Premium Essay

What Makes King Lear Effective

Submitted By
Words 419
Pages 2
William Shakespeare’s King Lear is one of his most famous and well-written tragedy play, and there are countless different interpretations of the play such as Lawrence Olivier, Ian Holm, and BBC’s. However Lawrence Olivier’s King Lear definitely has the most effective ending out of the three versions. Olivier uses appropriate background music; a subtle and plaintive classical tune to build the atmosphere of the scene. The costumes in Olivier’s version gives a better understanding of the characters, and adds a deeper meaning to the play. Unlike Ian Holm’s and BBC’s version of King Lear, Olivier gives King Lear long white hair, which represents his old age along with his wisdom he has gained throughout his life. King Lear and Cordelia’s white

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Women’s Role in King Lear

...the turbulent social changes of the century. A. C. Bradley saw this play as an individual coming to terms with his personality; that Lear was a great man and therefore the play is almost unfathomable. A feminist reading of the play reveals a number of Lear's misogynist remarks and has fueled the debate over whether the play's chaos occurred because power was given over to women, with order restored only when men were returned to their leadership roles. King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606, and is considered one of his greatest works. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman king. It has been widely adapted for stage and screen, with the part of Lear being played by many of the world's most accomplished actors. King Lear is one of the Shakespear’s achievement talked about a family with three daughters and the father. Father really loved his children however he loved the youngest one the most. In contrast, he got disappointed from the one whom he loved the most because she did not mention how much she loved him back. During his furiousity, he did a judgment about those three daughters. He considered the other two is better so he would love those much more and gave the heritages to those two. His decision was totally wrong because he did not get what he expected to get back. In the story, the three daughters played the most important roles in the context of morality...

Words: 2257 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Discuss in Detail Two Different Performances of King Lear on Stage, Film or Tv.

...English 3 Group AA Due: 04 October 2013 Monday 09:35 Dr. D. Seddon Early Modern Literature Discuss in detail two different performances of King Lear on stage, film or TV. Your discussion should include an assessment of the relative merits of the directorial decisions as regards characterization, setting, costume, and dialogue. The only way of expressing emotion in the form of art is by finding an 'objective correlative'; in other words, a set of objects, a situation, a chain of events which shall be the formula of that particular emotion; such that when the external facts, which must terminate in sensory experience, are given, the emotion is immediately evoked. (Eliot, 1919) William Shakespeare’s King Lear is considered by many to be one of his most powerful pieces. Its universal themes and messages that seep through have inspired many other works and allowed room for several adaptations. In his influential critical essay on Hamlet, T.S. Eliot suggests that one could “examine any of Shakespeare’s more successful tragedies…” and always “… find this exact equivalence” (1919). His term ‘objective correlative’ encompasses the phenomena of emotional reaction being created in the audience by the writer or poet or playwrights combination of images, objects or description which evoke the...

Words: 1863 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

King Lear

...KING LEAR Act One The play opens at Lear’s court, where we meet the main characters. The opening scene is in itself shocking, as Lear forces his daughters to declare their love for him. The one who loves him the most will receive the largest part of his kingdom, which he intends to divide between the three. Lear himself wishes to hand over the ruling of the kingdom to his daughters, while retaining the ‘Pre-eminence, and all the large effects / That troop with majesty’ (Scene 1, Lines 131-2). Goneril and Regan acquit themselves well at this love test. Cordelia, however, dismayed by her sisters’ ponderous words, refuses to take part in the ‘contest’ and tells Lear that she loves him as her duty instructs her. When Cordelia refuses to speak again, Lear casts her off without a moment’s hesitation. Ken attempts to argue with the King, accusing him of ‘hideous rashness’ (Scene 1, Line 151). When Kent further warns Lear that his elder daughters are false flatterers, Kent too is banished. Lear invests Albany and Cornwall with power, and, after Burgundy refuses to take Cordelia as his wife, now that she is without dowry, France takes her for her virtues alone. Goneril and Regan complain, in private, about Lear’s harsh judgement and unpredictable behaviour and worry that they too may be treated unfairly. Edmund, Gloucester’s bastard son, soliloquises about his own situation, revealing his devious intentions towards his brother. When his father enters, Edmund’s...

Words: 27223 - Pages: 109

Free Essay

Is King Lear Completely Pessimistic?

