The Shakespearean Canon

King Lear's fool is undoubtedly one of the wisest characters in the play. He is not only able to accurately analyze a situation which many other characters are blind to, but he is also able to foreshadow the actions of many characters and many other incidents to come. The main instruction the fool gives to the king is to beware of doing things that are unnatural, such as giving his inheritance, (splitting his kingdom among his daughters) to his daughters before he his dead. By doing this unnaturally, Lear must face many adverse consequences, such as losing his identity, self-worth, and respect from his daughters.

King Lear Act 1 Assignment By: Ackshan Devakumar 1. By dividing the kingdom, King Lear is hoping that after his death, there will be no nasty disputes about who gets the kingdom. Also, he does not want to take on any responsibilities as the king. By dividing the kingdom, it reduces his workload.

Then Lear has an insight into the nature of his own transgressions. His attainment of self-awareness is a step forward despite the consequences. Dismissing his feelings at the end of this episode highlights the Fool’s function the play. For the first time, he obtains empathy and considers someone else’s feelings and puts their comfort in mind before his own. By the end of Act II the prime external causes of Lear’s madness have brought about a change in Lear’s thoughts and beliefs concerning man, the universe, a change in thought that is both a cause and a reinforcement of his

At the beginning of “King Lear,” an authoritative and willful protagonist dominates his court, making a fateful decision by rewarding his two treacherous daughters and banishing his faithful one in an effort to preserve his own pride. However, it becomes evident during the course of the tragedy that this protagonist, Lear, uses his power only as a means of projecting a persona, which he hides behind as he struggles to maintain confidence in himself. This poses a problem, since the audience is prevented from feeling sympathy for the king. Shakespeare’s ironic solution is to allow Lear’s progressing madness to be paired with his recognition of truth, thereby forcing Lear to shed his persona, and

William Shakespeare is a loved play writer and author by many people around the world. William Shakespeare born on April 26, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom, was one of the world's best known and most loved play writers, and poem writers. Shakespeare's parents were John Shakespeare (his father) and Mary Shakespeare (his mother). John Shakespeare was a leather and wool worker and money lender, and Mary Shakespeare was a stay at home mom. William Shakespeare was baptized at the Holy Trinity Church which was located in Stratford-Upon-Avon.

In addition to the contribution of establishing Shakespeare’s authorship, Pavier and Jaggard largely protected Shakespeare’s manuscripts and presented more authentic works of Shakespeare by referring widely to the resources they could get assessed. Their method of editing could be considered as “critical editing”, which aims to represent the author’s final intention by comparative analysis of multiple texts(Evenden, 2016, p.54-55). Most of the Folio text, according to Jowett(2007), involve a more complicated cross- fertilization, which means the Folio texts must have absorbed various copies of previous quartos and theatrical manuscript to include longer passages(p. 77). The more complicated work of the printers, the direct or indirect referring

William Shakespeare’s King Lear is the tragic story of a king’s descent from power as the life that he had once had crumbles before him. It is a story that relies heavily on the relationships between its characters and how they change. Lear is slowly driven insane throughout the course of the play as he unintentionally rids himself of the positive relationships while relying upon negative ones. However, it is Margot Heinemann’s argument that the play not only relies on interpersonal drama, but also the politics of England in her essay, “‘Demystifying the Mystery of the State’: King Lear and the World Upside Down”. In her essay, Heinemann provides an in depth analysis of how the politics of England when the play takes place, and also when the

King Lear’s internal battle of giving away authority turns into a problem for his kingdom, as Steven Sohmer, of “Early Modern Literary Studies,” writes, “The redemptive elucidation of this text could depict the struggle between chaos and order as being relative to the demise of the kingdom due to Lear’s lapse…the concept of celestial versus terrestrial could be expressed…” (Sohmer). Lear’s frustration with his children is affecting him, especially seen when nature seems to be going against him as well. As the enraged king reflects on the demolition of his proposed arrangement, a livid storm occurs, representing the true severity of how upset he feels with how everything has turned out. In addition, Lear is faced to deal with the repercussions of his childrens’ wrongdoings when the news is delivered that, “There is division, although as yet the face of it be cover'd with mutual cunning, 'twixt Albany and Cornwall; who have--as who have not, that their great stars throned and set high? But, true it is, from France there comes a power into this scatter'd kingdom; who already, wise in our negligence, have secret feet in some of our best ports, and are at point to show their open banner…” (Shakespeare 27). Although the fault of Britain turning to turmoil is not entirely the king’s, he still feels responsible that his own children are power-hungry. Part of Lear’s internal

The literary canon is a classification of literature that is used widely to refer to a group of literary works that are most important of specific time period or place. A literary canon can establish a collection of similar or related literary works. In order for literature work to enter the canon it has to be decided by influential literacy critics, scholars, teachers, and other opinions who are highly respected. There are no rigid qualifications for canonization, whether work will be canonized remains a subjective decision.

The fool played a role of empathy with a sense of humor towards the realism of the situation with his words to the King in Act 1, Scene 4 he demonstrates that as he says, “give me an egg, d I’ll give thee two crowns. When gravest thy golden one away”. The fact that the King gave his kingdom to his two daughters and soon suffered the consequences of their irrational behavior is highlighted by the fool as the play progresses. Like the third daughter, his speech was true, for the King fell for his daughter’s high praise, rewarding them but in the end, he was cast away by those he though loved him the most. Similarly, he gave the King true hope with his compassionate expression of love through a smile that helped easy the King difficult situation as well as his care made the King’s life less miserable and rough.

Shakespeare’s Fool is often the sole character who avoids being sucked into the dramatic maelstrom that engulfs other characters. Fools make jokes and can be relatively easy to pass over. It is as though they are saying - laugh away and ignore the man telling jokes. However, their jokes hold the key to some of Shakespeare’s beliefs and outlook on life. They reveal his existential musings such as “who are we?” and “what is the meaning of it all?”. Fools try to answer these questions at the same time as they amuse audiences. Shakespeare’s Fool suggests one is better off laughing at and with the more difficult aspects of the human condition.

William Shakespeare’s King Lear is a dramatic play that displays many relationships between different characters. King Lear, himself, and Gloucester can be seen as two parallel characters with the same mentality, while at the same time be looked upon with differences. These two characters seem to be walking down the same path unknowingly, but in the end, Gloucester becomes truly blind to the world, and King Lear begins to take in reality as it is. The relationships between King Lear and Gloucester will be the central topic of this paper.

Shakespeare was a great writer, but there are some questions regarding his work as a play writer. When his plays were not published until after his death, some questions were raised about whether Shakespeare was the one who really wrote them. As an example, “Who else could have written his plays? How could Shakespeare describe certain scenery’s of places in his plays that he had never been to or seen? Was Shakespeare educated enough to write them himself? This research essay will cover some of the questions asked about Shakespeare’s work as a play writer.

Queens played a very important role in medieval history. They had many tasks to complete in the day. Queens could be linked to king through marriage, family, and property, queens were vital to the Monarchy.

One does not simply become the father of English literature. To be coined such a grandiose title requires the approval of many, and especially the king of England. Although an entertaining storyline does earn one respect as a writer/poet. It was Shakespeare’s masterful use of literary devices that garners the respect and acknowledgement of many modern day professors. In Act 3, Scene 1, Hamlet begins a soliloquy in which Shakespeare showcases his literary genius.