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Layers of Lear

King Lear, The Fool

It is fascinating to follow the changes that  Lear undergoes in just the first three acts of King Lear. It is evident from on the start of the play that he is a man suffering from insecurities, and is reliant on the reassurance of others. We first see this in Act I, when Lear demands that his daughters express their love for him in order to obtain a portion of his property. It is as though he is begging them to verbally fight over him when he says, “Which of you shall we say doth love us most? That we our largest bounty may extend Where nature doth with merit challenge.”

We see again King Lear’s reliance on others, and his need to surround himself by those who will serve him, when he insists that his 100 knights remain with him even after his “retirement”. He is even willing to go out of his way by alternating between the homes Goneril and Regan in order that he should keep his knights by his side. “Ourself, by monthly course, With reservation of an hundred knights, By you to be sustain’d, shall our abode Make with you by due turns.”

The Fool is yet another character that seems to remain by Lear’s side throughout several scenes in the beginning of the play. However, it is in Act 3 Scene 4 that we see a change in King Lear, specifically when he orders the Fool to leave his side and find shelter from the violent storm, “Prithee, go in thyself: seek thine own ease:” As the fool goes to find cover, King Lear seems to have an epiphany.

“Poor naked wretches, whereso’er you are,
That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm,
How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides,
Your loop’d and window’d raggedness, defend you
From seasons such as these? O, I have ta’en
Too little care of this! Take physic, pomp;
Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel,
That thou mayst shake the superflux to them,
And show the heavens more just.”

In this speech, Lear seems to recognize the mistakes he made as king by not properly caring for the poor in his country. Lear is stripped away of not only the physical layers, a roof above his head that would protect his body, but the emotional layers as well, the people that would protect his ego. It seems that this is the first time in the play that we see King Lear thinking of others before himself.

Valuable Brotherly Advice

Hamlet,

In seems that almost every characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet attempts to control the actions of another. The ghost of Hamlet calls on Hamlet to avenge his death, Polonius uses Ophelia to learn about Hamlet’s mental state, Claudius and  Gertrude order Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet, and Hamlet orders Ophelia “[to] a nunn’ry!” (3.1.120).

For this reason, I find the advice given to Ophelia by her brother Laertes in Act 1 scene 3 to be particularly interesting and a very good idea to keep in mind while reading  Hamlet. Laertes warns Ophelia to be careful romantically involving herself with Hamlet as “his will is not his own, [For he himself is subject to his birth:] He may not, as unvalued persons do, Carve for himself” (1.3.17-20). Laertes is explaining that Hamlet’s decisions are not based on his will alone, rather he must consider what consequences his actions will mean for Denmark.

These lines reveal the presence and importance of a social hierarchy when it expresses the idea that people of lower rank often do not make decisions based on their own free will, but rather are called to action by those of higher social standing. This really confuses the idea of what “action” is in the play.

I have heard many criticisms that Hamlet is a passive character. However, I have come to believe that almost every character in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is passive in some way–either because he does not take physical action and has someone else do his bidding, or because he simply obeys others instead of following will own will. Instead of viewing Hamlet as either active or passive, I like to view him as independent.

(I know that this is a topic that can be debated and I would love to hear what you guys have to say!)

Two Couples, Not Alike

A Midsummer Night's Dream, Psychological states, Romantic comedy

Though much of the comedy in A Midsummer Night’s Dream comes from the confusion that ensues between the four young lovers, I have to admit that their maturity and conviction at the beginning of the play is quite impressive to me. Hermia and Lysander seem so sure of their love for one another (that Hermia is willing to defy  her father and face potential celibacy or death to protect it.)

It is was when Lysander stated  “the course of love never did run smooth” that I felt it appropriate to take their characters and their love for each other seriously (as silly as it later becomes). Lysander expresses his understanding that the journey of love is never an easy one, yet he remains committed still. Knowing the hardships they will have to face, Hermia and Lysander make a vow of love to each other.

The next couple we are introduced to is Oberon and Titania who, while committed to each other by marriage, no longer seem a committed couple at all. As Puck explains, “And now they never meet in grove or green.” The two even come from separate entrances and seemingly cannot stand the sight of each other. Oberon even performs cruel tricks and spells on his once love.  By comparison the love between Hermia and Lysander seems far stronger than that of Oberon and Titania.

All that being sad, I think that these couples, being at different stages in their lives and at different ages, only reflect a common theme in reality: love is often  strongest when it is young .