lear, written by Shakespeare, there seems to be an endless void of senseless violence and betrayal. Both the play and the movie display dark knotting of familial ties and sad decaying of sanity, there is very little light heartedness in the situations. Ran features the aging Lord Hidetora’s futile attempt at peacefully dividing his kingdom among his sons, and living out the rest of his days in retirement.

The soliloquy done by Kent provides background information that may be of importance to the big picture of King Lear; this information includes the plan of the French and how Lear’s kingdom has changed after power was given to Regan and Goneril.

Originally written at the start of the 17th century, William Shakespeare’s play, King Lear, has become one of his most famed works. The tragedy was first adapted for the screen in 1909 as a black and white, silent film. Almost a century later in 2008, King Lear was once more brought to life through director Trevor Nunn’s film adaptation of the same name. Staring Ian McKellen as King Lear, the film adaptation is based on the 2007 production of the play by the renowned Royal Shakespeare Company. King Lear is a story of betrayal, loss and madness and to accurately convey this while simultaneously distinguishing it from other screen renditions, Nunn alters the setting and utilises the colours of the costumes and backdrop to symbolise the virtues

Nietzsche and Kierkegaard are both considered to be the top existentialists for solely different reasons, as well as being very different from each other. They have different philosophies when it comes to their thoughts on religion and it is important to see exactly how they line up in this regard. The best way to do this is to start from the beginning of each’s work, their history and how they grew into their respective roles in their fields. It is also important to note exactly what existentialism is. It is the theory of exercising the idea that the individual has the freedom and free will to develop their own path and existence in a responsible manner. It is a very interesting subject that is debated on the concepts of thinking in absolutes. The need to compare and contrast these two is a volatile understanding of this particular philosophical theory. It is also important to review their thoughts and critique them in the sense of saying what makes sense, and what does not make sense.

Over the course of this chapter I will consider a number of themes and aspects of Nietzsche's philosophy. Drawing on my analysis in the previous pages, my aim is to show how Nietzsche's philosophical practice includes the use of irony as in Lear's understanding of this concept. Moreover, I will show how this use of irony influences and connects with other aspects of Nietzsche's thought. In this respect, I shall address Nietzsche's work starting from one of his early text – the first of the four Untimely Meditations, David Strauss: the Writer and the Confessor -, arguing that this writing can be seen as an exercise of irony. I shall then start discussing the context in which this work was produced, highlighting how it makes Nietzsche's approach

The opportunity to view both productions of King Lear has appeared twice for me in the past two years. The first time I viewed Trevor Nunn’s 2009 production of King Lear my review would have been based solely on my ability to understand the dialogue and my appreciation of the acting of Ian McKellen. Two years later I have a better understanding of the actual play and while I still enjoy the 2009 production the 1982 production directed by Jonathan Miller presents the words of William Shakespeare in a more accurate and period specific manor.

King Lear has a tendency to deny that which is natural for a woman--to leave her father's house and join that man to whom she has decided to devote herself in matrimony. This results in a tension between the natural course of life and the preservation of the status quo. The King's