Was Shakespeare’s King Lear truly a satire against King James? A satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. There are valid arguments on both sides as to why or why it would not be satire. I will uncover evidence from both sides to determine whether King Lear was a satire or not. According to many sources King Lear is a satire against King James. There are many similarities between King Lear and the life of King James that could point to that conclusion, some of which are their arrogance and way of speaking. Originally, the title of this story, which was hundreds of years old before Shakespeare
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Lear expresses a similar opinion to James’ in act one scene four right before leaving Goneril’s home; Lear says, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child(Act Ⅰ, Scene Ⅳ)!”. He loathes the thought of his children turning their backs on him after all he has done for them, he feels as if they have duties to fulfill as his children. This show that both kings are enraged by the thought of someone going against what they want. There is also the matter of one of the final lines in the play King Lear. After Lear and all his children die, Edgar says something that sticks in the mind, “The weight of this sad time we must obey. Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say(Act Ⅴ, Scene Ⅲ).” Using this quote after all the tragic events have taken place at the end of the play has sparked the interest of many. It is possible that Shakespeare was using the placement of this quote to let his audience know that he would speak his mind, that flattery was …show more content…
Shakespeare plagiarized a large amount of his play and would most likely not have risked losing his patrons. The tale of King Lear, also known as King Leir, is centuries old and was written long before the birth of Shakespeare. It was first written in english by Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and was titled The True Chronicle History of King Leir(“Mabillard”). There have been several renditions of this story, including Shakespeare’s King Lear. Both versions have King Lear and his three daughters, two of which betray him while the other shows her love for him. The daughters names are Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia in both stories and Cordelia is the daughter that truly loves Lear. There are a few differences in spelling, but that was most likely due to the difference in the time period. Along with Shakespeare having plagiarized King Lear, he also would not have wanted to lose his patrons, or his life. King James was a fan of poetry and especially drama, and he was one of Shakespeare’s best patrons. When the bubonic plague struck he had a theatre built for performance to only him and his court. He also assured the safety of Shakespeare and his theatre troupe during this time(“Brown”). It is also extremely probable that if King James had suspected that he was being made fun of that he would have had Shakespeare executed
Lear expresses a similar opinion to James’ in act one scene four right before leaving Goneril’s home; Lear says, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child(Act Ⅰ, Scene Ⅳ)!”. He loathes the thought of his children turning their backs on him after all he has done for them, he feels as if they have duties to fulfill as his children. This show that both kings are enraged by the thought of someone going against what they want. There is also the matter of one of the final lines in the play King Lear. After Lear and all his children die, Edgar says something that sticks in the mind, “The weight of this sad time we must obey. Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say(Act Ⅴ, Scene Ⅲ).” Using this quote after all the tragic events have taken place at the end of the play has sparked the interest of many. It is possible that Shakespeare was using the placement of this quote to let his audience know that he would speak his mind, that flattery was …show more content…
Shakespeare plagiarized a large amount of his play and would most likely not have risked losing his patrons. The tale of King Lear, also known as King Leir, is centuries old and was written long before the birth of Shakespeare. It was first written in english by Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and was titled The True Chronicle History of King Leir(“Mabillard”). There have been several renditions of this story, including Shakespeare’s King Lear. Both versions have King Lear and his three daughters, two of which betray him while the other shows her love for him. The daughters names are Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia in both stories and Cordelia is the daughter that truly loves Lear. There are a few differences in spelling, but that was most likely due to the difference in the time period. Along with Shakespeare having plagiarized King Lear, he also would not have wanted to lose his patrons, or his life. King James was a fan of poetry and especially drama, and he was one of Shakespeare’s best patrons. When the bubonic plague struck he had a theatre built for performance to only him and his court. He also assured the safety of Shakespeare and his theatre troupe during this time(“Brown”). It is also extremely probable that if King James had suspected that he was being made fun of that he would have had Shakespeare executed