Writing Through Literature: Important: Homework for Tuesday!!! Blog on Poe exc...

Gothic literature seems to involve horror that is described intensely about how negatively one person feels about the world. It offers another away how someone may feel about the world in a dark way. It draws the readers in with details of a demonic presence. It makes you want to read more even though you are scared to know what might happen next.

King Lear

Thesis:  Goneril and Regan's malicious behavior forced Lear to recognize true love .  Lear's journey helped him discover love in silence.

"Which of you shall we say doth love us most/ that we our largest bounty may extend/ where nature doth with merit challenge?"(1.1. 50-2)/ "Here I disclaim all my paternal care"(1.1.113)

Lear proposed a challenge to determine which daughter can validate in words their love for their father. Lear associated material possessions and wealth to display his love in return to the one who can claim love him most.  Goneril and Regan manipulated and exaggerated their love because of their selfish interest to the king's offer.  However, Cordelia refuses to put her love in words because it exceeds beyond his ideology of love.  Disowning Cordelia symbolizes the begin of Lear's journey.

"When she was dear to us we did hold her so,  but now her price fallen" (1.1. 196-7)

Lear coincided affection for a person with materialistic value for an object.  In Lears mind, the love for person is nonexistent without a representation of something physically or verbally obtainable.  Cordelia failing to express her love in Lear's perspective provoked him to declined his "love" for her.  Lear must perceive love as something intangible, something that can not be bought and can not be put in words.  Love is spoked in silence and can be confirm by actions.


Goneril: What need you five and twenty, ten, or five to follow in a house(2.4.251-2)/ Regan: what need one? (2.4.254)

Goneril and Regan challenge king Lear's remain power that is associated with the way he perceives himself. By removing the knights from King Lear it would symbolize removing remaining power he believes he beholds and would be considered the ultimate betrayal.  The betrayal from Goneril and Regan was a reflect of Lear as king - "Goneril: 'Tis his own blame.  Hath put himself from the rest and must needs taste his folly" (2.4.281-2).  Since King Lear was not able to comply with Goneril and Regan orders he must lose everything like he did to Cordelia.


"Fool: He's mad that trusts in the tameness of a wolf, a horse's health, a boy's love or a whore's oath" (3.4.16-7) / "Kent: A sovereign shame so elbows him.  His own unkindness that stripped her from his benediction turned her"(4.3.43-4)

The fool is a projection of King Lear's deepest thoughts and Kent is the physical projection of Lear.
This is when Lear realized his mistakes and how he fail to love Cordelia the way she should have been love.

"Kent: if you shall see Cordelia- As fear not but you shall- show her this ring./ she will tell you who that fellow is (3.1.46-8)

The ring represents the cycle king Lear fulfilling when he realizes his mistakes and desires to be with the daughter he betrayed.  The ring itself speaks loudly and does not need to be attached to additional word to show is significance.  The bond that Cordelia and Lear have can not be declared by words.



----- I need to study for my Linguistic mid-term for tomorrow.  So ill finish this up tomorrow and have the essay ready for tuesday.

Important: Homework for Tuesday!!! Blog on Poe excerpt below by Monday night midnight!

We were so busy discussing your drafts of King Lear essay I did not have chance to give you homework assignment:

Please read the Edgar Allen Poe Story in our Coursepak, "The Tell-Tale Heart"

Also read the Flannery O'Connor story, "The Lame Shall Enter First" which I gave you as handout last week.  

If you have lost either the coursepak or the handout, these stories are easy to find online--google them!

Finally: look up history of the gothic in literature and come prepared to discuss definitions!!!

Please blog on this topic for our Tuesday class:

Here is an excerpt from another Poe story ("The Fall of the House of Usher") which is worth mining for gothic elements.  See if you can come up with your own intuitive definition of the gothic based on what you read below:

DURING the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country ; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. I know not how it was - but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit. I say insufferable ; for the feeling was unrelieved by any of that half-pleasurable, because poetic, sentiment, with which the mind usually receives even the sternest natural images of the desolate or terrible. I looked upon the scene before me - upon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domain - upon the bleak walls - upon the vacant eye-like windows - upon a few rank sedges - and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees - with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveller upon opium - the bitter lapse into everyday life - the hideous dropping off of the veil. There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart - an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. What was it - I paused to think - what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher ? It was a mystery all insoluble ; nor could I grapple with the shadowy fancies that crowded upon me as I pondered. I was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion, that while, beyond doubt, there are combinations of very simple natural objects which have the power of thus affecting us, still the analysis of this power lies among considerations beyond our depth. It was possible, I reflected, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression ; and, acting upon this idea, I reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that lay in unruffled lustre by the dwelling, and gazed down - but with a shudder even more thrilling than before - upon the remodelled and inverted images of the gray sedge, and the ghastly tree-stems, and the vacant and eye-like windows.

