Edward bond's lear vs. shakespeare's king lear
Political Potential
Influenced by Betrolt Brecht
Plot: Beginning of Transformation
Marxism in Lear
Governments into Power
Christike Political Figure
Governmental Autocratic Attitudes
Epic Theatre: Political Effect on Audience
Patriarchal Constraints
Cultural Power
Political Repercussions
edward bond's lear Vs. shakespeare's king lear
Lear was a play that was produced back in 1971 and it was not just any play. Lear had three-act and it was created by the British dramatist Edward Bond. Many considered it to be an epic rewrite of William Shakespeare's King Lear which it was indeed. However, some may be unaware that the play was first produced in 1971 and it was done so at the Royal Court Theatre, featuring Harry Andrews who took on the title role. Later on, it was brought back to life ore revived by the Royal Shakespeare Company with Bob Peck, sometime in 1982 and rejuvenated again at the Crucible Theatre, in 2005 at Sheffield, along with Ian MacDiarmid.
Bond, who was considered to be a socialist, was the one making attempts to bring correction to current trends which emphasized on the Shakespeare play as an experience deemed to be artistic in nature, at the expense of more real-world features of social criticism. By putting together a politically effective play from a parallel story, he was more probable to cause individuals to question their society and themselves, instead of merely to have an inspiring artistic experience. As stated by one critic, his plays "are not meant simply to amuse but to aid to bring about some kind of change in society."
In Bond's production, Lear is a paranoid dictator, constructing a wall to keep out imagined "rivals." His daughters Fontanelle and Bodice take extreme measures to rebel against him, bringing about a bloody war. Lear turns into their prisoner and embarks on a voyage of self-revelation. Lear is blinded and haunted by the ghost of a Gravedigger's Youngster, whose sympathy towards the old Monarch led to his killing. Ultimately Lear, after becoming a prophet resonant of Leo Tolstoy, makes a sign toward disassembling the wall he instigated. This gesticulation leads to his death, which provided some kind of hope as an example of practical involvement. The play furthermore attributes a character called Cordelia, wife of the slaughtered Gravedigger's Boy who turns into a Stalinist-type ruler herself.
In the play, Lear was able to features some punishing episodes scenes of violence, consisting of knitting needles being pushed into ones of the character's eardrum. There were also other things such as a bloody on-stage autopsy and a gory instrument which was utilized in sucking out Lear's eyeballs. Nevertheless, it is every so often lyrical and features some tightly packed language that is metaphoric. The play's stress on violence and ruthlessness led to mixed reviews among top faultfinders. Even though some opponents gave a lot of praise for its message against violence, there were others that had its doubts whether the performance was resounding enough to gather the response it wanted from the audience.
Now, going back to the plays roots which started in 1605 when Shakespeare wrote it, was not necessarily a political theme as Bond made his. In Shakespeare play, Lear, King of Britain, in an effort to stay away from future strife, divides his empire among his three daughters. His oldest two, Gonerill (wife of Albany) and Regan (wife of Cornwall), reply to his appeal for a show of love, but Cordelia is not capable to, not desiring to be duplicitous or two faced. In a moment of rage, Lear orders her to be sent away and she goes away to marry the King of France. However, when his consultant Kent makes the attempt to tell Lear he is not doing right, he too is sent away. In the end, the tragedy of Shakespeare's King Lear is for the most part noted for its analytical explanations on the nature of human sorrow and kinship not so much the awareness and optimistic social change that bond was trying to promote. With that's said, transforming Shakespeare's King Lear into a progressive drama (Conventional Theater vs. Political Theater) can encourage consciousness and positive social change.
Political Potential
Shakespeare's literary and cultural legacy is something so deep entrenched that even a honest writer like Bond can neither discharge it nor whole-heartedly receive it. It was obvious that Bond was born into an English working class
King Lear by Shakespeare, like his other plays, is a truly timeless work. The tragedy with which the play ends, together with the growth and pain experienced by the characters throughout the play continues to evoke pity even today. This, according to Grothe, is not the case with Nahum Tate's work, which ends without any of the main characters dying. One of the reasons for this is the fact that
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