Irony in King Lear

Look up a definition of "irony" to use for your discussion and begin by explaining it. Cite your source(s).

Then, after answering the previously posted questions on King Lear, read through what everyone has said in response to the questions on nature/unnaturalness and wisdom/foolishness.

Drawing on those responses and your own reading for illustrations, discuss Shakespeare's use of irony in King Lear. You can't cover it all here, so choose one ironic element in the play to develop thoroughly in your answer.

The Wise Man and the Fool in King Lear

From the time he enters the play in 1.4.93 until we last see him in 3.6, Lear's court jester or "fool" is the only character who can speak the truth to him and get away with it. Find one "jest" made by the fool, quote it (citing act/scene/line), and explain what you think it means. In it, is the fool trying to tell Lear something about himself or just making a joke? What do you think is his point?

Nature in King Lear

"Nature" is the word with the longest definition in the Oxford English Dictionary because it is used in so many ways. Several of these are woven into King Lear.

Find examples of Shakespeare's uses of words like "Nature," "nature," "natural," "naturalness," "unnaturalness," and related words or terms. Quote and cite them with Act, scene, and line numbers (e.g., 1.2.3-4). Give examples not yet provided by anyone else in the class, and explain what Nature, etc., means in the context of the passage in which it appears.

King Lear

Shakespeare's play King Lear opens with the retiring king asking his daughters to declare the extent of their love for him before he gives them their share of the kingdom. Goneril and Regan comply, but Cordelia says she will tell him "Nothing." As a result, King Lear disowns her.

Why did Cordelia refuse to answer his question? How did she try to defend herself? Do you think Cordelia was right to behave as she did? Should she have tried harder to please her father? Why or why not?

Read what your classmates have said and reply, especially if you think they might be missing something important.

Hamlet

Read through Hamlet looking for references to disease, decay, rot, weeds, and other signs of deterioration or pollution. Quote one of them that has not been noted by a classmate here, and cite act, scene, and line numbers. What does it mean in that particular context?

Considered for their cumulative effect, what do they accomplish in the play? What happens the kingdom when there is moral failure at its center?