Deadly effects of power

Macbeth can be viewed as one of William Shakespeare’s most well known plays. It is one that is commonly taught and enjoyed by high school students. Macbeth’s popularity can be due to several unique elements presented in the play. The first fascinating piece from the play is the three witches. These characters are very unique and different from other characters presented in many of Shakespeare’s plays. Their supernatural powers make them interesting and prophetic. The use of the three prophecies predicted by the three witches shows Shakespeare’s use of foreshadowing. This technique allows for the play to be very interesting and captivating for anyone who reads it. 

Another very interesting theme in the play is the desperation for power that many of the characters feel. Even though Macbeth has just earned the title of Thane of Cawdor after defeating Macdonwald, this title does not seem to satisfy him. His hunger for a higher status leads him to do the unthinkable, to murder the King. This inhumane act is particularly horrific. The King seems to very much respect and enjoy Macbeth and his wife. However, it is obvious that Macbeth does not share these mutual feelings with the King. Macbeth makes it clear that he does have loyalty to the King. His main concern is becoming King, and he is willing to go to any length to achieve this. 

At one point during the play, Macbeth does seem to doubt his reasons for wanting to kill Duncan. Just as Macbeth starts to show some morality, his wife quickly puts an end to it. Lady Macbeth demonstrates her shrew nature by mocking her husbands brief moment of humanity. This is shown when Lady Macbeth says “Wouldst thou have that/ Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life/ And live a coward in thine own esteem,/ Letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would,’/ Like the poor cat i’ th’ adage?” (1.7 45-49). This quotation demonstrates Lady Macbeth’s immoral attitude. At this point, it seems as if she is more interested in Macbeth becoming king than Macbeth himself is. Lady Macbeth’s later actions when developing the plan to kill Duncan only emphasizes her desperation for power.

It is particularly interesting to look at Macbeth from a psychological standpoint. In act 2.1, Macbeth begins to hallucinate. He believes that he sees a bloody dagger which is leading him to Duncan’s room. It is clear that Macbeth’s psychological state is beginning to deteriorate at this point. It is fair to assume that his want for power and the effects of plotting Duncan’s murder is affecting his mental health. At this point, if Macbeth is to kill Duncan and become king, his ability to rule a nation successfully is very questionable. 

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

The three witch sisters are by far by favorite characters in the entire play. I love the mysticism surrounding them. The way they talk about meeting “In thunder, lightening, or in rain” shows their indifference to the elements and the natural ways of the world. Right from the start, they appear to have more power than nature does itself. When one of them says, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,” there’s almost a Taoist tone of voice that is unphased by whether things are going well or poorly. In the end, it’s all the same to them.

Shakespeare succeeds in making the witches appear absolutely vile in manner and personality. In Act 1 Scene 3, the witches meet once again and ask about one another’s day. One has been killing swine, another has full control of the winds and the fate of the husband whose wife was rude to her. Their power is in threes, “Thrice to thine and thrice to mine/ And thrice again, to make up nine./ Peace! The charm’s wound up.” They rely on the power of three times three times three in order to fulfill their charms. Three is a very magical number in most of Shakespearean plays. When the witches come together, they are most powerful.

When Macbeth arrives onto the witch’s territory, he says, “So foul and fair a day I have not seen,” a reflection of what the witches had said earlier about how fair is foul and foul is fair. Their powers extend to affect other’s reality. Banquo describes them as being not of this earth, of seeming barely alive and not feminine in the least due to their unlady-like beards.

They all greet Macbeth in ways that predict what will become of him in the future. They don’t even give him the choice as to whether or not he wants to know his future. They just say it simply because they have fun messing with people’s minds. They speak in riddles when they say of Banquo that he will be lesser than Macbeth and greater, and not as happy as Macbeth, but happier. They are very fun characters and they at times control other’s lives without actually using their mystical powers but rather by playing with the minds of others.

The weaker sex?

Macbeth by Shakespeare is one of his plays that have reached a variety of ears and those who have not read the play are aware of the basic story line. This not being the first time that I have read this play was lost as to what I would want to focus my blog on, and when I re-read the first act I was once again intrigued by the vision of women that Shakespeare paints in the first Act.



If a person wanted to write a paper about the women in Shakespeare, they would be hard pressed to write the paper without involving Lady Macbeth. When we are first introduced to her, she has become aware of her husband’s promotion and is excited to see this progress but she is afraid that her husband is "too full o'th' milk of human kindness" (1.5, 15). This is an interesting line that Shakespeare has given a female character. You would assume that because she is the female she would be the one that would be full of kindness and love, but this is not the case. We see a more devious character within Lady Macbeth and she continues to shock the reader with lines such as, “unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty” (1.5, 39-40). The outright power and gall that comes from Lady Macbeth could be startling to a few readers.