...“Some people think that the ending of King Lear is ‘unbearably pessimistic’. How far do you agree that there is no hope at the end of this play? The origins of Shakespeare’s play came from a variety of sources and, in particular, an old Pagan folktale, of another King Leir of Britain. It reveals that Shakespeare purposely turned these sources which offer a happy ending where Cordelia and Leir are left alive and together at the end and where everything is resolved, leaving the audience with a sense of relief and justice, into a bleak and sinister play where many of the virtuous die, including Cordelia and Lear, or are left in despair like Kent. Shakespeare’s change of ending appears to hint at a message of pessimism, darkness and no hope. Some people believe that it was Shakespeare’s intention to create a hopeless and pessimistic ending and leave the audience overwhelmed with tragedy. Indeed, W.R. Elton supports this final interpretation: ‘No redemption stirs at this world’s end; only suffering, tears, pity and loss and illusion.’ However, others believe that Shakespeare leaves little glimmers of optimism flickering in this ‘gored state.’ Shakespeare carefully structures that play to build a mood of pessimism as the play unravels towards its climax. Kent’s character plays a vital role in helping create this final bleak mood. Throughout the play Kent has been a positive, hopeful character devoted to his King: ‘let me still remain the true blank of thine eye.’ By this final scene...

Words: 2423 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

King Lear

...Oedipus Rex and King Lear are, as their titles announce, both about kings. These two plays are similar in theme and in the questions they pose to the audience. The kings in each play both fall from the pinnacle of power to become the most loathed of all classes in society; Oedipus discovers that he is a murderer and committer of incest, and Lear becomes a mad beggar. Misjudgments occur in both plays, and the same questions about the gods, fate, and free will are posed. In spite of these similarities, however, the final effects of these two plays differ greatly. For me, as I read Oedipus Rex again this fall, I experienced a sensation nearly of agony. Because I had already known the myth as well as read the play, I was in the Greek's position of foreknowledge. This caused me to feel acutely the irony of Oedipus' confident declarations that the murderer of Laius should be "driven from every house, / Being, as he is, corruption itself to us," and again on the next page, As for the criminal, I pray to God— Whether it be a lurking thief, or one of a number— I pray that that man's life be consumed in evil and wretchedness. And as for me, this curse applies no less If it should turn out that the culprit is my guest here, Sharing my hearth. (13-14) Oedipus has absolutely no idea that the murderer he is denouncing so vehemently is, in fact, himself. The fact that the reader knows that, and he does not, becomes increasintly painful, especially in the line where Oedipus...

Words: 593 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

King Lear Act Iii Scene 4

...Act 3, scene 4, Shakespeare utilizes the ominous storm pounding down upon the suffering Lear in order to elucidate the storm which actually affects Lear the greatest--the internal storm caused by the ingratitude shown by his daughters Regan and Goneril. Prior to Lear’s speech, Kent urges the King to enter a nearby hovel for the purpose of protecting himself from the seemingly unbearable storm. The tempest in Lear’s mind, however, is revealed as a greater concern than the storm on the outside. Lear is so fixated on his daughters’ ingratitude that he scarcely feels the effects of the harsh environmental elements crashing down upon him. He then gives a metaphorical speech to Kent, and he declines to enter the hovel while urging both Kent and the fool inside. The speech given by Lear before he implores Kent to enter the hovel is a major component in the development of the scene, as a whole, as it cleverly exhibits, through various poetic devices, both the mental situation of Lear and the progression of the play’s plot. A particular rhetorical device Shakespeare uses to manipulate Lear’s speech is syntax and rhythmic deviation. Lear commences his speech using an almost natural rhythm in which he speaks in long, smooth sentences: “Thou think’st ‘tis much that this contentious storm Invades us to the skin....” ( lines 6-7) However, it becomes quite evident to the reader when Lear begins focusing more and more on the tempest inside his mind--the storm that he feels the...

Words: 1466 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Mnasd

...Specimen Papers and Mark Schemes for English Literature For first AS Examination in 2009 For first A2 Examination in 2010 Subject Code: 5110 Contents Specimen Papers Assessment Unit AS 2 Assessment Unit A2 1 Resource Booklet Assessment Unit A2 2 1 3 9 15 25 Mark Schemes Assessment Unit AS 2 Assessment Unit A2 1 Assessment Unit A2 2 29 31 61 95 Subject Code QAN QAN 5110 500/2493/0 500/2421/8 A CCEA Publication © 2007 Further copies of this publication may be downloaded from www.ccea.org.uk Specimen Papers 1 2 ADVANCED SUBSIDIARY (AS) General Certificate of Education 2009 English Literature Assessment Unit AS 2 assessing The Study of Poetry Written after 1800 and the Study of Prose 1800-1945 SPECIMEN PAPER TIME 2 hours INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES Write your Centre number and Candidate Number on the Answer Booklet provided. Answer two questions. Answer one question from Section A and one question from Section B. Section A is open book. INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES The total mark for this paper is 120. All questions carry equal marks, ie 60 marks for each question. Quality of written communication will be assessed in all questions. 3 Section A: The Study of Poetry Written after 1800 Answer one question on your chosen pairing of poets. Heaney: Opened Ground Montague: New Selected Poems 1 John Montague and Seamus Heaney both write about the Irish past. Compare and contrast the two poets’...

