After last class’s discussion, and completing the “King Lear” reading questions for class, I began to think more about the idea of the “Two bodies of the King.” On one hand, King Lear possesses the physical traits of a king: the robe, the crown, the scepter. This side seems to represent the shallow and materialistic aspect of the throne, a temporary aspect, the aspect that Regan and Gonoril leech onto and thrive off of. On the other hand, is the divine/immaterial aspect of being a king, this side focusing more on the spirit of kingship, and the idea of divine right—being born to reign. This aspect is more eternal and perpetual, but also reflects Cordelia’s relationship with her father, a tie that focuses on honesty and modesty, as she will not tell her father she loves him, rather than the certain flamboyance that her sisters display when they profess their “love” for their father.
When I revisited this thought of “the two bodies of the king,” I couldn’t help but think how it reminded me of the idea of celebrity and the lifestyle of two bodies. Like Lear, on one hand a celebrity has the materialistic “physical” side, a side caught up in fame, money, and temporary things—the shell of a person. On the other hand, is the divine side—celebrities are human as well, and their souls are perpetual. With this in mind, like Lear, the divine side is often overlooked both by celebrities and by common people.
New Paltz Students Blogging about Shakespeare
2 comments:
It's really a funky situation. It would seem to me that this idea of being Divine is really what helps people slip into the idea that they deserve the money, fame, without doing that much to back up this position as a Divine something or other. Just a thought.
I think this is a fantastic comparison, Alex! Kings and queens were certainly the celebrities of their time (and in Britain, still are!), and our celebrity culture mirrors some of the ways in which they are represented. And if we compare to the history plays we read, we can see that Richard II had a fall from grace that is not unlike a celebrity who finds himself/herself mired in scandal.
Post a Comment