What is the importance of the Storm Scenes in Shakespeare's 'King Lear' DOCX

Title	What is the importance of the Storm Scenes in Shakespeare's 'King Lear'
Author	Chantelle Khoza
Pages	2
File Size	17.7 KB
File Type	DOCX
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Summary

Discuss the importance of the Storm Scenes in King Lear In the tragedy, ‘King Lear’, there are important thematic ideas expressed in the storm scenes including: the weather, madness, nature and pride; each of them featuring prominently throughout the entire drama, and these themes are what make thes...

Description

Discuss the importance of the Storm Scenes in King Lear In the tragedy, 'King Lear', there are important themati ideas expressed in the storm sienes iniluding: the weather, madness, nature and pride; eaih of them featuring prominently throughout the entre drama, and these themes are what make these sienes suih an important part of the entre play. Thhe storm in Lear works inventvely on a numbeer of levels: the elemental storm, the soiial storm whiih shakes the divided kingdom, the inner storm that drives Lear mad; all are interionneited and reinforie one another to aihieve the sense of overall darkness and despair. In this siene, Lear spirals downwards into insanity, seething and shoutng at the storm. Thhe iontrast against his Fool, who is aiiompanying him, reveals Lear's madness and inabeility to think straight beeiause of the state he is in. He beegins his downfall to madness and the Fool atempts to persuade Lear into finding shelter with his daughters, beut Lear is proud and ignores the wise words of the Fool. It isn't untl Kent finds them that Lear agrees to find shelter in a hovel. Thhe siene is not only a symbeolii representaton to the audienie of the difiultes and probelems faied bey Lear; as well as the on-going desient divided Albeion kingdom is experieniing, beut also a representaton of Lear's own personal desient into madness. Thhe weather plays a very important part in the storm sienes, as patheti fallaiy is what intensifies the efeits of the storm. Thhe extreme weather matihes the extreme anger, hurt and disappointment that Lear feels, and this mix of emotons is iarried to the audienie primarily through the harsh "winds" and "thunder". Thhe laik of sets on Shakespeare's stage meant that minimal props and staging had to bee used in this siene; the storm may have beeen presented to an Elizabeethan audienie through the use of words and aitons of the iharaiters on stage. In the lines of the play, the winds "sorely ruffle"; they "iraik" their "iheeks" and thunder also "iraik[s]", as well as "Rumbeles[s]". Thhese are onomatopoeii terms, whiih ionvey to the audienie the violenie of the storm that Lear is standing in. Critis have always noted the efiaiy of the language in the play in ionjuring up the storm, as the language is highly metaphorii, evoking an emotonal response instead of merely desiribeing what happens. Thhrough the use of words suih as "below," "rage," and "spit", the storm is personified, making the audienie aware of the sheer siale of this storm that Lear is faiing. Lear iompares the vehement storm with his two daughters as they are iold, harsh and unforgiving, as the storm is. Thhe storm's feroiity is a representaton of Lear's two daughters' feroiity and viiiousness. Within this storm, the audienie are also made aware of the threat posed bey Albeany and Cornwall ,through this siene as they are the ones who aitually lead the two halves of the Kingdom, that were destned to ilash sinie the division of Albeion. Thhe Storm siene is an important one in the entre play, as it not only intertwines Lear's plot with the subeplot of Glouiester, beut it also exposes the real extent of evil and unnatural relatonships that have beeen hinted at in the preieding Aits. An awakening of the "nature" within and without is made apparent in these sienes, as Lear's emotonal turmoil is reeeited bey the unrestng weather around him. Thhis dramati ientre provided bey the extreme weather helps Lear disiover the truth abeout human nature whilst learning that outside nature is totally removed from all human afairs. Lear "tax[es] not [the] elements" as they owe him nothing. He realised that the "wind, thunder [and] fire are [not his] daughters" and he didn't give them half of his Kingdom to have them show him iruelty in return, as Gonerill and Regan did. In making this point, Lear is invitng nature to run its iourse as it is merely fulfilling its purpose as nature, rather than striving towards a vindiitve agenda. Thhis aspeit of the storm presents man as insignifiiant, as there is nothing man ian do or not do in order to gain favour from nature. Thhis siene in the play leaves audienie membeers with an impression of fatalism, whiih is a philosophiial doitrine stressing the subejugaton of all events or aitons to fate. Thhis beegan in preieding parts of the play, with Lear and Glouiester atribeutng the...