Words: 25332 - Pages: 102

Free Essay

Hamlet's Melancholy

...Hamlet’s Melancholy Critics of Shakespeare’s Hamlet have debated, discussed, and thoroughly pondered the meaning of Hamlet’s inaction in the play and what drives him in his thoughts and actions. Many speculate that Hamlet’s inaction is caused by a number of obstacles throughout the play, but through careful inspection of Hamlet at his very worst and very best, one can see that obstacles are not the problem with his inability to act—it is the constant state of melancholy he is thrown into by the events that ultimately ruin his life. Hamlet, having just lost his father, is not given time or sympathy for his much-needed grieving; and this, in turn initiates his melancholic state that controls his actions and motives to the very end of the play (Kirsch 17). Throughout the play one can see that Hamlet never once loses possession over those qualities that make him such a noble character. Even in his most tumultuous state he has healthy and positive feelings: a strong love of his father, longing for revenge, and disgust of his uncle and the deed he committed (Bradley 142). So, though Hamlet is not in his normal state, he is not distressed beyond reason and any obstacle that would not prevent him from acting before certainly should not now. The conclusion is inevitably that Hamlet is in a state of melancholy because of what has just happened. His healthy motives combined with the overwhelming feelings of melancholic aversion and lethargy create a seemingly unattainable mode of...

Words: 2686 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Harold Bloom

...Bloom’s Classic Critical Views W i l l ia m Sha k e Sp e a r e Bloom's Classic Critical Views alfred, lord Tennyson Benjamin Franklin The Brontës Charles Dickens edgar allan poe Geoffrey Chaucer George eliot George Gordon, lord Byron henry David Thoreau herman melville Jane austen John Donne and the metaphysical poets John milton Jonathan Swift mark Twain mary Shelley Nathaniel hawthorne Oscar Wilde percy Shelley ralph Waldo emerson robert Browning Samuel Taylor Coleridge Stephen Crane Walt Whitman William Blake William Shakespeare William Wordsworth Bloom’s Classic Critical Views W i l l ia m Sha k e Sp e a r e Edited and with an Introduction by Sterling professor of the humanities Yale University harold Bloom Bloom’s Classic Critical Views: William Shakespeare Copyright © 2010 Infobase Publishing Introduction © 2010 by Harold Bloom All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For more information contact: Bloom’s Literary Criticism An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data William Shakespeare / edited and with an introduction by Harold Bloom : Neil Heims, volume editor. p. cm. — (Bloom’s classic critical views) Includes bibliographical references...

Words: 239932 - Pages: 960

Premium Essay

Peer Tutoring and the Conversation of Mankind.Doc

...students refuSed .help when it was offered. Mainly, colleges offered ancillary programs staffed by professionals. Students avoided them in droves. Many solutions to this problem were suggested and tried, from mandated programs to sink-or-swim. One idea that seemed at the time among the most exotic and unlikely (that is, in the jargon of the Sixties, among the most "radical") turned out to work rather well. Some of us had guessed that students were refusing the help we were providing because it seemed to them merely an extension of the work, the expectations, and above all the social structure of traditional classroom learning. And it was traditional classroom learning that seemed to have left these students unprepared in the first place. What they needed, we had guessed, was help of a sort that was not an extension but an alternative to the , traditional classroom. To provide that alternative, we turned to· peer tutoring. Through peer tutoring, we reasoned, teachers could reach students by organizing them to teach each...

Words: 5727 - Pages: 23

Premium Essay

Prose Fiction

...SECOND DRAFT Contents Preamble Chapter 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Background Rationale Aims Interface with the Junior Secondary Curriculum Principles of Curriculum Design Chapter 2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 1 Introduction Literature in English Curriculum Framework Strands and Learning Targets Learning Objectives Generic Skills Values and Attitudes Broad Learning Outcomes Chapter 3 5 7 9 10 11 11 13 Curriculum Planning 3.1 Planning a Balanced and Flexible Curriculum 3.2 Central Curriculum and School-based Curriculum Development 3.2.1 Integrating Classroom Learning and Independent Learning 3.2.2 Maximizing Learning Opportunities 3.2.3 Cross-curricular Planning 3.2.4 Building a Learning Community through Flexible Class Organization 3.3 Collaboration within the English Language Education KLA and Cross KLA Links 3.4 Time Allocation 3.5 Progression of Studies 3.6 Managing the Curriculum – Role of Curriculum Leaders Chapter 4 1 2 2 3 3 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 21 Learning and Teaching 4.1 Approaches to Learning and Teaching 4.1.1 Introductory Comments 4.1.2 Prose Fiction 4.1.3 Poetry i 21 21 23 32 SECOND DRAFT 4.1.4 Drama 4.1.5 Films 4.1.6 Literary Appreciation 4.1.7 Schools of Literary Criticism 4.2 Catering for Learner Diversity 4.3 Meaningful Homework 4.4 Role of Learners Chapter 5 41 45 52 69 71 72 73 74 Assessment 5.1 Guiding Principles 5.2 Internal Assessment 5.2.1 Formative Assessment 5.2.2 Summative Assessment 5.3 Public Assessment 5.3.1 Standards-referenced...

