Animal imagery
In advance: I won’t go in very much detail with each individual character because of the limited amount of space ☺ Enjoy!
In a play saturated with the nature motif, one central aspects stands out. The Animals. Nearly all characters in the play are represented in some way or another by a kind of animal or at least portrayed as having animalistic behaviours. I find it interesting because the animals are used as a delicate way to uncover the emotions of the characters in a play run by deception. Just like dying words are often spoken with brutal honesty, the animals imagery shows the reader what hides in plain sight. Unmanageable emotions.
The very first piece of animal imagery is when Lear compares himself to a animal: “Peace …show more content…
He compares himself to wolfs and dogs in Act 3 scene 4 and Lear answers him in his darkest moment: “Is man no more than this?” Edgar like a symbol of humanity and disguised as Poor Tom we peak into the nature of our human emotions like we peak into the characters when they act like animals. Poor Tom continues to act like an animal, but also in the end shows us another path – Truth and dignity in the face of his own more dark …show more content…
These two are by far the most sexually aggressive and also the ones who’re compared to the most horrific creatures: Centaurs, who are known for raping and pillaging (4,6, Line 122) and carrion eating birds (1,4, 252) (2,4, 131) as well as the cuckoo, who grow up to kill it’s parents (1,4,205). With as much lust to fornicate as Gloucester the goat, we see the two fight bitterly their deaths over Edmund. We see how they prey on old meat, who’s lost it authority and power – Lear. Special to the two girls animal imagery is that they especially and more than anybody else foreshadow the actual treachery, where as most of the other imagery has other effects. Their foul sides show eg when Reagan almost enjoys seeing Gloucester get tortured. This was very clear when we watched the play on stage, but is still somewhat obvious in the text
In advance: I won’t go in very much detail with each individual character because of the limited amount of space ☺ Enjoy!
In a play saturated with the nature motif, one central aspects stands out. The Animals. Nearly all characters in the play are represented in some way or another by a kind of animal or at least portrayed as having animalistic behaviours. I find it interesting because the animals are used as a delicate way to uncover the emotions of the characters in a play run by deception. Just like dying words are often spoken with brutal honesty, the animals imagery shows the reader what hides in plain sight. Unmanageable emotions.
The very first piece of animal imagery is when Lear compares himself to a animal: “Peace …show more content…
He compares himself to wolfs and dogs in Act 3 scene 4 and Lear answers him in his darkest moment: “Is man no more than this?” Edgar like a symbol of humanity and disguised as Poor Tom we peak into the nature of our human emotions like we peak into the characters when they act like animals. Poor Tom continues to act like an animal, but also in the end shows us another path – Truth and dignity in the face of his own more dark …show more content…
These two are by far the most sexually aggressive and also the ones who’re compared to the most horrific creatures: Centaurs, who are known for raping and pillaging (4,6, Line 122) and carrion eating birds (1,4, 252) (2,4, 131) as well as the cuckoo, who grow up to kill it’s parents (1,4,205). With as much lust to fornicate as Gloucester the goat, we see the two fight bitterly their deaths over Edmund. We see how they prey on old meat, who’s lost it authority and power – Lear. Special to the two girls animal imagery is that they especially and more than anybody else foreshadow the actual treachery, where as most of the other imagery has other effects. Their foul sides show eg when Reagan almost enjoys seeing Gloucester get tortured. This was very clear when we watched the play on stage, but is still somewhat obvious in the text