Goneril and Regan are themslves compared to men on one occassion
Oedipus kills Laius as part of the myth
Ingratitude?
Tragic Protagonists
Young vs Old
Edmund the youth will rise
The Insignificant/Significant
Chorus in Oedipus
Greek Device
Edmund as illegitimate becomes the most dangerous
Creon by the end it seems will become most significant
Prophecies/Oracles in Oedipus
The superflouous, what you dont need, Lear learns this
Albany dominated by Regan, can change sides without anyone noticing?
Locations
Lear in the storm on the heath Act 3 Scene 2
Truth vs. Lie
Act 1 Scene 1, False Love
Fate vs Free Will
Governed by Fate, Lear and
Cordelia will die
Divine Intervention
Divine Right of Kings,
King is only answerable
to God alone
The Great Chain of Being, power
invested in King by God, if exploited
leads to chaos
Act 1 Scene 2, Edmund '...all that we are evil in
by a divine thrusting on'. We blame the Gods so
easily if anything goes wrong
Service/Duty
Service to the state, Lear fails
Kent service to Lear as Caius mainly
Violence
King Lear is fundamentally a play, critics have sometimes deemed it unplayabe because of the extent to the violence
Good vs. Evil
Evil nonexistent in the Ancient World
Control, Lack of Control
Lear Act 3 Scene 2
Oedipus once understands
Healing?
The world is not healed at the end of the play 'we that are
young Shall never see so much, nor live so long' Edgar
The Chorus at the end see it as a lesson to be learnt, seperate Oedipus from everyone else, hope for future?
Sympathy and Support for Characters
Pathos in Ancient World. The Chrous in Oedipus,
Lear's lament, pathos evoked with everyones
sorrow
Act 5 Scene 3 Albany: 'That is but a trifle here'
Justice, Lack of Justice
Fate governs Justice?
Dramatic Irony?
Act 1 Scene 2 Edgar: Some
villain hath done me wrong
Act 1 Scene 2 Edmund: I am no honest man
The effect of Dramatic Irony is that it encompasses
the audience into the story, for they know the truth of
the situation, whereas the characters do not. In
Oedipus especially, the audience are fundamentally
well aware of the myth regarding Oedipus
Innocence
Albany; white, innocent state of Albany,
especially contrasting against Goneril
Animal Imagery
Disguise
Madness vs Insight
Have to be mad/ go through
madness to have the insight?
Naivety
Nature and the Natural World
Social Constructs
What defines the person, rank, clothing, birthright
The Great Chain of Being, The Divine Right of Kings
Rhetoric Ability
Oppostion
Edmund concludes his opposition at the finale
Edmund: Machiavellian Principles
Birthright
Wheel of Fortune
Indebtedness
Secrecy/Conveying
Naturally fits into truth
Oedipus shows trying to withhold
information can be for the best
Tiresias: How
terrible is it to know
Where no good
comes of knowing
Abandonment
Family
Leadership
Rage
Voice of Widsom
Oedipus - The voice is suppressed as much as possible