Why has Shakespeare chosen to be so outright with this character, specifically the main female role. Perhaps if we look at the other female roles in the play we could be given a better understanding. Before Lady Macbeth appears to the crowd, we are introduced to three witches. We can assume them to be female even if they are seen to have beards like men. These women are not as cruel and evil as Lady Macbeth but we must remember the role that witches were given during that time period. Known as sins against Christianity, witches were not women that you would ever want to trifle with.



Perhaps this is the vision of women that Shakespeare intends to give to women within this play. Regardless of outside appearances (the beauty and poise of a queen compared to the horrid vision of a haggard witch) women have a truly dark under layer to them. Their intentions, both Lady Macbeth and the witches, are quite separate but they both have dark clouds above each of their heads.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

     Throughout the opening act of the play, it is evident that Lady Macbeth and Macbeth aren't exactly similar characters. When the three witches tell Macbeth that he is to become Thane of Cawdor, he writes his wife and says; "Whiles I stood rapt in the wonder of it came missives from the King, who all hailed me 'Thane of Cawdor", by which title before these weird sisters saluted me..." (1.5.5-7). Upon hearing this, Lady Macbeth is blinded by what she could have if this became true, and sets out on a mission to make this happen. However, she feels that Macbeth is not strong enough to make this happen; "Yet do I fear thy nature. It is too full o'th' milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way" (1.5.14-16). Therefore, Lady Macbeth decides to take on the task by herself and begins planning the murder of King Duncan.
     When Macbeth returns with King Duncan, he agrees to Lady Macbeth planning the murder. However, he later decides that it may be too much for him to handle. Macbeth does not think this is a smart decision simply because it is a selfish one; "We still have judgment here, that we but teach bloody instructions which, being taught, return to plague th'inventor...He's here in double trust..." (1.7.8-12). Macbeth feels guilty for planning this assassination because he knows that King Duncan is only in his home because he trusts Macbeth. He feels so guilty for planning this, so he goes to Lady Macbeth and tells her not to go through with it; "We will proceed no further in this business. He hath honoured me of late..." (1.7.31-32). Lady Macbeth was so determined to carry on with this plan in order to gain the throne that she completely flies into a rage; "When you durst do it, then you were a man; and to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man" (1.7.49-51).
     It is clear throughout just the first act that Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are opposites. Macbeth is an honest man with a guilty conscience that weighs heavily on him. He wants to remain loyal to those that trust him because he would want the same in return. Even though his wife wants to kill King Cawdor, he knows that is is wrong and wants her to stop her plotting. However, Lady Macbeth is selfish and greedy. All she wants is power and money and she is blinded by the idea her husband becoming the thane of Cawdor.It seems as if she will do anything to get what she wants. Nothing will stand in Lady Macbeth's way, possibly including her husband. Although I have never read this play, it seems as if Lady Macbeth is building up lots of bad karma in a short amount of time. But will Lady Macbeth continue to build up this bad karma in the remainder of the play? I guess I'll have to keep reading.....

The Colorful and Compelling Lady Macbeth

The Colorful and Compelling Lady Macbeth

This is my first time reading Macbeth and I must admit to my surprise upon seeing such a fierce and fiery female character.  Lady Macbeth is quite a colorful and intense woman.  Reading her lines after recently completing King Lear makes me recall Regan and Goneril, two other bloodthirsty Shakespearean ladies.  If all three women were in the same play, I think they would be great “frenemies.”  Lady Macbeth, as seen with Regan and Goneril, can be just as brash and ferocious as the male characters of Shakespeare.  Shakespeare cares a great deal about giving a fair representation of power corrupting both genders.  Macduff’s lines after learning of King Duncan’s death  in 2.3 reveal the view of women that is commonly held when thinking about Shakespearean women: “O gentle lady,/ ‘Tis not for you to hear what I can speak./ The repetition in a woman’s ear/ Would murder as it fell” (59-62).  Shakespeare gives us such an ironic speech from Macduff that as a reader one almost can chuckle.  It is interesting how he calls her “gentle lady,” as her actions and eagerness to perform cutthroat duties for power definitely are not tender or “gentle.”  Also the fact that Macduff cannot even imagine uttering what has occurred to Lady Macbeth because it “would murder as it fell” is fascinating.  He believes to be sparing her, when she is the last one that should be spared.  As the reader, we are granted access to some fabulous Shakespearean dramatic irony. 

                In 2.2 a great use of antithesis can be seen with Macbeth and his wife.  Macbeth appears to be a thinker and somewhat more sentimental. These are traits traditionally thought of as “female”.  After the murder he committed he doubts that the entire ocean could cleanse him from this wrongdoing: “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/ Clean from my hand?” (58-59).  Macbeth immediately thinks to the grand scale and suffers from the guilt of his action.  Whereas a couple lines down, Lady Macbeth views here assistance and guilt quite differently:  “A little water clears us of this deed” (2.2.65).  She believes that only “a little water” will save her and her husband from their wicked deed. Shakespeare gives the reader opposites with “Neptune’s ocean” and “a little water” that are extremely well played in this scene. 

