Shalott: King Lear

Photo from patch.com

I got to see King Lear at the Boston commons Shakespeare in the park. My cousin, her one year old and I went together. The baby was amazingly good and kindly allowed us to stay for the whole thing.

King Lear is an old king who decides he doesn't want to have to worry about the actual ruling of his country and wants to split it between his three daughters. First however he asks each of them how much they love him. The older two, Goneril and Reagan tell him that they love him more than anything or anyone else. The youngest, Cordelia, says that she loves him as a father but no more. This angers Lear and he disinherits her and banishes one of his loyal Dukes when he objects. Cordelia marries the King of France and Lear a hundred knights he retained move in with his oldest daughter, now ruler of half the kingdom. After a while his older daughters, who were flattering him from the start, start to demand he cut down on his retainers and Lear starts going mad. Meanwhile a Duke's illegitimate son's plots to usurp his older (and legitimate) brother's place as heir.

I may be showing a lack of deep literary appreciation but I did not particularly enjoy watching Lear's decent into madness or his long winded (and loud) conversations with his fool. It was interesting to see the way Shakespeare uses the fool here. The definition of the word fool is "a person who acts unwisely or imprudently". However, Lear's fool is far more sane and reasonable than Lear himself. He consistently speaks the truth no matter whether Lear wants to hear it or not and because of his position he is the only one able to do this without repercussions. It reminded me of 1st Corinthians 1:27

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong."

The play reminded me that I need to speak the truth without fear regardless of whether I am thought a fool. I also felt that Lear was extremely blessed to have people who would not only speak the truth but also did not give up on him. The fool follows him through everything including that crazy rain storm, Kent breaks his banishment, despite the risk, so he can be there for Lear no matter what and Cordelia raises and army to save the father who threw her out.

I enjoyed the second half of the play more. In true tragic fashion people were dying left and right; I think we had 8 deaths in under half an hour. There were three duels (all of them fatal), a poisoning, two cases deadly sibling rivalry and two suicide attempts.

All in all I am really glad I went. Lear might not be my favorite Shakespeare but I was glad to see it live. I also got to hang out with two very cool cousins.

It was hard to keep track of quotes I liked while seeing it live but here are a few that stuck out:

"Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise."

“Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!

You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout

Till you have drenched our teeples, drowned the cocks!

You sulphurour and thought-executing fires,

Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts,

Singe my white head! And thou, all-shaking thunder,

Strike flat the thick rotundity o' the world!

Crack nature's molds, all germens spill at once

That make ingrateful man"

"The weight of this sad time we must obey;

Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.