Edmund, Gloucester, Lear - Image Collection
King Lear 12 :
Chaos and
Disintegration.
Wednesday, 21 August 2024
Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Nothing will come
of nothing
Lear sums up the
disintegration of the sense
of order that begins the
play.
As the Wheel of Fortune
turns, the outcome will be
nothing for many of the
characters.
Lear’s gift begins the
journey of the wheel as he
seeks to divide the
indivisible.
Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Edmund and
Gloucester
Discuss the effect of these
Discuss the effect of these
quotations in the light of this
quotations in the light of this
theme
theme
"Now, gods, stand up for
bastards!”
"Thou, Nature, art my goddess.”
"These late eclipses in the sun
and moon portend no good to
us."
"As if we were villains on
necessity; fools by heavenly
compulsion.”
Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Poor Tom
The wheel reaches its
The wheel reaches its
nadir for Edgar as Poor
nadir for Edgar as Poor
Tom
Tom
"I will preserve myself,
and am bethought
To take the basest and
most poorest shape
That ever penury in
contempt of man
Brought near to beast."
Is the descent to chaos
Is the descent to chaos
required for the successful
required for the successful
redemption of the
redemption of the
Kingdom?
Kingdom?
Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Lear’s personal
chaos
"Blow winds, and crack your
cheeks! Rage, blow!"
"The art of our necessities is
strange
And can make vile things
precious."
"Here's a night pities neither
wise men nor fools."
The storm is the physical
manifestation of Lear’s mental
collapse but is also required if
he is to emerge “cured”
Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Bastard
Edmund’s rise on the
Edmund’s rise on the
wheel is the clear
wheel is the clear
evidence of a world
evidence of a world
descended into chaos
descended into chaos
"The younger rises when
the old doth fall."
He represents the latent
He represents the latent
fear of all in the
fear of all in the
hierarchical Tudor times
hierarchical Tudor times
– that order can be
– that order can be
destroyed by deceit.
destroyed by deceit.
Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Recognition of chaos
as a step to
redemption
Poor naked wretches,
wheresoe'er you are,
That bide the pelting of this
pitiless storm,
How shall your houseless
heads and unfed sides,
Your looped and windowed
raggedness defend you
From seasons such as these?
O I have taken
Too little care of this."
"Is man no more than this?
[…] Thou art the thing itself;
unaccommodated man is no
more but such a poor, bare,
forked animal as thou art."
Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
The wheel begins its
upward trajectory
"O ruined piece of nature!
This great world
Shall so wear out to
naught.”
"Why I do trifle thus with
his despair
Is done to cure it."
"Know my name is lost,
By treason's tooth bare-
gnawn and canker-bit."
Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Outcome of Chaos
"No, no, no life?
Why should a dog, a
horse, a rat have life,
And thou no breath at
all? Thou'lt come no
more,
Never, never, never,
never, never."
Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Nothing comes of
nothing…
Whole world order is
destroyed – good and bad
Little sense of justice in
this world
A new order emerges,
based around Edgar – the
only true innocent left
alive at the end.
He has undergone a
complete circle of the
wheel.
Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Wheel turns
chaotically
Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Wheel of Fortune
Lear and Gloucester begin
at highest point in own
cycle - will fall to lowest
before gradual return
Edmund starts at lowest
and will attain summit
when made Earl of
Gloucester by Cornwall
Will be undone by Albany,
who also returns Lear
briefly to Kingship in Act
5.3
Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Cordelia and
Edgar
Cordelia loses much in
Act 1 but still remains a
Queen – albeit of a rival
state. NOT a great fall.
Edgar loses all due to
duplicity and is shown to
be caring and selfless
when at his lowest. Will
attain summit a the end
of the play
Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Slide Note
This collection features images of characters from the play "King Lear" - Edmund, Gloucester, and King Lear. Each image showcases a different aspect of the characters, providing visual insight into their personalities and roles within the play.
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Presentation Transcript
EDMUND GLOUCESTER LEAR