                Lady Macbeth’s hasty nature and feistiness reminded me of Henry IV’s Hotspur.  Her attitude, and intense focus on action are interesting but do not bode well for her character.  In 2.2 she states to Macbeth: “These deeds must not be thought/ After these ways.  So, it will make us mad” (32-33).  Her focus on the immediate is a major character flaw.  She even seems to take pleasure in her treasonous involvement.  The lady essentially yells at her husband for his inaction: “Infirm of purpose!/ Give me the daggers.  The sleeping and the dead/ Are but as pictures.  ‘Tis the eye of childhood/ That fears a painted devil” (2.2.50-53). Again her attitude reminds me much of the reckless warrior mindset of Hotspur.  She is ready to do whatever it takes and has holds an impetuous approach.  It will be great to see how Lady Macbeth’s character unfolds throughout the text.

Lady Macbeth

Sam Montagna

Shakespeare II

Professor Mulready

23 April 2012

Lady Macbeth

In many of Shakespeare's plays, women play a big role. However, usually, the women do not play the stereotypical role. Portia, Kate and Lady Macbeth do not fade behind their husbands but instead take control. Lady Macbeth, like Portia and Kate, is no different. She plays the stereotypical role to everyone except her husband. Macduff refers to her as “gentle lady” (2597.79). Macduff believes that Lady Macbeth is so gentle and good that she should not even hear about the murder. “Tis not for you to hear what I can speak/ The repetition in a woman's ear/ Would murder as it fell”(2597.80-83). The reality is, at this point, she is the most evil and vindictive character in the play. She is even scarier than the Witches. While the idea to kill Duncan was already in Macbeth's head when the Weird Sisters spoke the prophecy, Lady Macbeth coerced him into it. Macbeth is a moral person. He knows the king trusts him because he promoted him to Thane of Cawdor. The last thane betrayed the king so it is a huge honor for Macbeth to be the new thane. Macbeth is supposed to protect the king from harm. The king is not evil or bad. He is well liked and protected. There is no moral reason to kill the king other than Macbeth's need for power to fulfill the prophecy. However, when it seems that Macbeth is questioning his plot to kill the king, Lady Macbeth forces her plan on him. She insists on killing the king. 

 

Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband. Macbeth is a moral thane and Lady Macbeth acts as if this is news to her. She asks where all the guilt came from. She calls him a “coward” (2590.43). She really goes under his skin. She even tells him that he “would/ Be so much more the man” (2590.50-51). She is a very ambitious woman and will not accept failure or doubt. When Macbeth is overcome after killing Duncan, Lady Macbeth takes the king's blood onto her hands and finishes the job by setting up the guards. There is no doubt that Lady Macbeth is not squeamish and very convincing. The question is where does Lady Macbeth's loyalty lie? Her loyalty definitely does not lie with the king. As soon as her husband got a promotion, she aimed to take him out. However, does that mean that she will want to take out her own husband to gain power? Or, if another man came along and accumulated power, would she align herself with him to kill her husband? Based on her actions, Lady Macbeth loves blood and power. Her family and servants are disposable. Lady Macbeth follows Shakespeare's list of powerful women, however, her future is unclear. Macbeth is a tragedy. Will she be the one to cause the tragedy or fall to it?

She's the Man

            One of Shakespeare’s most notable female characters is Lady Macbeth, whose first appearance reveals her to be intense, ambitious, and perhaps most importantly, more masculine than her husband!  Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth displays characteristics that are generally associated with masculine characters, namely her unhindered ambition, her ability to think with her head, not with her heart, and the violent acts she commits.   When Macbeth writes to his wife about what the three witches have predicted, sharing with her how part of what they foresaw has already happened, namely the acquiring of the title Thane of Cawdor, Lady Macbeth reveals her lack of faith in her husband.  She does not feel he is capable of doing what is necessary in order for him to eventually become king, thus fulfilling the three witches’ prophecy.  She states that, while Macbeth may have ambition his nature “. . . is too full of o’th’ milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest [most expedient] way” (1.5.15, 16).  She argues that Macbeth’s lack of wickedness will impede his ambition, and reveals her hastiness for his arrival so that she can “take the bull by the horns,” so to speak – help him carry out the necessary means of attaining the crown as quickly as possible.  Her masculinity skyrockets when she makes her famous speech:

                        Come, you spirits

                        That tend on mortal [attend deadly] thoughts, unsex 

                        me here,

                        And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full

                        Of direst cruelty.  Make thick my blood,

                        Stop up th’access and passage to remorse [pity],

                        That no compunctious visitings of nature

                        Shake my fell [cruel] purpose, nor keep 

                        peace [intervene] between

                        Th’effect and it [My purpose and its accomplishment].  

                                                                           (1.5.38, 39-44, 45)

Her ordering of the spirits to “unsex” her, to take away all of the qualities (emotions, namely) that would make her more womanlike is a powerful declaration, and asserts her masculinity absolutely.  She is relinquishing the qualities of her sex, remorse, compassion, gentleness, in exchange for the wickedness necessary to help her husband take the crown. 

