King Lear Research Paper
KING LEAR CHAOS VS ORDER SCRIPT
Purpose
Person #1: In order to fully understand the play King Lear you must understand the topic of Chaos and Order. Chaos is a condition or place of great disorder or confusion, and order is the opposite and in the play is the established system of social organization.
Now that you know the general definitions and ideas of chaos and order it will be easier for you to understand situations in the play where this topic is presented.
Person #2: For example throughout the play chaos and order are presented through the use of the chain of being. As you know the chain of being is the natural order of people from top to bottom starting at the top would be the King and at the bottom would be peasants. As the …show more content…
play progresses the chain of being is disrupted and this creates Chaos.
Person #1: At the start of the play Lear is the most powerful because he is king and at this point there is order because everyone is in their proper places, but as the play continues new people take his power and he is shoved to the bottom of the chain and then this creates chaos. By the end order is beginning to be restored because a new king is going to be chosen and the chain will be restored.
T-Chart
Person #2: This T-Chart shows examples of Chaos and Order in the play to help you further understand the theme. The first example would be when King Lear is dividing his kingdom at the beginning of the play. This shows chaos because a king is not supposed to have his kingdom divided until death. Another example would be Edmund’s plot against Edgar. Edmund wants to betray his father, Gloucester, by tricking him into believing Edgar is going to kill him. He does this so that he can get the higher title as he is a bastard child, creating a chaos within the family.
Person #1: The play is also in chaos when Lear banishes Kent for going against him and when he marries off Cordelia for not wanting to tell her father how much she loves him because it is so much. With this, Lear gives his evil daughters Goneril and Regan power of the kingdom. Their corrupted behavior turns the kingdom into a downward spiral of chaos. One last example of chaos is when Lear is on the heath during the storm and he makes a realization. He realizes at that point that he is as insignificant as every other human, and therefore goes insane from his loss of authority.
Person #2: As much as there is chaos in the play, there are many times when there is an attempt to get things back in order.
In the end of the play, Lear and Cordelia’s relationship has a turning point. Lear is grieving Cordelia’s execution, finally seeing her love for him. Cordelia had respected the “King” as one should. Her feelings towards him are the typical orderly fashion of a king’s daughter. Lear’s realization of his respectful daughter and evil daughters put things back into order. Another example of an attempt to keep things in order is when Edgar goes into disguise to try to prevent Gloucester’s suicide on the cliff. This was done to further prevent Edmund gaining Gloucester’s title, which would put things out of …show more content…
order.
Person #1: At the end of the play, things are finally beginning to get back into order when the only people who survive are good hearted. Edgar gets Gloucester’s title, as he was supposed to all along. A general symbol of order was the Wheel of Fortune that was referred to many times in the play. If you have power, you are at the top of the wheel. If you have no control, you are at the bottom. This represents the order of authority and how it changes in the play. One last example of order is when Lear begins to go insane. When this is occurring, Kent protects him by leading him to the heath so that he doesn’t die, which would cause more chaos in the kingdom.
Quotes
Person #2: There are also many quotes that demonstrate the theme of chaos vs order.
In this quote, Lear`s insanity is taking over because he feels venerable and useless with his lost of authority. Shows the chaos building inside of himself. Here, Gloucester demonstrates how everything in nature and the chain of being is in a state of chaos. Person #1: Lear is taking command over the situation where it's not his place. Prisoner is below the guards commands, chaotic by disturbing the correct order of the chain. Kent states that the wheel of fortune is out of place and is to be turned again. Chaos is occurring.
Literary Critics
Person #1: Literary critics give their own insight to give the reader new perspectives about the play and to help further understand it. These critics relate to our theme of chaos vs. order. G.K. Hunter, a British Shakespeare scholar, wrote:
“[King Lear] is seen as the greatest of tragedies because it not only strips and reduces and assaults human dignity, but because it also shows with the greatest force and detail the process of restoration by which humanity can recover from degradation.
“
The critic is describing how Shakespeare whittles down his characters, especially King Lear, to chaotic and confused people, and attacks their dignity at the core. King Lear is a proud grand King, who is highly respected in his Kingdom; Shakespeare however strips Lear of all dignity and creates a lunatic out of him. This reduction of dignity can be applied to many individuals in the play, such as Gloucester. Gloucester is initially a wise Earl in Lear’s kingdom, but Shakespeare molds Gloucester into a blind and suicidal person. In King Lear, the reader sees some of the most chaotic and disordered characters ever, creating the greatest tragedy, as Hunter proposes.
But as the critic suggests, King Lear also shows how order can be restored. King Lear will reconcile with Cordelia (before her death), and he is at peace with himself despite being imprisoned. Like Lear, Gloucester also makes amends with Edgar, upon discover of him being Tom. Both Lear and Gloucester show how chaotic beings can recover from the degradation of themselves, and how order in the individual can be restored.
Person #2: Similarly, American philosopher and educator, Denton Snider, would write how chaos and order is shown in society in King Lear:
“A history of society in small is shown in the drama; we see how a period gets corrupt and perverted, then how it is purified. A destructive element, a poison is introduced into the body politic, which passes through wrong, convulsion, revolution to restoration. Society is not tragic in Shakespeare, but the individual may be, if he collides with its interest, and persists in his collision.”
