Shakespeare’s King Lear Review

BSBA-23                                                                                20130065

Shakespeare’s King Lear

It is my first time to watch a theatre play, and luckily for me it was Shakespeare’s King Lear and performed by Dulaang UP, which made the experience really unforgettable. I was really amused, entertained, and overwhelmed with astonishment as to how well the actors are portraying the play’s characters. As a person that has developed an incredible liking with art, like poetry, I am really lucky to have seen such a wonderful play with amazing actors. I can say that whenever I hear the words King Lear, the play I have watched will always be the first to come into my mind.

The play King Lear was set on a period where monarchy was of great importance. Monarchy is a kind of government where sovereignty is reined over by monarchs. It is said the Shakespeare’s play King Lear was greatly affected by his life in England where at the time monarchy was constantly scrutinized due to the recent transfer of power from Elizabeth I to James I, which occurred during the year of 1603 where King Lear was presumably written or published by Shakespeare. King Lear was centered on the king of Britain who has three daughters whom he decided to divide his kingdom to, evidently this theme was greatly influenced by the recent happenings in England during that time where there was a fear that due to Elizabeth I not having a male heir, his successor must be chosen wisely to prevent wars that might ensue. King Lear explores the limits of power, the effect of personal motives in a monarchy to the country’s well-being and also the respect that not only powerful people should deserve but also to elderlies and parents.

King Lear is the protagonist in this play, an aging King of Britain who decided to divide his kingdom to his three daughters depending on their testimony of love to him, a very shallow basis on how dividing a kingdom I must say but he is depicted as a King who is a bit childlike who wants to be showered with praise and flattery. Although he is not the most kingly of kings due to his complex attributes, he is still greatly looked up to by his men such as Gloucester and Kent whom also plays a very vital role in this play.

King Lear has three daughters, Goneril his eldest, Regan his middle child and Cordelia his youngest. Goneril and Regan are actually very selfish and wants to have a large part of the kingdom and due to their father’s basis on how he will divide the kingdom, it was easy for them to get the liking of their father by declaring their sugar-coated words of flattery and praise to get a large part of the kingdom, whereas their younger sister Cordelia resists declaring his love for his father resulting to him disowning his own daughter. It is quite confusing why Cordelia refuses to profess her love for her father, whereas she’s the one who genuinely cares about him, and although he disowns her at the beginning, she’s the one who saves his father from the cruel hands of her sisters, Regan and Goneril. As for the older sisters of Cordelia, it is quite hard to say words of praise because it is evident how villainous and selfish the two are. Goneril is the eldest daughter of King Lear who is married to the Duke of Albany who is kind of a representation of goodness in this play. Goneril possesses a strong personality causing her to walk all over his husband, and when the Duke of Albany realizes how evil his wife is, he still doesn’t do much other than tell her that what she’s doing isn’t right. This may be due to him representing good, and showing that goodness isn’t always strong willed and it may sometimes falter and may be defeated by evilness sometimes. Although in the end, it is the Duke of Albany that may rule the kingdom together with Edgar. Regan is the middle daughter of King Lear, who is lesser of the evil which her sister Goneril possesses. She is married to the Duke of Cornwall, whom unlike the Duke of Albany, is a sadist which shows at the part of the play when Gloucester’s eyes were plucked out. The two sisters, Regan and Goneril, in the end destroy themselves due to their selfishness, because they break their own alliance because of their affair withEdmund, the bastard son of Gloucester whom is also one of the play’s antagonists. Edmund is treacherous and hungry for power that was probably due to his status as a bastard son of Gloucester. He is jealous of his half-brother, Edgar the legitimate son of Gloucester. Amidst his evil schemes and treacherous behavior, I think Edmund’s motives just reflect on how he wants to be recognized by his father and to not be only seen as a bastard but to be of the same level of Edgar, a legitimate son. Edmund actually frames his brother Edgar, causing Edgar to fled away from the land to get away from the men who are looking for him, Edgar then decides to disguise himself as a mad beggar to not be caught by his father’s men. Although he played two different characters, he is a very kind man, also a little bit too kind to the point that he became gullible and trusted his brother way too much, but his love for his father and kindness shows throughout the play when he helps his father and King Lear. The father of these two men is Gloucester, who is serving King Lear loyally who shows bravery through helping Lear until the end. He also reflects the struggles of King Lear with his daughters whereas Gloucester is struggling with his two sons. The other loyal men of King Lear was Kent, who was banished but disguised himself as Caius to stay close to the King, and his Fool, who didn’t only serve as a fool for the king’s entertainment but also as a loyal servant amidst the king’s struggles with his sanity.