King Lear: Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Despair [Under Development]

Section 2 coming soon! Watch this space for the upcoming publication of  Section 2: King Lear.

Joshua Reynolds: “Study for King Lear,” c. 1760.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Study_for_King_Lear_by_Joshua_Reynolds.jpeg

If King Lear favours any philosophy, it is Stoicism. You’ll find a survey of Stoic beliefs at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9OCA6UFE-0&t=7s

Some commentators have sought to align events and characters with Christian beliefs:

“God overthrows the absolutely evil–he destroys the Cornwalls, the Gonerils, the Regans: he is just. God chastens those who err but can be regenerated–the Lears, the Gloucesters–and in mercy redeems them: he is just, and merciful. But again, God moves in a mysterious way–he deals strangely with the Cordelias of this world. His methods are inscrutable. Shakespeare presents the whole picture…This, however, can mean ‘pessimistic’ drama only to those who cannot agree that the play is a Christian play.”

(G. I. Guthrie, ed. King Lear. Cambridge University Press, 1960)

This statement raises questions which you might like to consider as you become more familiar with King Lear:

1. Does Edmund belong with the “absolutely evil” characters, or does he belong among the “regenerated”–i.e. morally improved?
2. How “regenerated” is Lear by the end of the tragedy?
3. How “regenerated” is Gloucester?
4. Is Cordelia’s execution “mysterious” and “inscrutable,” or is it obviously unjust?

For an excellent introduction to moral paradoxes raised by King Lear, I recommend that you read Cedric Watts, “Main Plot, Sub-Plot and Paradox in King Lear,” Critical Essays on King Lear. Longman, 1988, pp. 11-19.