Throughout the study of king Lear and the queen, an increased knowledge and understanding of universal ideas about humanity have been gained. The three main ideas that Shakespeare and Frears present include, civil unrest, challenge to authority and the divine right of kings. Despite these texts being set in different times, universal ideas are extrapolated from the two texts. During the 1990’s and early 2000’s, Great Britain experienced a period of civil unrest in which the British people grieved over the death of Princess Diana (Princess of Wales). Dianna was known as the people’s princess because of the work that she did for several major charities across the world. The death of Diana triggered an outcry from the British people, wanting the
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Tony Blair, Prime Minister at the time of Diana’s death, challenged Queen Elizabeth’s authority over him and his government. Blair was constantly in Elizabeth’s ear challenging the decisions that she made. The interactions between Tony Blair and Queen Elizabeth are explored in greater detail in Frears’ the Queen and it shows us how the Queen’s authority over her people and government was affected by untimely death. One scene in the Queen that shows this is when Queen Elizabeth receives a phone call from Tony Blair, challenging the decisions that she has made surrounding Diana’s death. Tony Blair advises that the Queen raise the flag above Buckingham Palace to show that the Royal Family are grieving the loss of Diana as much as the rest of England. Likewise, in Shakespeare’s King Lear, Goneril and Regan challenged the authority that their father had over them and the land. Goneril and Regan exploited their father’s fatal flaws and challenged his authority. Lear wanted to divide his land evenly between his three daughters, however he didn’t know that favour he showed towards the two older daughters would bring about the end of his rule. King Lear and The Queen share a multitude of universal ideas and these ideas have helped heighten the understanding that I have of the two …show more content…
In Frears’ the Queen, Frears’ showed that during the period between Diana’s death and funeral, that there were several swings in the Queens and the monarchy’s popularity due to the way that the royal family were treating Diana’s death and the Spencer family. Frears does an incredibly good job of showing favour to both the Monarch and the British people giving a voice to the people while not detracting from the fact that the monarchy is the main group in the film. He doesn’t portray them in a way that they seem evil/nor good. Shakespeare’s King Lear demonstrates the Divine Right of Kings throughout the entirety of the text. Goneril and Regan, even though they are the likely successors to the throne, try to overthrow Lear. Before Lear gives the kingdom he has ruled over to Goneril and Regan he shows that the land is bound with him as it’s monarch. Lear attempts to stop this from happening but in his old age he is powerless against his children. Both Gloucester and Lear have illegitimate children. This is a metaphor for being blind of their respective good children (these children are Edgar and Cordelia) and also their bad children (Edmund, Goneril and Regan). The ‘bad’ children commit a sacrilegious act by attempting to dethrone their fathers, who were
Tony Blair, Prime Minister at the time of Diana’s death, challenged Queen Elizabeth’s authority over him and his government. Blair was constantly in Elizabeth’s ear challenging the decisions that she made. The interactions between Tony Blair and Queen Elizabeth are explored in greater detail in Frears’ the Queen and it shows us how the Queen’s authority over her people and government was affected by untimely death. One scene in the Queen that shows this is when Queen Elizabeth receives a phone call from Tony Blair, challenging the decisions that she has made surrounding Diana’s death. Tony Blair advises that the Queen raise the flag above Buckingham Palace to show that the Royal Family are grieving the loss of Diana as much as the rest of England. Likewise, in Shakespeare’s King Lear, Goneril and Regan challenged the authority that their father had over them and the land. Goneril and Regan exploited their father’s fatal flaws and challenged his authority. Lear wanted to divide his land evenly between his three daughters, however he didn’t know that favour he showed towards the two older daughters would bring about the end of his rule. King Lear and The Queen share a multitude of universal ideas and these ideas have helped heighten the understanding that I have of the two …show more content…
In Frears’ the Queen, Frears’ showed that during the period between Diana’s death and funeral, that there were several swings in the Queens and the monarchy’s popularity due to the way that the royal family were treating Diana’s death and the Spencer family. Frears does an incredibly good job of showing favour to both the Monarch and the British people giving a voice to the people while not detracting from the fact that the monarchy is the main group in the film. He doesn’t portray them in a way that they seem evil/nor good. Shakespeare’s King Lear demonstrates the Divine Right of Kings throughout the entirety of the text. Goneril and Regan, even though they are the likely successors to the throne, try to overthrow Lear. Before Lear gives the kingdom he has ruled over to Goneril and Regan he shows that the land is bound with him as it’s monarch. Lear attempts to stop this from happening but in his old age he is powerless against his children. Both Gloucester and Lear have illegitimate children. This is a metaphor for being blind of their respective good children (these children are Edgar and Cordelia) and also their bad children (Edmund, Goneril and Regan). The ‘bad’ children commit a sacrilegious act by attempting to dethrone their fathers, who were