            When her husband enters, Lady Macbeth tells him to “look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under’t” (1.5.63, 64) and insists that she will manage the plotting that will be used to ensure him the crown.  This is where it is clear that Macbeth is not “wearing the pants” in their relationship.  His wife is the one planning the conspiracy when he’s the one who will be reaping the benefit of it! 

            Later on, Macbeth tries to convince Lady Macbeth that they should hold off on killing King Duncan, but she becomes angry with him.  She exclaims that his hesitation and refusal to take what is his makes him less of a man and more of a coward.  His lack of intensity and zeal to attain the crown makes him less of a man, and her ambition and passion in obtaining it makes ever the manlier!  Macbeth’s response to her claim that he is a coward who is allowing “I dare not” to wait upon “I would” replies by saying “I dare do all that may become a man; / Who dares do more is none” (1.7.43-44, 46-47).  While Macbeth stews over the idea of murdering King Duncan, Lady Macbeth is mastermind behind the whole scheme.  She has the intelligence and deviousness that the men are generally portrayed possessing, but it is clear that it is not Macbeth who is the brains behind the operation. 

            Once the actual murdering of the king has taken place, Macbeth is traumatized by the acts of violence he has committed.  While he is lamenting over the people’s last words they cried out, Lady Macbeth remains completely composed.  While looking at his bloodstained hands Macbeth comments on them as being a “sorry sight,” to which his wife replies “A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight” (2.2.18-19).  Macbeth is so deeply affected by the atrocity he has committed that he forgets to smear the blood on the servants in Duncan’s room to make it look like they were the ones to have murdered him.  Lady Macbeth tells her husband to wash the blood off his hands as she proceeds to cover the tracks he left unhidden. 

            Lady Macbeth truly demonstrates the more masculine characteristics, while Macbeth seems to portray the more feminine role.  She plans the assassination all by herself, keeps her husband on track and prevents him from abandoning his desire for the crown, and carries out the work he neglects in the end.  She remains composed while Macbeth reveals much internal struggle that makes him come across as being wishy-washy and ineffective.  Her ingeniousness, paired off with her ability to carry out her wills unimpeded and the violent acts she commits to help her husband definitely seems to suggest that she’s the man.

When the rain falls down

In Act three of The Tragedy of King Lear, I found the moment in which Lear was locked outside into a storm as a powerful moment in the play. The way in which he deals (or talks) with the storm is as if symbolizing the way the daughters should be acting with him, as king. His tragedy is quickly brought to court in this short scene where the natural becomes something idealized and a mentor.

King Lear begins his rage directed at the storm, asking it to sort of "bring it on" and do as much damage as it can to his "white head" (1274). His reasons, although in the beginning I felt like this was a suicide mission, was not at all one. Rather, I felt as if Lear was viewing the storm as a sign of his Kingship, where he must obey and succumb to the storms wishes and nothing he could do would stop it from its "thunderbolts" just like his subjects were obligated to obey him as King. His main point comes around when he states, "I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness / I never gave you kingdom, call'd you children; / you owe me no subscription." (1274) where it seems as if he argues that his daughters must obey him solely because he raised them and gave them his kingdom so in turn he expects them to owe him this "subscription." His statements go on to assert that he regards himself as a "slave" to the storm where the storm acts as agents to destroy him along with his daughters. Here, King Lear makes a foul mistake for the storm's rage has nothing to do with King Lear's actions and his two daughters going against him have everything to do with his very own decisions. When King Lear calls himself "more sinn'd against than sinning" he tends to overlook the fact that it was he who was unable to detect his two daughters greediness and it was he who was ungrateful towards Cordelia's sincere love.

This fall-out in King Lear's part reflects on the bad decisions that he made in his life. Although he may be considered a good King, he is fully aware of his mistakes yet never reaches out to Cordelia (till this point at least) to try to med ways at the very least with one of his daughters.

A Weak Force For Good

While reading the final sections of Lear, i became interested in the character the Duke of Albany. As the play develops he becomes confused by his role in everything, but he at least attempts to remain a good man. In this play which focuses on the evil within mankind, Albany seems to represent the good that is too weak to stand up for what the know is right.

Albany plays second fiddle to his wife from the beginning of the play. When Goneril drive her father from her home with her cruelty to him, Albany disagrees with her actions but does nothing to stop her. Goneril dismisses Albany when he asks about the argument by saying, "Never afflict yourself to know the cause" (1. 4. 28). It seems a little out of character for a wife to dismiss her husband in such a way during this time period, and Albany never asserts himself to find out more. All he says is that his loves makes him bias, which is cut off by Goneril directing the fool. The scene ends with Albany saying we shall see.

This first scene demonstrates how weak Albany is because he lets his wife walk all over him. He knows what Goneril is doing to Lear is wrong, but does to have the courage to stand up to his wife. Albany gains a bit of courage as the play proceeds, but he remains a weak force for good in a kingdom full of evil.

