Tragedy of King Lear

1. King Lear
Answers to discussion Questions
Instructor: Bibi Halima
Bibi.halima@uow.edu.pk

3. “He is not of an age, but for all time.”
Ben Johnson
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4. “Shakespeare reveals a different face to different cultures and
different people at different times,”
Bruce Smith, Dean’s Professor of English and professor of theater at USC.
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5. Hi Everyone
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I am Bibi Halima
I am here because I love to teach Shakespeare

6. Discussion Questions
 What is so great about Shakespeare? Why is he still important and
relevant to world?
 What is the role of fool in the play and what has happened to him?
 What is the lesson of the play?
 What are the different stages of Lear's insanity. Is it true that King
Lear is the tragedy of a "man going sane", as some critics suggest him
a hero who undergoes through the journey of “from ‘I’ to ‘eye’”?
 What makes King Lear The great tragedy of all times?

7.  What is so great about Shakespeare? Why is
he still important to world?
What is so great about Shakespeare?
 Excellent Power/ability to arrange words and create timeless expressions and phrases people use today
 He is a chain in history; his work falls into fraternity of classical school and pop culture is derived from it, so HE is HISTORY.
 His Plots and themes are conventional yet timeless (His stories transcend time and culture even modern story tellers continue
to adapt Shakespeare’s tale to suit modern world e.g, The Lion King, The love story of Tylor Swift, West Side Story, She is the
Man, )
 His characters have universal appeal as said by Samuel Johnson
“His characters … are the genuine progeny of common humanity, such as the world will always supply, and
observation will always find.”
 He shapes his complex characters in a way that their transformation stands
 He expresses his observation about the world and mankind in the wisest fashion that it seems he is the most sane person
ever breathed (expresses deepest level of human motivation in an individual, social and universal situation)
 He did something that most people cannot do in their life. He wrote 37 plays, built his own theatre, cherished success in his
lifetime, gave his personal distinct pattern to his plays yet wrote in conversation style.
 His work is so emotional and intense
 Master at using literary techniques
 True standard of playwright belongs to him alone

8.  What is … world? (Cont.)
What is he still important to world?
 The language which is used to teach students i.e., English, owes a bigger part to Shakespeare (approx. 2000 words). Many of
the words and phrases like, brave new world, tongue-tied, green-eyed, jealousy, amazement, Dogs of War, A heart of
gold, baseless, in a pickle, All that glitter is not gold, break the ice, it is Greek to me, love is blind, live long day
assassination etc we use in daily life were coined by him
 He is inspiration to many present-day writers and Influenced renowned writers many such as Dickens, Hardy,
and Faulkner etc. Moreover, He aroused so many scholars and critics to write countless essays, books and journal in his
name
 Shakespeare has been a profitable brand for hundreds of years for producers and directors. Hundreds of pictures were
produced as an adaptation of his work. Not only pictures but his works have been used to sell soap, chocolate, cigarettes,
computers, beer, soda and almost anything else you can think of
“Shakespeare is Everywhere”

9. What is the role of fool in the play and what has
happened to him?
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His Role
The fool has the fool’s privilege — under
normal circumstances, he can get away with
mocking the king, which no one else can do
with anything resembling impunity. Once Lear
gives up his power, and is quite literally left
out in the cold, the fool retains this privilege,
despite Lear’s occasional threats, and he
becomes a bitter and anguished truth-teller:
he is the one who continually needles Lear
into recognizing how foolish he (Lear) has
been, how it is the king who has become the
true fool, and the coxcombed jester whose
words now carry more weight and wisdom
and he is the king’sbadconscience,
nettling him for banishing Cordelia and
trusting Goneril and Regan.
Thatthe fool becomes the sagecommentator precisely
as the king’smind begins tocome apartat theseams reflects
many larger themes of the play. Mostof Shakespeare’splays
containeda “fool.” Why? Hewrotehis plays to entertainpeople
of all intellectualabilities.This is one reason why many people
consider him tobe a genius. In “King Lear,” perhaps his greatest
literarywork,the kingtrades places witha fool. This role-
reversalhas perplexedliterarycritics for centuries.
Beyond all this,thefool is a surrogatechild.Lear keeps callinghim “my boy,” and thefool clearly
loves Lear, thoughhe “pines away” for thebanished Cordelia,whom Lear loved best,and who loved
Lear best,thoughshe refusedto flatterhim. When Cordeliais murderedatthe play’s truly horrific
climax,Lear laments “my poor fool is hang’d” — which many have takentosuggest thatthetwo
characterswereplayed by the same boy actor (they are never onstagetogether,and thefool
mysteriously vanishesfrom theplay, never toreturn,shortly before Cordelia reappears).Whetheror
not thesame-actorhypothesis is true,thereis definitely some kindof underlying thematicconnection
betweenthetwo characters,a kindof twinningor surrogationthatis common in Shakespeare.
Indeed, Lear itselfis full of darkdoublings:the main plot and subplot,withtheir fracturedparent-
child relationshipsand talk of blindness,mirror and comment upon each other,and confronteach
other unforgettablyin Act IV,scene vi, thegreatestscene in all drama; Goneriland Regan are almost
indistinguishable;deceptiveEdmund pretendsto be the good son Edgar (somewhat problematically)
is, and Edgar endures the“baseness” Edmunddescribesas thelot of bastards (“Why bastard?
Whereforebase?”).

