Wonderful interpretations of the last two scenes in Act 3. We agreed that at the end of Act 3, we have:
- Unleashed violence
- Self interest -- selflessness
- Political now seems personal--no courts, no judges, simple anarchy--rendom/horrible/individual vengeance--no talk of what is best for the kingdom
- Suffering touches all
- Before there was hope as we looked for reasons to explain the actions of Regan and Goneril but now all hope is lost--they are "monsters"
- All the low characters have risen and the characters of high status have fallen
- All the key characters have fallen
- Lear was blind to the suffering in the world and blind to the duality of man and blind to true love and true loyalty--he was living a life of the personified king rather than a true king-- exemplified when he takes off his clothes in the hovel
- the play is a condemnation of self-centeredness
- the tables have completely turned
- Lear is carried off stage--lost his mind and his body
- yet Edgar is inspired by Lear's suffering and vows to be loyal to him and to take off his disguise to face his fate
Keep taking good notes while in class and while you are reading. They will be do when we finish reading the play. The week after next.
Start thinking of an essay topic you would like to write on.
You will need to find 9 to 15 passages that elucidate your topic and you turn these into a quotation log. From that document, you will write the essay. A great log makes writing the essay an opportunity to focus on style and insight (Lit 12s two great loves).