By the fourth act it is clear that Albany has turned against his wife, and actually begins to stand up for himself and what he knows to be right. Oswald tells Goneril that Albany has changed since she has been away. He smiled when he heard about the invading army from France, and called Oswald a fool for praising Edmund and calling Gloucester treacherous. When Goneril meets with Albany herself, it quickly turns into a heated argument where Albany criticizes her cruel treatment of her own father. He says, "She that herself will sliver and disbranch From her material sap, preforce must wither and come to deadly use" (4. 2. 35). This really shows how his love for Goneril is no longer conflicting with his opinion of her actions, especially they way she has turned against her father now that she has what she wants. Albany is so angered by Goneril's that he says that he would dislocate and rip her flesh and bones, but the fact that she is a woman shields her.

Albany agrees to go to battle in the final act, though it takes until the final moment to decide. He convinces himself that he is only doing it in response to the French invasion, and not because they support Lear or the others who have just causes to be opposed. After this he receives the letter from Edgar about his wife's plot to kill him and marry Edgar. He does not act upon this until Lear and Cordelia have been captured. Even then he has Edmund called to confront the man who planned to kill him and steal his wife. Edgar was bound to fight Edmund, but any honorable man would want to fight the man involved in this plot. This inability to stand up for himself is another instance of Albany's cowardice. In the end Albany is the only one with the right to rule the throne but decides, probably for the best, to split this up.

I just found the duke of Albany to be an interesting character since he does seem to represent a good man trapped in a world of evil. His faults seem to demonstrate that good men such as him are just too weak to overcome the evil that surrounds them.

Into the Storm

The second scene of the third act of this play is to me the most powerful scene in the play. It is directly following Lear's dismissal by his daughters Goneril and Regan, who refuse to lodge his men and turn him away from their doors, sending him, bare, into a terrible storm. Lear wanders in the storm for a while on his own, accompanied only by his fool and his thoughts.

This scene is so important because it is the scene in which Lear's full mental breakdown occurs and it is beautifully rendered by every aspect of the scene. Firstly, he is accompanied only by his fool. This is a very important detail to recognize, especially following the controversy over Lear's knights. Gonreil and Regan refuse Lear his usually knightly company which makes Lear feel important and powerful, keeping him grounded in his world, but removing that and replacing the 100 knights with a single fool changes Lear's world. Instead of being surrounded with company that respects and obeys him, he is accompanied by an influence which exacerbates his mental decline; his world is now one of nonsense.

This is supported by the storm activity raging outdoors. The storm is acting as a metaphor for Lear's mental state. Completely blindsided by the rejection of his daughters, Lear's entire world is rocked and sends his mind into a confused flurry of rage. In 3.2 lines 4-6 Lear cries, "Your sulphurous and thought-executing fires/ Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts/ singe my white head!" Lear here is comparing the ripping thunder to the thoughts of his daughter's betrayal that burn and flash in his mind.

Another example of how Lear's insanity is represented is in the way he speaks and thinks. In 3.1 Lear is quoted as saying that he, "Bids the wind blow the earth into the sea/ Or swell the curled waters 'bove the main" (5-6). This speaking in unnatural inverses emphasizes Lear's waning grip on the world as he knows it, requesting a world of impossibilities.

Finally the Fool in the end of 3.2 leaves us with a little wisdom. He tells of a world in which sociotal and natural norms are inverted and tells that the kingdom of Britain will then know confusion. What I think the purpose of this is is to highlight how this mental breakdown applies only to Lear. His world has been changed and he is now in a state of extreme mental unrest, but it only effects to him. Though it may seem to him that the world is changed, it is not; it is only his understanding of it that is. The Fool says that when these impossible things happen (which effect society rather than individual), then will the entire country know confusion, but due to the deep-rooted nature of these norms, these changes will never occur, and Britain will persist.

"The Sulphury Pit"

Yet again, in another Shakespeare play, the masculine and feminine roles seem to be switched.  We have two very strong female characters in King Lear who seem to break the barriers of what is lady-like.  Both Goneril and Regan become power hungry when they get a taste of what it’s like.  They shower their father with flattery, just so to get the bigger piece of his kingdom, and the competition only starts there.  Women are traditionally viewed as passive and motherly.  They value family and love above anything else.  However, this idea is thrown out the door in King Lear.

 Goneril and Regan choose power over family when they attempt to strip Lear of the little control that he has left as King.  They go back on their word, refusing his knights, which ultimately causes him to leave both of their homes and begin to lose his sanity.  Because of their actions, Lear feels undermined and angry at his decision to disown Cordelia.  He resents the way he has been treated by his controlling daughters.  They seem to not care at all about their aging father and only think about what more they can gain.  This switches the traditional role of the man having land and power over women.

