“a Modern Audience Cannot Forgive Lear’s Actions in Act 1 Scene 1”. by Considering Shakespeare’s Dramatic Presentation of King Lear in This Scene, Evaluate This View.

2435 Words10 Pages
Lear’s first line in the play is the imperative“ Attend the lords of France and Burgundy, Gloucester.” The use of the verb “attend” in this imperative form shows Lear’s certainty that his command will be obeyed. This is then followed by Gloucester’s response “I shall my lord”, which gives evidence to why Lear is under the impression people will obey to his commands; because they do. Lear’s speeches are full of imperatives to show his natural authority and expectations of being obeyed in a formal nature. This also includes his daughters, who obey him like a king with no questioning, for example when Lear orders them to “speak first” or just “speak” they do so straight away. Lear’s authority is also represented by Shakespeare’s use of poetry instead of prose whilst everyone is in Lear’s presence at the beginning of the play. As soon as Lear enters, the play goes from prose into blank verse which is a strict iambic pentameter, showing how everyone must be careful about the way in which they speak around Lear, as they must speak in strict form. This could also explain why Lear’s speeches in Act 1 Scene 1 appear planned, because they are flowing with no pauses or flaws, as well as everything he says being straight to the point. This could be showing how he takes his authority seriously, as he knows what he intends to say before he has a chance to say it, therefore being a committed ruler. This also shows how he is predicting others’ responses because he knows what to say in response to them, as if it had also been rehearsed. All of this also shows how Lear feel he knows those who surround him, such as his daughters, which makes it even more of a shock when Cordelia does not respond in his predicated way. An audience of the time would expect excessive orders from a king because they are used to having a ruler and someone at the top of a hierarchy, therefore assuming that

More about “a Modern Audience Cannot Forgive Lear’s Actions in Act 1 Scene 1”. by Considering Shakespeare’s Dramatic Presentation of King Lear in This Scene, Evaluate This View.

Open Document