Deadly Pride

  

            Shakespears infamous play King Lear touches upon several themes. I found pride to be the central idea that affected many of the characters decisions in this tragic story. Shakespeare masterfully created a web of emotions that wrapped around the main character King Lear, consuming him until he witnesses at the end that his pride was the reason he was making such outrageous decisions. Blinded by his own power, Lear’s pedestal seemed to grow over his head until he was no longer able see why it was that his whole kingdom began to crumble. His fool became an inner voice attempting to wake him from his sleep by speaking truth to the king:

Mark it, nuncle:

Have more than thou showest,

Speak less than thou knowest,

Lend less than thou owest,

Ride more than thou goest,

Learn more than thou trowest,

Working Thesis and introductory paragraph

When thinking about love in a familial context, Shakespeare’s King Lear brings moral value to the concept of unconditional love. Central to Shakespeare’s presentation of love is that it is degraded when there is material exchange involved, where there is calculated action for the purpose of personal benefit. The purest, most authentic form of love involves the opposite, an everlasting care and regard for someone regardless of what may be received or returned. Contrasting portrayals of familial relationships in the tragedy of King Lear demonstrate the destructive nature of love with conditions and the noble worth of unconditional love.p

King Lear and his sense of Reality and himself

In William Shakespeare’s King Lear the character of the same name goes through an intense transformation. King Lear makes a cognitive leap from his believing ideal to recognizing and accepting reality..  **During this change in understanding King Lear goes through three stages. First is the challenge of his ideals in which his understanding of his sense of being is challenged and forces him to re-evaluate his ideals as well as his own identity. Second is the realization of his error and the beginning of the process of self-evaluation and self-discovery. The last stage King Lear goes through is the acceptance of who he truly is and his discovery of his true character. The change in his acceptance of reality is directly correlated with his discovery of his true character

King Lear Essay; Loyalty Over Power

Loyalty Over Power

Throughout William Shakespeare’s work one common theme is "loyalty" which calls upon the audience's attention, due to its misinterpretation throughout most characters in King Lear.  Loyalty is very hard to find among people, it is something that is demonstrated not just throughout words but throughout actions as well.  Loyalty is seen throughout the characters of Cordelia, Kent, and the Fool.  They have truly shown and demonstrated loyalty to King Lear in both his good and bad conditions. King Lear misreads most of the loyal people’s actions, for dishonor and disrespect; when truthfully those same people are those who help him and are loyal to him.  King Lear in the end of the play realizes who had been loyal to him all along; too bad it took a bad situation to make him see people's true intentions. 

One character who had remained loyal to King Lear is Kent, Lear's servant, he remained by King Lear's side even though Kent was banished from the land forever, and was to be killed if found in the land after a week.   Kent has never been afraid to speak his mind if King Lear is wrong, and for that same reason is why King Lear banished Kent, thinking that he had dishonored and betrayed him. In fact, Kent would rather speak the truth to King Lear about his actions, rather than lying to him and letting him make a mistake "Royal Lear, whom I have ever honored as my king, loved as my father, as my master followed, as my great patron thought in my prayers../ Let it fall rather, though the fork invade the region of my heart. Be Kent unmannerly when Lear is mad....Think'st thou that duty shall have dread to speak when power to flattery bows? To plainness honor's bound when majesty falls to folly. Reserve thy state..." (1.1. 139/ 144).  Kent's exile gave him even more reason to betray King Lear, however he did not, he disguised himself remained loyal and followed King Lear throughout the entire play "If but as well I other accents borrow, that can my speech diffuse, my good intent may carry through itself to that full issue for which I razed my likeness.  Now, banished Kent, if thou canst serve where thou dost stand condemned, so may it come thy master, whom though lovest, shall find thee full of labors" (1.4.1-7).  Kent didn't have an obligation to help King Lear, but his love and loyalty towards his King is too strong to lead him towards betraying his King.  When King Lear is homeless, Kent helps him find a temporary shelter "...Gracious my lord, hard by here is a hovel.  Some Friendship will it lend you 'gainst the tempest. Repose you there..." (3.2.59-61).  Kent not only remains loyal to King Lear, but he also remains loyal to Cordelia, by informing her about her father's condition and by leading her to Lear's location. 

Loyalty is also demonstrated through the character of the Fool, who is also full of wisdom, and is not afraid to tell things how they are and how he sees it.  The Fool is another character who does not care about the consequences of his words nor actions; he simply speaks his mind and stays by King Lear’s side through his bad experience.  The Fool’s purpose is to lighten up the mood, but in reality, through his bluntness he opens King Lear’s eyes about the wrongs he had done by giving up his kingdom and power “…Nay, an thou canst not smile as the wind sits, thou’lt catch cold shortly. There, take my coxcomb. Why, this fellow has banished two on’s daughters, and did the third a blessing against his will. If thou follow him, thou must needs wear my coxcomb” (1.4.87-92).  Since King Lear did not want to listen to everyone else’s warnings the good way, the Fool harshly tells him his mistakes in order to make Lear see and hear his actions.  “Fools had ne’er less wit in a year, for wise men are grown foppish. They know not how their wits to wear, their manners are so apish” (1.4. 149-152).    Later on, the Fool decides that he is better off being with King Lear, and accompanies him through his miserable journey to help guide him.  The Fool shows his loyalty and appreciation through his bluntness, but he speaks and acts with good and true intentions towards King Lear.  He is fully loyal to King Lear, even though his economic status is not as high as the royalty, the Fool is so full of both wisdom and knowledge, and eventually his loyalty to the King leads him to his own death.  Having power means nothing compared to loyalty and King Lear in the end realizes that.  The Fool’s character is an example of that, because he is not royalty, nor does he have any money, but his loyalty towards King Lear is highly more appreciated than those who have power with no good intentions.