 Another idea that relates to men is sex.  Men are commonly seen as lustful and always thinking about women; however this is flip-flopped in this play, as well.  Lear has a very interesting speech in 4.5 to Gloucester, where his rage toward his daughters come out in a very strange way.  He begins by discussing adultery, and then his train of thought brings him around to his daughters and the female sex.  He says, “Let copulation thrive,/For Gloucester’s bastard son/Was kinder to his father than my daughters/Got ‘tween the lawful sheets” (109-112).  We spoke in class about the theme of custom and tradition, and how many of these characters were throwing this idea away in order to get what they want.  Lear, however, always tried to stick to what he knew was right.  But here, he seems to be finally throwing away custom by coming to the conclusion that Gloucester’s bastard son is behaving better than his own legitimate daughters.  He goes on in great description, saying that women may appear to be pure and uncorrupted, but are actually extremely horny and deceitful.  He refers to a woman’s privates as belonging to the devil.  “There’s hell, there’s darkness,/There’s the sulphury pit, burning, scalding,/Stench, consummation” (121-123).  And in a way, he is proven correct.  Both Goneril and Regan seem to value sex over love.  Now that Edmund is beginning to show some importance and power, Goneril is willing to cheat on her husband with him and Regan instantly is interested in him right after Cornwall dies.  It’s just another competition to them.

In conclusion, King Lear goes against custom and reverses many of the traditional gender roles.  We see this the most in Lear’s oldest daughters who seem to take up many male features as they gain more power, and Lear, who is King, slowly loses all power and influence.  I’m interested to see how this play concludes.

"I’ll never care what wickedness I do, if this man come to good."

I want to address Act 3 Scene 7 where Gloucester's eyes are gouged out by Regan and Goneril. I'm not sure if I, up until this point, had just not been reading closely enough, or what, but this took me more by surprise than anything I think that I have ever read. It was so horrifying, so shockingly brutal I didn't even know what to make of it.

Up until this point, we knew that Goneril and Regan were dishonest and that they have reneged on the deal they made with their father when he gave them their land. They have stripped him of all of his power, all of his dignity, and they leave him out in the storm essentially to die, forbidding Gloucester from giving him shelter. But I did not know they were capable of this kind of animalistic, pack mentality. They seemed to feed off of each others' rage urging Cornwall to hang him, gouge his eyes; they pluck his beard and hurl insults at him. In my opinion, it was truly one of the most horrific scenes in literature. This old man who has already felt betrayed by one son is tortured and forced to realize just before his eyes are gouged from his head that it was really his bastard that had deceived him; he had cast out the son that truly had his best interests at heart.

I could not help, at this point, but draw parallels between Lear and Gloucester. While Lear has not physically been maimed, he has been utterly betrayed by his daughters. He tried to do what he felt was right by dividing up his land between his daughters so as to avoid any argument at the time of his death. What becomes of his good intentions is the casting out of his most loyal and true daughter, and the duplicity of his eldest two daughters makes itself apparent through their neglect and shameful behavior. Gloucester, similarly betrayed by one son and convinced to cast out the other tried to do what he felt was right by protecting and standing by his King in what was clearly his greatest hour of need. What becomes of these also good intentions is a physical maiming and public humiliation. Like Lear, Gloucester is publicly debased and wounded for behaving as he thought appropriate.

This play is not without honest and morally sound individuals however. In Gloucester's case, one of the servants stands up in his defense and draws a sword against Cornwall. The shock of a peasant drawing a blade against a nobleman is enough to convince anyone of the severe wrongness of the situation. If a peasant is willing to lay down his life in defense of a man who, up until this point, had more than he could ever hope to possess in his lifetime, clearly the man must be in a situation of grave ill-use. The servant in fact dies, but not before gravely wounding Cornwall. His dying words to Gloucester are "My lord, you have one eye left to see some mischief on him." Before his remaining eye is gouged he can yet see some justice done. This servant, I feel plays such a crucial role in cementing how completely evil Regan and Goneril truly are. As Regan raises a sword and stabs him in the back, we realize that these people literally have not a single moral fiber in their bodies.

This play is called the Tragedy of King Lear. We know from the start that this will not end well. But after seeing these servants come to the defense of Gloucester, and after seeing Gloucester risk his own life to protect Lear, we know that perhaps there will be some justice in this play. While it may not end well, the villains cannot possibly come to good ends, not after such an heroic display. This may be a tragedy, but it is not lacking a clear sense of right and wrong. The constant and sustaining presence of loyal and good characters are enough of a telling sign that those who have done the most wrong will eventually get their comeuppance.

