One thing that I especially noticed in Act 3 Scenes 1-3 was the chaotic use of chaos. As Lear goes out into the wilderness with the storm coming, we see chaos in a nature form, happening all around the characters. Then we are also introduced to a political chaos as there is issues between Albany and Cornwall, Kent sends a knight to ask the French (and Cordelia) to get involved, and Edmund goes to frame Gloucestor against Cornwall because of his behind the scenes work with the French as well. Then ultimately, we see the mental chaos that comes from what Lear is thinking and doing. Although we see these three types of chaos going on in these acts, we know that all of this chaos was beginning and forming before. As the story continues, the chaos worsens, making it seem like the end is going to be even more tragic because it will stop when the chaos is at a great height implying that he chaos will continue and not be resolved even after the story is over.Overall, I think observing this chaos helps us to see and to feel the darkness of the tragedy and like the characters, become a little overwhelmed with what exactly is going on. And it makes us wonder if truly all of this attributes back to the very first scene in Act 1. Did Lear really start it all? Or is it just following a natural law that eventually everything will become out of order and chaotic?
You've articulated my impressions of chaos throughout act three especially. I did some looking, and it seems this is a major scholarly theme. Two essays were really interesting. Well, they seemed really interesting. I've only skimmed about half of each, but I'm excited to read the rest.
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http://www.jstor.org/stable/41555577
I think this fits well with both Gloucester's speech about the eclipses and the Fool's "prophecy" at the end of Act III scene ii. Do you see the chaos as apocalyptic like those two monologues? Is it nature or men that are really in control here?
ReplyDeleteJessica, I think that the chaos is definitely supposed to seem apocalyptic and those monologues help allude the whole story towards that idea and tone. As for who is in control, nature or men? I think it is nature, but in a different sense. Like the nature of man. I think everything is spinning out of control because men have in a sense lost their agency as they have acted on the human nature, their self-serving nature, thus making everything be a power struggle between individuals and thus turning chaotic. I think that the actual nature side to it, with the storm, is just the display of that nature taking control. Just as human nature leads us into chaos, so does physical worldly nature leads us to chaos. I think the lesson is that both the world and the people in it need to train themselves to be temperate and to have virtue and peace, because those are not traits that come naturally.
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