Jonathan Sircy

Conclusions Part 1

I’m wrapping up my study of Covenantal Shakespeare. Here are five things I’ve learned. I have a pattern for assessing Shakespeare’s plays: worldview (theme), religious and political context, symbols, a critical survey, and source study. The covenant’s five points are all connected. Though I wrote about transcendence and Julius Caesar, I could have easily writtenContinue reading “Conclusions Part 1”

Avoiding God

I revisited Stanley Cavell’s essay “The Avoidance of Love” today. I found a profound spiritual insight in its reading of King Lear. Cavell argues that we can answer the play’s nagging questions with an easy solution. Why does Lear act as he does in Act 1? Or Cordelia? Or Gloucester in response to Edmund’s claims?Continue reading “Avoiding God”

King Lear: Theme

King Lear is a play about what comes next. Will the next generation transform the work of the previous generation and bring greater glory to the kingdom? Or will the next generation squander its inheritance and lose everything the older generation gained? The play’s final lines offer an answer. The weight of this sad timeContinue reading “King Lear: Theme”

New Worlds

James Jordan writes, “God’s actions in building up the world are prototypes of human actions in continuing to build up and glorify the world.” Tragedies move from grace to wrath, separating their protagonists from their connection with God and other people. Yet, not all the tragedies I’ve examined lack hope. Below, I consider in briefContinue reading “New Worlds”

King Lear and the Gods Part 1

William G. Elton’s King Lear and the Gods (1966) exemplifies “history of ideas” scholarship. Most critics, Elton claims, read the play as sympathetic to Christianity. In contrast, Elton sees the play as a paganized version of a Christian play. Shakespeare adapted the Lear story from an earlier King Leir, emptied it of Christian allusions, andContinue reading “King Lear and the Gods Part 1”

King Lear: Act 5 Commentary

Scene one is all about Edmund. First, he asserts his power over both Goneril and Regan. Second, he pledges wrath to Lear and Cordelia. Gloucester appears for the final time in Scene two. He tells his son, “Grace go with you, sir.” Gloucester has found a measure of redemption, just like Lear. Cordelia and LearContinue reading “King Lear: Act 5 Commentary”

King Lear: Act 4 Commentary

Act 4 transitions from wrath to grace. If the play ended with scene seven, it would be a comedy. Gloucester recognizes his sins: “I stumbled when I saw.” He adds, “O dear son Edgar, The food of thy abused father’s wrath, / Might I live to see thee in my touch, / I’d say IContinue reading “King Lear: Act 4 Commentary”

King Lear: Act 3 Commentary

Shakespeare connects the unsettled kingdoms of Britain with the troubled natural world. Inside the court, political intrigue rains. Outside the castles, the heavens rain. In scene two, King Lear contrasts his daughters with the heavens. He doesn’t blame the sky for pelting him with rain because it, unlike his daughters, had no obligation to him.Continue reading “King Lear: Act 3 Commentary”

King Lear: Act 2 Commentary

In scene one, Edmund preys on his father’s and Edgar’s fears by appealing to religion and politics. He tells Gloucester that Edgar wants him dead, even though “the revenging gods / ‘Gainst parricides did all the thunder bend.” He tells Edgar that the Duke of Cornwall seeks his life and implies Edgar has taken theContinue reading “King Lear: Act 2 Commentary”

King Lear: Act 1 Commentary

Lear’s advisors don’t know his plan for dividing his kingdom. The play begins with Kent and Gloucester wondering whether Albany or Cornwall is Lear’s favorite. Of course, the rest of the scene shows that the husbands don’t matter much. Lear is more worried about his daughters. The opening scene compares earthly and heavenly inheritance. GonerilContinue reading “King Lear: Act 1 Commentary”