Snider writes that King Lear displays how society becomes chaotic and “perverted”, due to a “poison” being released. The poison described is authority and power. New authority is given in Act 1, Scene 1, which creates a new power dynamics in the play. New power to Regan, Goneril, and Edmund, creates a complex and chaotic society focused on self-interest at all cost.
However, Snider would continue:
“We notice that three men are left, the truly positive men of the play, Albany, Edgar and Kent, who are to build up anew the shattered social organism. Thus the tragedy leaves us hopeful of a purified society, and reconciled with the supreme ethical order, which, we feel, cannot perish, though it, too, has to pass through its periods of corruption and purification.”
Three men are left living in King Lear: Albany, Edgar, and Kent. All three were “positive men” who looked at their own interests, but for the good of society throughout the play. This final scene gives hope to the reader that although a tragic ending, the evil is gone and order will be restored.
Person #1: Taken from a Shakespeare newsletter, Nina daVinci says:
“When those out of favor with the wicked sisters, Kent and Edgar, crowd into the hovel on the heath with Lear, who says what sometimes is unclear but does not matter. The scene as a whole describes a chaos encroaching on the good people, for whom no refuge exists”
This literary critic is saying that when Kent and Edgar go to the heath with Lear, the things he are saying do not make sense because of his chaotic behaviour or insanity due to his daughters destruction of the kingdom. The critic is also describing that the chaos is happening to good people that cannot do anything about it. This relates to our theme chaos vs. order because Lear, who once was in order, is now in a chaotic state of mind and he has a realization that there is nothing that he can do to change his daughter’s corruption due to his loss of authority.
Person #2: Taken from the Shakespeare bulletin, a magazine that contains literary criticism, Sarah Neville says:
“From that point forward, the unfolding domestic tragedy spinning a country out of political control quickly became a fairy tale in which "wicked" queens met their downfall through their own jealousy, greed and lust.”
This literary critic is describing the fate of Lear’s evil daughters, Goneril and Regan. The critic is saying that the play evolved as a tragedy because evil had control and all order had been lost. However, the critic describes the ending as a “fairy tale” because those who were evil, Goneril and Regan, do not survive in the end. Their own decisions had led them to their fate. In Shakespeare, a play that ends with death is called a tragedy, but in this case it was a happy thing that the evil daughters had died, and the good people were left to rebuild the kingdom to put things back into order.
*Activity*
*Discussion Questions- if time*
Purpose
Person #1: In order to fully understand the play King Lear you must understand the topic of Chaos and Order. Chaos is a condition or place of great disorder or confusion, and order is the opposite and in the play is the established system of social organization.
Now that you know the general definitions and ideas of chaos and order it will be easier for you to understand situations in the play where this topic is presented.
Person #2: For example throughout the play chaos and order are presented through the use of the chain of being. As you know the chain of being is the natural order of people from top to bottom starting at the top would be the King and at the bottom would be peasants. As the …show more content…
play progresses the chain of being is disrupted and this creates Chaos.
Person #1: At the start of the play Lear is the most powerful because he is king and at this point there is order because everyone is in their proper places, but as the play continues new people take his power and he is shoved to the bottom of the chain and then this creates chaos. By the end order is beginning to be restored because a new king is going to be chosen and the chain will be restored.
T-Chart
Person #2: This T-Chart shows examples of Chaos and Order in the play to help you further understand the theme. The first example would be when King Lear is dividing his kingdom at the beginning of the play. This shows chaos because a king is not supposed to have his kingdom divided until death. Another example would be Edmund’s plot against Edgar. Edmund wants to betray his father, Gloucester, by tricking him into believing Edgar is going to kill him. He does this so that he can get the higher title as he is a bastard child, creating a chaos within the family.
Person #1: The play is also in chaos when Lear banishes Kent for going against him and when he marries off Cordelia for not wanting to tell her father how much she loves him because it is so much. With this, Lear gives his evil daughters Goneril and Regan power of the kingdom. Their corrupted behavior turns the kingdom into a downward spiral of chaos. One last example of chaos is when Lear is on the heath during the storm and he makes a realization. He realizes at that point that he is as insignificant as every other human, and therefore goes insane from his loss of authority.
Person #2: As much as there is chaos in the play, there are many times when there is an attempt to get things back in order.
In the end of the play, Lear and Cordelia’s relationship has a turning point. Lear is grieving Cordelia’s execution, finally seeing her love for him. Cordelia had respected the “King” as one should. Her feelings towards him are the typical orderly fashion of a king’s daughter. Lear’s realization of his respectful daughter and evil daughters put things back into order. Another example of an attempt to keep things in order is when Edgar goes into disguise to try to prevent Gloucester’s suicide on the cliff. This was done to further prevent Edmund gaining Gloucester’s title, which would put things out of …show more content…
order.