Words: 41988 - Pages: 168

Premium Essay

Cornalcornalcornal

...Contemporary Developments in Business and Management Kenneth Fee The University of Sunderland © 2013 The University of Sunderland First published September 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without permission of the copyright owner. While every effort has been made to ensure that references to websites are correct at time of going to press, the world wide web is a constantly changing environment and the University of Sunderland cannot accept any responsibility for any changes to addresses. The University of Sunderland acknowledges product, service and company names referred to in this publication, many of which are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks. All materials internally quality assessed by the University of Sunderland and reviewed by academics external to the University. Instructional design and publishing project management by Wordhouse Ltd, Reading, UK. Contents Introduction vii Unit 1 The contemporary world of business and management Introduction 1.1 1.2 The global business environment The importance of developments in the global environment Case Study 1.3 Organisational decision making and performance vii 1 3 10 14 17 19 19 20 Self-assessment questions Feedback on self-assessment questions Summary Unit 2 Globalisation Introduction 2...

Words: 84990 - Pages: 340

Free Essay

Orson Wells

...Orson Welles: The Man, the Myth… the Communist? “One of the most promising artists of our day,” “ One of the most accomplished dramatic artists of the twentieth century, “ and “A major creative force and ultimate auteur,” were all praises and titles from major media moguls, publications, and critics given to Orson Welles. Not too shabby for someone who hasn’t even turned thirty yet, eh? Right out of the gate Welles proved to be an innovative and artistic force that could hold its own, and even surpass, the heavy hitters of his day. His career seemed to be on a steady incline for almost a decade; however, did his talent and work hit a plateau? Welles was always seen as an active political figure that was not afraid to voice or project his own viewpoints in the public, but did this have a negative or lasting affect on his later career? Critics argue the best work Welles produced was before he hit thirty years old, so was this a direct result from the negative attention he attracted from media magnates, specifically William Randolph Hearst, Hollywood elite, and most importantly the United States government? Also, Welles left the country at a time when the dreaded “blacklist” was starting to funnel through Hollywood (“Orson” 17). Whether this was coincidence or intentional is debatable, but either way the ramifications may have helped account for the different direction he took with his post-Hollywood career. Did Orson’s fame draw too much attention and lead to his downfall? ...

Words: 3928 - Pages: 16

Free Essay

The Illusion of Leadership

...The Illusion of Leadership Directing Creativity in Business and the Arts Piers Ibbotson The Illusion of Leadership This page intentionally left blank The Illusion of Leadership Directing Creativity in Business and the Arts Piers Ibbotson © Piers Ibbotson 2008 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2008 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan®...

Words: 68096 - Pages: 273

Free Essay

The Outline of English Literature

...Министерство образования и науки Республики Казахстан Кокшетауский государственный университет им. Ш. Уалиханова An Outline of British Literature (from tradition to post modernism) Кокшетау 2011 УДК 802.0 – 5:20 ББК 81:432.1-923 № 39 Рекомендовано к печати кафедрой английского языка и МП КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, Ученым Советом филологического факультета КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, УМС КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова. Рецензенты: Баяндина С.Ж. доктор филологических наук, профессор, декан филологического факультета КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова Батаева Ф.А. кандидат филологических наук, доцент кафедры «Переводческое дело» Кокшетауского университета им. А. Мырзахметова Кожанова К.Т. преподаватель английского языка кафедры гуманитарного цикла ИПК и ПРО Акмолинской области An Outline of British Literature from tradition to post modernism (on specialties 050119 – “Foreign Language: Two Foreign Languages”, 050205 – “Foreign Philology” and 050207 – “Translation”): Учебное пособие / Сост. Немченко Н.Ф. – Кокшетау: Типография КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, 2010 – 170 с. ISBN 9965-19-350-9 Пособие представляет собой краткие очерки, характеризующие английскую литературу Великобритании, ее основные направления и тенденции. Все известные направления в литературе иллюстрированы примерами жизни и творчества авторов, вошедших в мировую литературу благодаря...

Words: 82733 - Pages: 331