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Better a witty fool than a foolish wit
Sometimes, youjusthaveto playtheroleof
fool to foolthe foolwhothinksto foolyou.
Everybody plays the fool
The smartest person in the room is fool

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What happens to fool? Why does he disappear after
storm scene?
Because by the end of the storm he isn't needed. Post-storm, you have Lear, who's lost his wits
for the rest of the play but replaces the role of fool and starts uttering stream of wits.
Lear has found Edgar, who feigns madness up until Gloucester's attempted suicide.
“poor fool” can be Cordelia as disguised so he disappears after storm scene because in the
next act, she, Cordelia, has to appear and assist her father.
Other productions say that Lear in the fit of violent madness accidentally kills the fool. Yes, it is
harsh!
Maybe, in the company of Lear, disguised Kent and Edgar he becomes insane, leave them and
wanders everywhere muttering the riddles.
Or maybe, fool packs his bag and leaves in search of some sane masters in France as he has to
earn the living for himself and he is in fact a wise man. (Not a joke!)
https://goodticklebrain.com/

12. What is the lesson of the play?
Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst
been wise

13. King lear is a play about disintegration of world. ~Jan Kott
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Relationships(three-prong
relationship)
Relationship is one of heaviest themes of
play. Three kinds of relationships are
highlighted.
Father-prong
Master-prong
King-prong
Mutabilityand Empathy
Only these feelings of empathy and mutability
allow an emotional and valuable connection to
blossom and reinforce the trust among people.
Without empathy, world is like storm scene of the
play and everyone has to suffer like Lear or any
other character of the play (All suffered because
nothingcomesout of nothing)life is full of horrific events, and not all human affairs are
saved by deus ex machina. Sometimes, it really is too late.
Sometimes, life is miserable and ends miserably, and that
is that. (wheel of fortune)

14. Personification of ingratitude. ~Hudson
14Critics about King Lear: https://prezi.com/9zbyrdcabyes/critic-quotes-king-lear/
Choicesdecidethe consequences
it is through our own actions of inhumanity to one another that we can lose
our humanity as Lear uses his power to justify his poorly made decisions
(Disinheriting Cordeliaand banishing Kent).
Glouster also learns more from this suffering than anyone other than King
Lear. He learns that he falsely suspected Edgar of treachery so his choice
made him blind.
The worldof playis growingNihilistic
Old order of things is dying, and the older generation(s) that sustained
it — now the bastard Edmund bucks primogenitureand mocks the
word “legitimate,”now the world has become unrecognizable, now it is
no longer possible for the play’s elders to understand the times,
to seeclearly, an idea gruesomelyconcretizedwhen Cornwall blinds
Gloucesteronstage, a momentwhose onstage violence has little or no
precedentin English drama and still makes people squirm; that the
ethical world is turned upside down; that hierarchy is disintegrating;
that divine powers to not ensure that degree,priority, and place remain
in force.

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What are the different stages of Lear's insanity. Is it true that King Lear is the tragedy of a "man going
sane", as some critics suggest him a hero who undergoes through the journey of “from ‘I’ to ‘eye’”?
In madness, lies sanity
Ignorance
1. Lear divides his kingdom
2. Lear disinherits Cordelia
and banishes Kent
(He ignorantlyuses his power
to justifyhis poorly made
decisions.This stageof Lear
reflects man’s lack of proper
judgment and blindness to
truthas a result of impulsive
decisions and incredible mood
swings.
Realization
1. Goneril and Regan’s inconsiderateand
humiliating treatment towards Lear
2. Lear leaves the world and moves to open
heath where meets beggar(Tom o’ Bedlam)
3. The storm scene is the moment of his
realizationwhen he makes the most powerful
speeches
4. He has completely deteriorated into madness
by this time. He is first found running around a
field with a crown of flowers on his head and not
a word he says makes any logical sense. When
he has flashes of sanity they merely serve to
make the people around him pity him more
5. He is much more stronger than one expects
him to be
'The wonder is, he hath endur'd so long:'
Stoicism
1. He meets his daughter
Cordelia and feels as if he is
dead
2. He embraces the reality
3. He supersedes all ordinary
joys and griefs
4. He finds wisdom when he no
longer values material
possessions (as he reunites
with Cordelia and promises
her that they both will be
overjoyed in each other’s
company
5. He finds a reward of his
sufferings