Person #1: At the end of the play, things are finally beginning to get back into order when the only people who survive are good hearted. Edgar gets Gloucester’s title, as he was supposed to all along. A general symbol of order was the Wheel of Fortune that was referred to many times in the play. If you have power, you are at the top of the wheel. If you have no control, you are at the bottom. This represents the order of authority and how it changes in the play. One last example of order is when Lear begins to go insane. When this is occurring, Kent protects him by leading him to the heath so that he doesn’t die, which would cause more chaos in the kingdom.
Quotes
Person #2: There are also many quotes that demonstrate the theme of chaos vs order.
In this quote, Lear`s insanity is taking over because he feels venerable and useless with his lost of authority. Shows the chaos building inside of himself. Here, Gloucester demonstrates how everything in nature and the chain of being is in a state of chaos. Person #1: Lear is taking command over the situation where it's not his place. Prisoner is below the guards commands, chaotic by disturbing the correct order of the chain. Kent states that the wheel of fortune is out of place and is to be turned again. Chaos is occurring.
Literary Critics
Person #1: Literary critics give their own insight to give the reader new perspectives about the play and to help further understand it. These critics relate to our theme of chaos vs. order. G.K. Hunter, a British Shakespeare scholar, wrote:
“[King Lear] is seen as the greatest of tragedies because it not only strips and reduces and assaults human dignity, but because it also shows with the greatest force and detail the process of restoration by which humanity can recover from degradation.
“
The critic is describing how Shakespeare whittles down his characters, especially King Lear, to chaotic and confused people, and attacks their dignity at the core. King Lear is a proud grand King, who is highly respected in his Kingdom; Shakespeare however strips Lear of all dignity and creates a lunatic out of him. This reduction of dignity can be applied to many individuals in the play, such as Gloucester. Gloucester is initially a wise Earl in Lear’s kingdom, but Shakespeare molds Gloucester into a blind and suicidal person. In King Lear, the reader sees some of the most chaotic and disordered characters ever, creating the greatest tragedy, as Hunter proposes.
But as the critic suggests, King Lear also shows how order can be restored. King Lear will reconcile with Cordelia (before her death), and he is at peace with himself despite being imprisoned. Like Lear, Gloucester also makes amends with Edgar, upon discover of him being Tom. Both Lear and Gloucester show how chaotic beings can recover from the degradation of themselves, and how order in the individual can be restored.
Person #2: Similarly, American philosopher and educator, Denton Snider, would write how chaos and order is shown in society in King Lear:
“A history of society in small is shown in the drama; we see how a period gets corrupt and perverted, then how it is purified. A destructive element, a poison is introduced into the body politic, which passes through wrong, convulsion, revolution to restoration. Society is not tragic in Shakespeare, but the individual may be, if he collides with its interest, and persists in his collision.”
Snider writes that King Lear displays how society becomes chaotic and “perverted”, due to a “poison” being released. The poison described is authority and power. New authority is given in Act 1, Scene 1, which creates a new power dynamics in the play. New power to Regan, Goneril, and Edmund, creates a complex and chaotic society focused on self-interest at all cost.
However, Snider would continue:
“We notice that three men are left, the truly positive men of the play, Albany, Edgar and Kent, who are to build up anew the shattered social organism. Thus the tragedy leaves us hopeful of a purified society, and reconciled with the supreme ethical order, which, we feel, cannot perish, though it, too, has to pass through its periods of corruption and purification.”
Three men are left living in King Lear: Albany, Edgar, and Kent. All three were “positive men” who looked at their own interests, but for the good of society throughout the play. This final scene gives hope to the reader that although a tragic ending, the evil is gone and order will be restored.
Person #1: Taken from a Shakespeare newsletter, Nina daVinci says:
“When those out of favor with the wicked sisters, Kent and Edgar, crowd into the hovel on the heath with Lear, who says what sometimes is unclear but does not matter. The scene as a whole describes a chaos encroaching on the good people, for whom no refuge exists”
This literary critic is saying that when Kent and Edgar go to the heath with Lear, the things he are saying do not make sense because of his chaotic behaviour or insanity due to his daughters destruction of the kingdom. The critic is also describing that the chaos is happening to good people that cannot do anything about it. This relates to our theme chaos vs. order because Lear, who once was in order, is now in a chaotic state of mind and he has a realization that there is nothing that he can do to change his daughter’s corruption due to his loss of authority.
Person #2: Taken from the Shakespeare bulletin, a magazine that contains literary criticism, Sarah Neville says:
“From that point forward, the unfolding domestic tragedy spinning a country out of political control quickly became a fairy tale in which "wicked" queens met their downfall through their own jealousy, greed and lust.”
This literary critic is describing the fate of Lear’s evil daughters, Goneril and Regan. The critic is saying that the play evolved as a tragedy because evil had control and all order had been lost. However, the critic describes the ending as a “fairy tale” because those who were evil, Goneril and Regan, do not survive in the end. Their own decisions had led them to their fate. In Shakespeare, a play that ends with death is called a tragedy, but in this case it was a happy thing that the evil daughters had died, and the good people were left to rebuild the kingdom to put things back into order.
*Activity*
*Discussion Questions- if time*