Study Notes

Actor David Ritchie who plays King Lear in our production has produced two essays on Lear which you may wish to read. They are both in Word .doc format:

The Ghost of the Mother

Lear Main Points

King Lear is not only about two families on the verge of extinction but also about a civilisation that must change or devour its self.

Shakespeare's version of this age old tale is by far the bleakest, unsparing in its description of cruelty and corruption. The world of King Lear is a malnourished landscape, controlled and stagnant. Ironically, this society highly values fertility, yet it is decidedly barren. Nothing 'female' can survive. The unmitigated assertion of patriarchal authority drives the drama to its tragic ends. Old men abusing their power is not a new concept. The History of the world tells us we are dealing with familiar territory: Ypres, Dresden, Hiroshima, Grozny, Bosnia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Israel, Australia. Women who abuse their power are usually denounced by history as "tigers, not daughters". All Lear's daughters die but their greatest punishment is that they die childless. The absence of the maternal underpins Shakespeare's images of seeing, feeling and weeping.

We have also attempted to put some useful links here to help those studying King Lear at school. Please click on some of the following links for some useful reference material. Bookmark this page as well to save time. If you have a specific question about Lear please click here to send us an email.

http://home.pacific.net.au/~greg.hub/lear.html - Teaching notes from Ed Frielander

www.netexplosure.com/kinglear/ - Huge Lear site.

www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/lear/ - Another huge Lear site including downloads.

absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/king_lear/king_lear.htm - The Absolute Shakespeare site, references, character guides and other funky stuff.


If you find any other useful sites for studying King Lear please send us an email.