... , thy truth then be thy dower! Here I disclaim all my paternal care, propinquity, and property of blood/And as a stranger to my heart and me/Hold thee from this forever" (Act I, scene i, lines 109, 114-115). Lear, so astonished at ... , Edmund. Edmund connives to set Edgar up, claiming that Edgar is planning on murdering Gloucester; if Edgar is out of Gloucester's favor, Edmund will be the sole heir. Upon learning of Edgar's plan, Gloucester is livid, proclaiming that Edgar is an "abhorred villain, unnatural, detested, brutish villain; worse than brutish ... naively in not second-guessin...

• Word Count: 1594
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... social views have brought new readings of King Lear and one of these is that of Richard Eyre. While the Elizabethans felt that if the social order of the state was disturbed chaos would result; contemporary audiences are more familiar with the chaos that occurs when the family unit is broken down. As a result, Eyre's reading presents King Lear as a domestic rather than a social tragedy ... . According to Eyre's reading of the play, it is Lear's failure as a father - his failure to understand and bestow the love that as a father he was responsible for giving, which ultimately leads to dis...

• Word Count: 1119
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate