1. "You know what else is most horrible? Thy breath. Tic-tac, sir."
2. "Do you think I'll get two Christmas gifts from Claudius this year?"
3. "Can I get some money to go see Mockingjay?"
4. "Yes, they made it into two parts. This is only part one. Yes, just like Harry Potter. And The Hobbit."
5. "Wait, you're a Harry Potter fan?"
6. "Did you know how to pronounce Her-my-oh-knee before you heard it in the movies? Me neither, for like three books. Man, that was a murder most foul."
7. "See the thing is, I like Claudius better."
8. "What's a Lethe wharf?"
9. "If there's something strange, in the neighborhood, who ya gonna call?"
10. "I didn't understand a thing you just said. Hold on, I've got my footnotes right here..."
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Lear's Lament
Somewhere in Act 3 Lear claims that he is a "man more sinned against than sinning." And I suppose he is, considering that his daughters (at least two of them) prove to be terrible, terrible people who are married to terrible (Cornwall) or passive (Albany) men, which only strengthens the machine that torments the king. Clearly we have plenty of details to fill out both the "sinned against" and the "sinning" sides of this matter.
To be fair, let us not forget that Lear brings this on himself. I can't seem to shake the idea that Lear is kind of whining right here. After all, he is out in the storm that rages both onstage and in his head. But that doesn't make this statement false. At least not entirely. Perhaps Lear is really, really culpable here, but if we stack up his personal guilt against everything else, everything else still tips the scales. Right? Shakespeare's exploration into suffering focuses on internal and external causes, and while King Lear is tormented from within, he is e'en more so from without.
Doesn't this sound like poor Willy Loman? Both Lear and Loman find themselves staring down an awful loaded gun of circumstance. Make no mistake, they load the gun themselves, but it is their environments that take the safety off and cock the hammer. The real question, and the really good analysis, is in what comes next: How do these two men, one who is common and the other a king, handle it all? How do they react to a circumstance stacked against them, partially (or greatly) of their own doing? Do they dig themselves out? Can they? Do they attempt noble action? Can they?
Struggle defines us. Whether we bring the struggle to our doorstep or not is of no consequence. Struggle defines us. And we know that it breaks Willy. What about Lear?
To be fair, let us not forget that Lear brings this on himself. I can't seem to shake the idea that Lear is kind of whining right here. After all, he is out in the storm that rages both onstage and in his head. But that doesn't make this statement false. At least not entirely. Perhaps Lear is really, really culpable here, but if we stack up his personal guilt against everything else, everything else still tips the scales. Right? Shakespeare's exploration into suffering focuses on internal and external causes, and while King Lear is tormented from within, he is e'en more so from without.
Doesn't this sound like poor Willy Loman? Both Lear and Loman find themselves staring down an awful loaded gun of circumstance. Make no mistake, they load the gun themselves, but it is their environments that take the safety off and cock the hammer. The real question, and the really good analysis, is in what comes next: How do these two men, one who is common and the other a king, handle it all? How do they react to a circumstance stacked against them, partially (or greatly) of their own doing? Do they dig themselves out? Can they? Do they attempt noble action? Can they?
Struggle defines us. Whether we bring the struggle to our doorstep or not is of no consequence. Struggle defines us. And we know that it breaks Willy. What about Lear?
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