Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Power Vaccum
This play certainly lives up to it's classification of tragedy. It was just sad to read of the unfair fate of some of the characters. I think it was Cordelia's death that seemed the most tragic to me... But despite this, there was one question that just really was on my mind as I finished the play - what now!? I know that we will never really know, but I just couldn't help but think of the effects of these deaths on the nation as a whole. In one day, Britain fought a battle with France and lost not only her king, but all three of his heirs. This loss of leadership just opens the scene up for even greater confusion. I know that at the end of the play, it is implied that Edgar or perhaps even Albany will rule, but that is still not a question you want unresolved... It makes me wonder why Shakespeare didn't resolve that for us, maybe to keep the focus on the recent deaths? But even then - if he had specified who would become king - looking at history we know that any turnover of this sort often leads to greater political upheaval and unrest. I feel like I would just like to see some of the more wide spread effects that these characters' choices had. It's just so interesting to me that we only see on a rather small family scale the events that were shaping a nation at the same time, too.
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This is a really good point! It goes along with an article that I read for my post (the link is included there). One of the points of the article is that King Lear does not give any hint that another tragedy is not in store at some point in the future. It places the story about where it started. I think that Shakespeare did this because that's a very Christian view of things. We learn from our mistakes, but we still live in a fallen world and, in a fallen world, there's always the chance of a relapse. The characters that survived did seem to learn important lessons so there is some hope that they did learn from it and that things will be better (keeping my fingers crossed :).
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way... what now? And I agree with you, I think that Cordelia's death feels the least needed. This is probably because she acts as a sort of savior figure in the play, and so it feels like her death is the least just. As for the rest of the play, maybe you could write a sequel? :) Haha but really, I think that is how I always feel at the end of books. I think a good writer creates that feeling because it leaves you thinking deeply about a text and its characters. A simple ending is too easy.
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