King Lear

Notes on Lear.
King Lear can be looked at in many ways ’ as an Aristotelian tragedy, a family
drama, a psychological drama, a Freudian interpretation as a comedy of the
grotesque and a feminist interpretation as a patriarchal play.
Tyranny and rejection between parents and children can lead to extreme cruelty,
suffering and madness.
In the 20
th
century Lear has been re-evaluated ’ where it was once see as
unactable, it is now regarded as a relevant, popular and effectible play. The
movement away from a strictly Christian or nihilistic interpretation is towards a
version which celebrates the play‘s complexity and its courage in attempting to
reflect the mysteries and ambiguities of both life and humanity.
Freud‘s interpretation saw Cordelia‘s silence as representing death and Lear‘s
rejection of her silence as his unwillingness to face death.
There is great controversy over whether Lear is pessimistic or optimistic.
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