I had originally believed that Regan and Goneril were not evil, lying sisters as everyone else said. I had hope in them and thought they were misunderstood. I thought they really loved Lear and had his best interest in mind. I may have been wrong though. As the sisters began to express their love for Edmund I regretted standing up for them. Goneril, being the rashest of the two, plotted to kill her husband and went so far as to poison her sister. I was glad she decided to kill herself. She was caught in her deceit when her husband discovered her plans and she couldn't face her actions. She was a coward. Although I found it to be against her character to kill herself, I was still fine with it. I thought Goneril had more integrity than that. Nonetheless, the sisters barely knew Edmund but were willing to kill those they love in order to win his love, when in actuality he didn't care about either of them and even said he may kill them. The fact that Goneril killed for him was insane. Then Regan ignored her husband's death and moved on. I was in shock; I never believed they would act so selfishly.
Lear's death was anti-climatic. Some may argue that it was a beautifully heartbreaking moment, but I saw nothing of the sort. He was old and crazy so I didn't have my hopes set too high for an intense battle, but a girl can still hope. Lear died because he let his emotions get the best of him. He was never depicted as a strong powerful leader, but now would have been the perfect time for King Lear to finally step up and redeem himself. In a happy ending, he could have used Cordelia's death as motivation and lived on for her sake. He could take over as king again and honor his dead daughters. It would have made for a pleasant ending that would have given the audience closure and reassurance that all would be well within the kingdom. However, Shakespeare could not end this in comfort and created an unsettling ending instead. The Tragedy of King Lear had to end in despair.
I agree with everything you wrote, Becky. I found the play to be a complete disappointment. Since the play is a Shakespearean tragedy, I expected the deaths to be more violent or erratic. Maybe they were crazy to others, but when I read or watch a movie with violence, I want the violence to be intense and mind-boggling. However, I did not feel that way for King Lear. Many of the deaths were not witnessed on stage, and the only entertaining violent scene was Gloucester's torture.
ReplyDeleteOther aspects of the play bothered me as well. I found it to be frustrating that Edgar did not tell Gloucester his identity or that he forgave him. It would have made me feel better about at least one character in the play. I also had the belief that Edmund was going to be a wonderful villain, but once he was dying, it seemed his behavior became more kind. I would have liked if he stayed a true, evil villain the entire time. The primary problem with his play for me is that I had great expectations about certain characters (Lear, Edmund, Edgar), and they were not met, unfortunately.
I agree with both of your assessments and was equally unhappy with "King Lear's" almost boring death. Shakespeare has come up with pretty gruesome and horrific deaths in the past, and quite frankly I was looking forward to the ending. The fact that Shakespeare waited until the last scene to kill everyone, just built up the suspense. We all knew they were going to die, and most of us *cough cough Tara were excited. But, unfortunately most deaths occurred off stage, merely having a servant alert the reader (audience) of the deaths. The most disappointing moment for me, concerned the character Kent. The whole book, Kent built up his epic revelation to the gentlemen that was helping him. But, when it came time for Kent to reveal himself, he was too sad to enjoy it, and simply told Albany his name. Kent's character became melancholic towards the end as his last line of the play suggests he is about to go kill himself. The play upset me in the end, as it lost the grandeur it had built up, and simply flat-lined.
ReplyDeleteAfter finishing Lear, I kind of agree with all of your viewpoints; however, I was not completely dissatisfied with the play. I agree that there were too many offstage deaths and, like Sri, I love gore; I own like every gory slasher film in existence. However, this is medieval times people, and I’m pretty sure that the violence in this play was like extremely gruesome back in Shakespeare’s time.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree slightly though because I feel that Lear did not deserve a climatic death. And I feel that, although he did not die in a physically exciting way, I felt that emotionally it was climatic. As for the other characters, I’m happy that the evil sisters died, that Edmund died a slow and agonizing death, and thankful that Edgar has a happy ending taking over the throne, because I like Edgar. I feel that the reason the ending does not give the audience a completely satisfying sense of closure is obvious because, as Becky said, it is a tragedy, and we knew even before reading it that it would have a tragic and melancholic end.