König Lear

Act 4, Scene 6. King Lear: "When we are born, we cry, that we are come to this great stage of fools." ( )

Thought #1. Have you ever seen "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium? There's a lovely soliloquy on King Lear at the end. And King Lear lived up to it.

Thought #2. I loved Gloucester and Kent. I often feel like Kent must have felt in the scenes that Shakespeare withholds from us (those following the death of Lear)... Broken, yet needing to continue with life.
( )

While there's a lot to love here...the actual writing is a standout...overall, this one didn't click with me as much as some of the others did.

Probably me and my personal weirdness, but I despised Goneril and Regan as soon as they opened their mouths (which was likely the point with their awful, fawning fake devotion), but I also took an instant dislike to Lear himself. How does a king manage to rule so well, yet make two stupid decisions in the span of minutes? Who asks their children to essentially fall all over themselves to prove their adoration for their own father? Who is so insecure as to demand that of their children?

And, when the first two play this terrible game, and the third one takes the more measured approach, choosing honestly over hyperbole, he punishes her?

And then, wonder of wonders, he later finds out those first two were bullshitting him, and he's shocked?

All of this kept spinning through my mind through the rest of the play. I suppose, had I been able to get past that initial plot device, I would have bought in hook, line, and sinker to this one because, as I said, there's a lot to love.

But I just couldn't get past that opening. ( )

Tämä on kuulemma yksi Shakespearen tärkeimmistä ja isoimmista teoksista, ja luin sen samoihin aikoihin kuin Othellon, R&J sekä Hamletin. Näistä neljästä tämä oli selvästi huonoin: hahmoja oli liikaa, juoni oli liian epämääräinen, eikä teos herättänyt mitään isoja tuntemuksia. Vaatisi varmaan enemmän syventymistä. ( )

I listened to this while in the rain. I will listen to it many more times and will probably rate it even more highly with each listen. ( )