A Naturally Unnatural State

Acts 3 and 4 of King Lear are some of Shakespeare’s most interesting writing. As he continues to invert everything about this play we finally get a glimpse into the mind of Lear. We can see that his mind is as restless and chaotic as the storm in the play. The storm, which has carried over from Act 2, represents Lear’s mind. In the very first scene of Act 3 we see Kent ask where is the king and the gentleman answers out in the storm “with eyeless rage/ Catch in their fury, and make nothing of;/ Strives in his little world of man to out-scorn/ the to-and-fro-conflicting wind and rain” (8-11). The storm’s conflicting wind and rain mirror Lear’s mental conflict as he slips deeper into his madness; his mind and his life have become as turbulent as the storm he is in. As Lear willingly stays out in the storm we see him begin to talk to it He is using the storm as a stand in for his daughters. Lear understands that Nature does not care about anyone; its force cannot be altered. When he addresses the storm, he tells it, “Spit fire! Spout rain!/ Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire, are my daughters:/ I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness/ I never gave you kingdom, called you children,/ You owe me no subscription” (3.2.13-17). Lear does not blame the storm for its seeming hostility toward him because Nature does not care about man. Nature owes Lear nothing, unlike his ungrateful daughters; Regan and Goneril. This speech also illustrates Lear’s slipping mind. He claims that Nature owed him nothing, he seems to understand that Nature and the Natural world are above all the chaos in human life, but he contradicts himself in the next breath saying, “But yet I call you servile ministries/ That have two pernicious daughters joined/ Your high engendered battles ‘gainst a head/ So old and white as this.” (3.2.20-23). Lear seems to believe that Nature has allied itself with his daughters; that Nature is now picking sides and getting involved with human affairs.  

Shakespeare is using Natural imagery to illustrate the unnatural state of Lear’s mind. This metaphor is extended into the unnatural state of affairs the play is in. All the characters in this play are inverted from what they should be. Regan and Goneril are women who have all the power in the kingdom, they are also playing the ‘parent’ role (albeit an abusive parent) to their father. Lear is the King who has no power at all; he is reduced to a flower crown. His power is stripped away and he is left a virtual beggar. Edmund, the bastard son, is slowly but successfully making a play for power. He gets Edgar to hide and not show his face even though Edgar is the legitimate son. Instead of being a controlled kingdom, we see that England has become a tumultuous tempest; where all the power lies with the villains, making it an easy target for France.

In Act 4 we finally see the return of Cordelia, one of the few characters not motivated by dark ambitions or villainy. She wants to use her new power as the Queen of France to help her afflicted father. In scene 4 we see just how mad Lear has become, “As mad as the vexed sea, singing aloud,/ Crowned with rank fumiter and furrow-weeds,/ With hor-docks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers,/ Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow/ In our sustaining corn” (2-6). Cordelia’s use of Natural imagery is quite a contrast to the darker storm imagery, but it still alludes to Lear’s unnatural state of mind. It also echoes another character from a different Shakespeare play; Lear’s singing and wearing a flower crown is eerily similar to Ophelia’s strange behavior as she slips into madness. And the fact that Lear wears a flower crown is reminiscent to the crown he wore when he was King, it’s almost as if he trying to reclaim some of that power that was unnaturally usurped from him by using the Natural world.

Acts 3 and 4 are really when we can see the extent of the damage; Regan and Goneril are truly evil characters and now they hold all the power. We also see just how far Lear has slipped. Shakespeare juxtaposing Nature and the Natural world with the unnatural occurrences in this play cement that damage and easily make these my 2 favorite acts so far.     

        

Civilization vs. Nature

 At the start of the play, we see King Lear in power. While he is still king, he represents the traditional order of society. As soon as he decides to divide the kingdom between his daughters, however, he upsets the expected order of things. The implication is that going against the structure of society is exactly what leads the play to be a tragedy.  Instead of avoiding quarreling among his daughters and their husbands after his death, the divided kingdom brings violence between the family members and war to England while Lear is still alive. Likewise, Gloucester’s favoring over his bastard son Edmund over his legitimate son Edgar is his downfall, and the exact opposite of how fathers in Elizabethan society regarded their sons. Defying tradition is a foolish thing to do in this story. 

  The more Lear loses, both in the number of knights he is allowed to have, representing his power and influence, as well as his sanity, the closer he appears to become to nature. Nature in this play is a force of destruction. The storm Lear, Kent, Edward, and the Fool are caught in is said to be dangerous to wreck a ship, if it were on the sea. The longer Lear stays out in the storm, the more he begins to entertain unconventional ideas, such as how a king ought to be concerned for the most wretchedly poor of his subjects. This would not have been a typical concern for nobility! Eventually, Lear begins to braid weeds and wildflowers together. I think this is meant to be an interweaving of his character with nature and unconventional (mad) thoughts, similar to Ophelia’s preoccupation with flowers in Hamlet. Edmund also illustrates the idea of nature being dangerous and unconventional, as being a ‘natural’ child was slang for being illegitimate. Like the storm, Edmund is a destructive force, causing the antagonism between Goneril and Regan, and between his father and Edmund. 

  The idea of inversion in this play is very interesting to me. King Lear’s abdication sets the stage for the accepted order of civilization to be completely reversed. Cordelia, the youngest child, is expected to inherit the greatest share of wealth, while usually the youngest child of a family got very little. Lear becomes a subordinate child figure to Goneril and Regan, Edmund the illegitimate son is honored over his honest, legitimate brother, and the fool is wiser than the king.