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Lear’s Stoicism
“The universe is not a machine, it’s a roulette wheel, and
though the Stoics do advise us not to count on controlling
anything except one’s self, they nevertheless try, else why
all this talk about virtue and striving against all odds.”
Lear has found empathy and peace though for the world
he may be crazy or mad. He is ready to give and to listen
poor people. His realization has made him kind and
kindness is redemption.
“I became insane with long intervals of horrible insanity”
~Poe
“Madness is a lot like gravity. All it takes is a little push”
~Joker, 2019
“Insanityis super sanity”
The weight of this sad time we must obey;
Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say

17. Why King Lear is seen as the best
tragedy of all times?
The ending of play cleanses the
world and hence profoundly
moral . This purification and
restoration help remaining
characters evolve.
Death, despair and grief wrap
everyonein the play. Nothing
except nihilism is left in the
world. The sufferingsare
beyond any measure.

18. King Lear: The Greatest Tragedy of all times
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Tragedy is the result of terrible
errors man makes. It is the
most intense examination of
human experience on this
world.
It is unlike Greek tragedy
(tragedy of fate, hamartia,
Achilles' heel), it is a tragedy of
character caused by one’s own
flaw or error.
This play is about the most
universal and basic emotions that
exist between human beings i.e.,
Father and daughters, father and
sons, master and subjects etc.
Tragic fate is the ruin or death of man. It
happens the same in King Lear but
Shakespeare told us that direst
misfortune cannot dim the light of noble
character but servesto render that
light more overpoweringand absolute.
As said,
“… in the reproofof chance
Lies the true proofof men…”The world is mystery and so is the
play.Fate plays a role somehow in
determining the course of life as
Cordelia meets so horrible an end
in spite of her goodness,crueller
death than Goneril’sor Regan’s.
this is one of those mysteriesof
fate, “whichHeavenwillnot have
earthto know”

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GoodInnocent characters of the play lost so much inspite of their virtues that no more can be lost.
The honesty, paternal love,loyalty,brotherly trust, and compassion cost them so heavily and throw them under the
calamity of dark forces.
Through their virtues men, “give hostage to fortune”
The structure of King Lear makes the play the
great tragedy for it is the dramatic structure.
Shakespeare exploited the unity of structure
yet it is seen is the scenes of play.
“ I am man moresinnedagainst
than sinning”
“Whenwe are born,we cry that we
are cometo thisgreatstageof fools.”
“ The princeof darknessis a
gentleman”
“Thoushouldstnot havebeenold
beforethouhadst beenwise”
“Menmustenduretheirgoinghence
even as theircominghither”

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“The horror of Lear’s story is unnatural behaviour of
Goneril and Regan… not only personal sins but an
upsetting of civilized values”
Helen Norris
What else doyouhave
tosay about the tragedy
of KingLear?

21. Discussion Questions
 How does loyalty and disloyal affectthe fateof characters in the play?
 Compare Lear’s two daughterRegan and Goneril?Who supersedewho? Why did Goneril kill herselfafter posioning Regan?
 There are many women in the play, but no mothers. What effect do you think the absence of mothers creates? Can
you imagine Lear’s wife? Goneril’s children? Edmund’s mother? What difference would such characters have made
to the play?
 What about a father? Do you think it would be a mistake or a good idea for parents to give propertyto children while the
parents are still alive?
 The idea of service is of fundamentalimportance in the play. Who uses the words serveand service? What does authority
have to do with service? What sort of relationship do these words outline? Do theybelong to familyor
state? both? neither?
 What does it meanto say there can be an analogy betweenfamily and state?What happens to the word familyby the
comparison with the state? What happens to the word stateby comparison with the family?
 Why is King Lear one of the greatesttragediesever written?
 the weight of this sad timewe must obey;
Speakwhat we feel,not what we ought to say.
The oldest hath borne most: we that are young
Shall never see so much, nor live so long.
Exeunt,with a dead marc
In what way does Edgar’s speech seem to be a fitting end to the play? In what way is it not
fitting?

22. References/Links you may use for
further studies
 https://www.bisd303.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=12970&
dataid=15588&FileName=Absent%20Mother%20in%20Lear.pdf
 http://www.editoreric.com/greatlit/books/King-Lear.html
 https://www.jstor.org/stable/27533502?seq=13#metadata_info_tab_contents
 https://youtu.be/Fm7OR6E23Lo
 https://youtu.be/Kh3gMcOUFao
 https://youtu.be/9_33rTUP2Pc
 https://youtu.be/416bP54w5NA
 https://youtu.be/KKu1YrVUUz8

23. Any question?
You can send me your concerns and remarks at
Bibi.halima@uow.edu.pk
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24. Dear Students
Hope you would have cherished and loved Shakespeare’s work as much as I
wanted it to be delightful for you. In case you have not enjoyed it, I am still
hopeful that one day later in your life, you will find it the most wonderful
tragedy ever composed by darling Shakespeare.
Hope to see you with next amazing story, breathtaking setting, and
unforgettable characters very soon.
Much love, God bless you all.
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