Act 5 Scene 2- Quickest '5-word' battle in History
SETTING:
Field between the two camps
SUMMARY:
Edgar hides Gloucester under a tree before going off to fight.
BATTLE.
2 lines later (sort of), Edgar comes back saying Lear and Cordelia have lost and are prisoners.
Edgar takes him to safety... again.
KEY THEMES:
Family relationships- Edgar protecting Gloucester
Fate
Bribery/Flattery
Power
KEY CONTEXT
Hamlet stoicism 'yet it will come- the readiness of all' compare it to Edgars
KEY QUOTATIONS:
· 'Men must endure/Their goings hence, even as their coming hither' Edgar pg.237 lines 9-10 -->shows Edgar's stoical p.o.v
Note: This scene is incredibly short and extremely brief, I like to think hat Shakespeare needed some way of delivering the ongoing battle that has been biulding up over the last 5 Acts. Little bit of a let down don't you think? What's interesting is why does Shakespeare pay so little attention to the battle- what is it's purpose? Considering that it is not the main focus what is? Does this tell us what Shakespeare wanted this play to be?
A/N 19/10/2017 : We're nearing the end only the final scene left, I just need to point out a few housekeeping duties,
1) Grab tissues, and ice cream- after this scene you will need a pick-me-up
2) Because soooo much happens in the final scene I have split it into 3 and it will be posted over three days
3) I'm serious about teh ice cream... we're about to go on an even bigger roller coaster ride of emotions
YOU ARE READING
The Discombobulated Guide to King Lear
Non-FictionAnyone else trying to wade through English Literature books?? Join the club! Although I love English Literature one does have to keep the passion alive and therefore during my exams I got a couple of ways of making it fun and decided to share with y...
