Motifs Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. Insanity Insanity is central to the play and is associated with both disorder and hidden wisdom. The Fool, who offers Lear insight early on in the play, offers his counsel in what seems to be [...]
Archive for the ‘LC Drama’ Category
7 Jun
King Lear Themes
Themes are the fundamental and universal ideas explored in a text. Nature The events of the play underline Shakespeare’s obsession with the theme of nature in this play. Lear disowns one loving and loyal daughter in favour of two who will turn savagely on him. Gloucester calls Edmund a ‘loyal and natural boy’ and disowns [...]
24 Mar
King Lear Character Analysis: Cordelia
Cordelia Compared with her sisters, Cordelia comes off as saint – she is one of the only genuinely principled characters in the play. But she does inherit some of her father’s traits – she inherited his pride and, like her father, she can be unyielding. She responds to his pride with her pride at the [...]
11 Mar
King Lear Characters Analysis: Edmund
Edmund The big thing to know about Edmund is that, as Shakespeare repeatedly says, he’s “a bastard.” Not only was he born out of wedlock, but he also acts like a jerk from the beginning of the play to the end. He has his own point of view (distinctive from everyone else in the play), [...]
24 Feb
King Lear Character Analysis: Lear
King Lear Lear, the King of Britain, is a powerful and important man. But he’s getting near retirement age. Lear thinks he can hand over the hard work of ruling the kingdom to his children and relax. He wants to enjoy the power of still being king without any of the responsibility. His main flaw [...]
24 Feb
King Lear At a Glance
What’s it all about? King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare written at some point between 1603 and 1606. The play’s action centres around an ageing king who decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters, two of whom turn out to be mean, greedy ladies. For the past several decades, King Lear [...]
9 Feb
Dancing At Lughnasa – Quick Glance
Plot Summary The story is set in a small village called Ballybeg in Donegal Ireland in the year 1936. The Mundy family are at the centre of this drama. Kate is the oldest and the only one who is working outside the home. She is a schoolteacher and feels the responsibility of looking after her [...]
16 Sep
Philadelphia, Here I Come
Friel’s plays and stories are very much rooted in the Irish experience. Often set in the fictional village of Ballybeg, they explore social, cultural and political issues particular to the Irish situation, examining how these impact upon individuals and families. While overtly Irish in content, his work also has a more universal appeal, dealing as [...]
Damien Gallagher
