What is the role of the fool, in Lear and/or in traditional royal courts? How does he function in this play, and why does he just sort of disappear?

NO OUTSIDE SOURCES PERMITTED (USE ONLY WHAT I HAVE ATTACHED FOR YOUR REVIEW)

What makes this such a great play? Or is it maybe not so great?

A few things to consider in your discussion, but these are just to get you thinking. Do not just mechancially answer them, but use them to generate original, thoughtful approaches to the text.

What is the role of the fool, in Lear and/or in traditional royal courts? How does he function in this play, and why does he just sort of disappear?

In 1681, Nahum Tate adapted King Lear, including adding a happy ending. (Seriously!) Lear becomes King again, Cordelia survives and weds Edgar….it’s a very different play, and was immensely populr. In fact, it basically supplanted Shakespeare’s tragedy for most of the eighteenth centru and into the ninetennth, and the completed Shalespeare version was not staged until 1845. Your thoughts? Should this be a tragedy, or a “tragi-comedy” such as Tate created?

Revisit one of the questions from last week, if your thoughts have changed now that you have finished the play. (Note: Do not just repost what you said or thought before. I will check.)

In Act I, Kent advises Lear, “See better, Lear.” Consider the role of vision or “seeing” throughout the play. What does it mean to be blind, or to see?

Order versus chaos. Not exactly a minor theme, is it? The play begins in order, with Lear quite literally ordering the disposition of his kingdom among his daughters, and then …Bam! Chaos. Personally, politically, even environmentally. (You didn’t think the storm was just a random weather event, did you?) Discuss order and chaos in Lear.

King Lear is simultaneously about both family and politics, about individuals and nations. Considering that the play was first performed in 1606, after Queen Elizabeth’s death and the ascension of James I to the throne, what might Shakepeare be suggesting about family, politics, and the nature of political authority?

There are two distinct stories in Lear, the main story and the Edgar/Edmund subplot. Both contrast grateful with ungrateful children, filial love and loyalty with betrayal and selfishness. What is the purpose of these parallel stories, and what is its effect? That is, how does it problematize or clarify our understanding of the play’s theme?

Or, just freestyle. Give us your important thoughts, observations, or analysis.

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