The Children of Lear and Gloucester

Throughout this whole play, we see how King Lear’s daughters are trying to slowly take away his power. They have his servants as well as their servants treat Lear without any respect. They try to take away his knights. Now because of their antics, he is acting childish and if he doesn’t get his way, he would throw tantrums. His current tantrum is him not entering his daughter’s house and staying out in the storm because they won’t allow his knights to stay with them. His fool tries to reason with Lear saying, “O nuncle, court holy-water in a dry house is better than this rain-water out o’ door. Good nuncle, in, and ask thy daughter’s blessing! Here’s a night pities neither wise man nor fool” (3.2 10-12). But Lear notices that storm owes him nothing, just like his daughters, and neither have the option to treat him any better.

Later on Lear meets Edgar, who he believes also fell to the despair because of daughters.  However, Lear is in such denial and has such a childish state of mind he can’t believe anything else.  Gloucester also realizes that his illegitimate son, Edmund, has betrayed him and his real son, Edgar, is in trouble. Also that Lear’s daughter, Regan is working alongside Edmund trying to find out about the invasion. In both families we see that the children are trying to overrule and take over the parent’s roles. They are even taking advantage of each other’s parents. Regan is using Cornwall’s sword to hurt Gloucester.

In Act 4 we see that Goneril and Edmund are together and she wants to take control of her household before she can becomes Edmund’s mistress. It seems like she only likes men of power and not men who have morals. When Albany comes back, he is disgusted with her and her sister and what they have done to their father. He tells her, “What have you done? Tigers, not daughters, what have you performed? A father, and a gracious aged man, Whose reverence even the head-lugged bear would lick, Most barbarous, most degenerate, have you madded Could my good brother suffer you to do it? A man, a prince, by him so benefited!” (4.2 39-46).  He wishes he could destroy her because of the different nature or personality she has taken on.

In Scene IV, we see that Cordelia asks the doctor if there is a way to cure Lear from his sickness. The doctor said the only thing that can help right now is rest, which Lear has been deprived of . Cordelia is the only daughter who truly cares about her father’s well-being. The other two sisters are only concerned about gaining power. They don’t care what happens to their father. Later on in act vii, Cordelia thanks Kent for showing kindness to her father and Cordelia tries to wake up her father. He we somewhat comes to it, he thinks he is in France, but doesn’t reject Cordelia’s kindness, the only true kindness he’s ever seen by any of his daughters. 

Custom and Nature

   One of the most important aspects of the play, King Lear, is the character of Edmund and the paradox that his character creates. This is mainly seen in the paradox of the way that he embodies both aspects of the natural world and the society of custom.This play tells the story of king Lear's decision to separate his kingdom amongst his daughters and also of Edmund, the bastard son of Gloucester and his desire to take power for himself. A significant amount of the plot and this character's actions are motivated by the conflict between these two concepts, mainly in how he is able to relate to both of them.
   In the play King Lear, the character of Edmund is a surprisingly complicated character in regard to the way that he deals with the two main opposing aspects of his nature, that of custom and nature. This is not just aspects of his nature but also external worlds that he lives in. In the world of custom, he is in essence screwed. This is mostly due to the fact that he is unable to inherit any of his father's money due to the fact that he is both illegitimate and the second born. As a result of custom he is incapable of attaining any real amount of wealth, or even status of any kind. This is something that causes a great deal of pain for him, particularly in the way that he is forced to live in a world that he both detests and at the same time most conform to. This can be seen, "Wherefore should I/ stand in the plague of custom, and permit/ the curiosity of nations to deprive me." (1.1.2-4). It is clear from this statement that a significant factor in his actions and overall personality. Another aspect of his nature lies in his desire to live in a world based on nature, basically a world free from the custom that undermines his ability to gain status in the world. This is seen in, "Thou, nature, art my goddess; to thy law/ my services are bound." (1.1.1-2). In contrast with the utter disdain that Edmund had for the world of custom, the way he talks about nature approaches an almost religious fervor swearing that his "services are bound." It is clear that a world which does not rely on the custom or tradition is much more appealing to him as it implies that his status would be dependent on his own abilities and not the order or manner of his birth. Both of these worlds are in constant conflict with each other, both in terms of social orders and in terms of dual aspects of Edmund's own personality. It is a result of these two conflicting aspects that propels the actions of Edmund throughout the entire play.
   The play King Lear tells the story of a King who gives up his land in order to retire from the pressures of being a king, but one of the most important and compelling subplots is the actions of Edmund, the bastard son of Gloucester. This character is driven by two main forces, the world of custom and the natural world. With custom, Edmund is forced to live without any real power or money because of the circumstances of his birth, while with nature Edmund would be able to rise and fall mainly on the merits of his own natural abilities. It is the conflict between these two opposing forces that drives Edmund's actions.