In King Lear, King Lear believes that his two daughters Goneril and Regan are his only loyal children since their spoken speeches said so, as for his third and youngest daughter, Cordelia is disowned because of her lack of speech."...by all the operation of the orbs from whom we do exist and cease to be here I disclaim all your paternal care, propinquity, and property of blood, and as a stranger to my heart and me hold thee from this forever" (1.1.111-116).  Although Cordelia is disowned as Lear's daughter, she has all the reason to hate Lear, but does not; instead she chooses to demonstrate her love and loyalty towards her father throughout her actions. As Lear's daughter, Cordelia is a great example of how loyalty is portrayed in the play; having all the reasons to ignore and hate her father, she chooses to pick him up from his tragic misery and insanity and says: "O you kind gods, cure this great breach in his abused nature, th' untuned and jarring senses, O, wind up, of this child-changed father!" (4.7.12-15). Without taking advantage of Lear's condition, she tries to restore his sanity and clarifies to Lear “no cause, no cause" ( 4.7.74).  Cordelia demonstrates her loyalty by actions and words, by saying that she does not hate him nor does she have a cause to.  Instead she chooses to help, clothe, and shelter her father rather than banishing him like her two sisters did.  Cordelia is one of the people who care for King Lear after giving up all his power, his land, and his home.  That is the true meaning of loyalty, to provide help to another in their time of need, and standing by them forgiving, and forgetting the past. Cordelia’s actions speak for her; she does not hold any grudges against her father and still honors Lear as her father, and as royalty.  Loyalty does not have a price, or economic status, nor can it be replaced with power. 

In the end, "loyalty" is a common theme of King Lear, Shakespeare throughout the play shows that loyalty does not just mean saying kind words, but by also demonstrating it.  Shakespeare also emphasizes that those who King Lear thought less of, were those who were truly loyal to him until the end.  Throughout many characters, Shakespeare shows that through the thick and thin situations, those who King Lear had banished were the ones who stuck by his side until the end.  No matter if King Lear had power or not, that did not change the loyal people around him, in fact those people helped him in Lear's time of need. Loyalty is very rare in some people, which is why it has no price, and why it is greater than any kind of power.

King Lear

People of high power or status tend to paint their past away with color of pride, not always remembering what lays beneath the thick toxic paint. They sit on a high pedestal not remembering what created them. And they begin to push all the good things away because they forget to appreciate the things that put them where they are. They only remember the details of their past once they lose everything they've gained. King Lear is a great example of this.
As soon as he loses everything including his mind and as his life leaves him he says the following:

Pray, do not mock me.

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.

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.

You must bear with me, pray you now
forget and forgive
I am old and foolish

King Lear

The betrayal Goneril and Regan inflict King Lear with helped him become sympatric and consciously aware of his mistakes.  Once Lear was stripped away from his leadership mentality he was reunited with Cordelia symbolizing insightfulness.

"Here I disclain all my paternal care" (1.1.113)
The disowning of Lear's daughter Cordelia symbolizes the begin of Lears journey. Lear is renouncing his power and material possession to Goneril and Regan whom manipulated there words to please him. However, Cordelia refuses to put her love in wors because it exceeds beyond Lear's ideology of love.

"Ask her forgiveness?
Do you but mark how this becomes the house -
(kneels) " Dear daughter I confess that I am old.
Age is unnecessary. On my kness I beg
That you'll give vouchsafe me raiment, bed and food"
(2.4.141-5)

Thou think'st 'tis much that this contentious storm
invades us to skin.  So 'tis to thee.
but where the greater malady is fixed
the lesser is scarce felt
(3.4.6-9)

According to the classic definition of a “tragic hero”, King Lear certainly classifies as one for being a virtuous, prosperous and eminently good character in the play King Lear.  At the beginning of the play Lear demonstrated his power by being demanding and extremely impulsive in terms of quick decision making. Despite his strict and arrogant way of ruling his kingdom, he had much love, respect and honor towards his three daughters Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. He believed blindly in the dedication and unconditional affection of his daughters to him. Little did he know that involving monetary value to the worth of their love will soon bring this family to a tragic end. Being Lear the cause of his own downfall, throughout they play he is able to recognize his errors not only by drastically becoming an “unaccommodated” man but also by having an active interaction with individuals that had always been beside him but that he barely knew much about their lives and sufferings.