King Lear

Honestly, I didn't enjoy this play as much as I had initially expected to.

I believe that my expectations were set too high, perhaps influenced by the positive reviews and the anticipation that had built up within me.

However, despite not meeting my overly high expectations, it was still an enjoyable play.

The actors did a decent job of bringing the characters to life, and the story had its moments of excitement and drama.

The set design and costumes added to the overall atmosphere of the production.

Although it may not have been a perfect or outstanding experience, it was still worth watching and provided some entertainment.

I guess sometimes our expectations can get in the way of fully enjoying something, but it's important to appreciate the good aspects that are still present.

Overall, while it didn't exceed my expectations, it was still a play that I can say I had a relatively enjoyable time watching.

There's little respect for the old where I come from. My personal bias made it hard for me to look beyond my individual views to the broader picture of power inheritance among humans. Once, people held sway over land, fealty, and divine right. Now, authority has turned into something else, and those in power seek to pass it on to those they've trained. But in between, did they invest in concepts like integrity, humanity, and a ban on commodifying everything? Or did they focus so much on survival of the fittest that they forgot the consequences of actions like rape, betrayal, and genocide?

  I gave you all.

And in good time you gave it.


They told me I was everything; 'tis a lie[.]

Someone with faith might handle this better than I. The most beloved ruler has lost their holy stuff. The moral scales have tilted, and the promises of the afterlife mean little. So, what does it mean for a world where justice is never guaranteed? Do we pray to an absolute that seems to have fallen asleep, or do we recognize that there may come a time when the ethics of flies serve as the laws of creed?

  If that the heavens do not their visible spirits
Send quickly down to tame these vile offences,
It will come,
Humanity must perforce prey on itself,
Like monsters of the deep.

Take physic, pomp,
Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel,
That thou mayst shake the superflux to them
And show the heavens more just.

In the eyes of science, breeding for purity weakens the stock. Coupled with severing bonds not based on paper and coin, it makes us all gamblers. Death can be a rectifier, but there's a lot that can be tested and found lacking before divine retribution. Fealty, piety, legitimacy, misogyny – these are the things that have kept power for centuries. But does it always work?

  [T]he laws are mine, not thine.
Who shall arraign me for't?

The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices
Make instruments to scourge us.

If balancing is a fickle thing in the realms beyond, then the means of heaven and hell are left to us. We can make of it what we will. I still like Hamlet better, but that's without having seen the storm in King Lear in its full flesh and blood.

  We have seen the best of our time.

Hark in thine ear:
change places, and handy-dandy, which is the justice,
which is the thief?

Let go thy hold when a great wheel runs down a hill, lest it break thy neck with following it; but the great one that goes up a hill, let him draw thee after. When a wise man gives thee better counsel, give me mine again. I would have none but knaves follow it, since a fool gives it.

If like me you haven't read anything from Shakespeare before, I definitely don't recommend the audio play at all. Or rather, I don't recommend listening to it at a high speed:)).

This is also from a book that I reached the challenge of 2022 with. ^^

It seems that the author has had an interesting experience with a certain book related to Shakespeare. Maybe they initially thought that listening to the audio play at a high speed would be a good way to quickly get to know Shakespeare's works. However, they soon realized that it might not be the best approach, especially if one has no prior knowledge of Shakespeare.

Perhaps the author will now take a more traditional and in-depth way to study Shakespeare's works, such as reading the text carefully, analyzing the characters and plots, and trying to understand the historical and cultural background behind the plays. This way, they can truly appreciate the beauty and complexity of Shakespeare's works and gain a deeper understanding of his genius.

If I were to assign a Shakespearean tragedy to each of the thrash metal Big Four, here's how I would do it:

Anthrax would be Hamlet. Their numerous personnel changes and genre mixtures over time are similar to Hamlet's indecision about which path to take.

Megadeth would be Othello. Dave Mustaine's jealousy of Metallica's success and his pursuit of his own path mirror Othello's insecurities. Also, Othello is the most musical of the tragedies, and Dave has a musical voice.

Slayer would resemble Macbeth. The dark, foreboding atmosphere of their music and the anger and rage expressed on "God Hates Us All" are like Macbeth's descent into darkness.

Metallica would represent King Lear. James Hetfield's personality and the wide range of emotions he expresses, as well as the intensity of their songs, are reminiscent of King Lear.

King Lear is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. It's grandiose, tragic, and the characters are larger than life. The play's depth and the high stakes involved make it a masterpiece. The storm in Act III is particularly powerful, and the scenes between Lear and Cordelia are moving. I haven't seen it on stage yet, but it's on my bucket list.

The play also has historical significance, as it was a reminder to Jacobean audiences of the recent unification of Scotland and England and the civil wars. The characters are complex and vivid, from the heinous Regan, Goneril, and Edmund to the faithful Kent and the tragic Cordelia. Overall, King Lear is a work of art that defies imagination.

Hagáis saber que no es baldón, ni crimen ni vicio, desatada lujuria ni deshonra, lo que me ha quitado vuestro favor. Sino el carecer de lo que me hace más rica: un ojo buscón y una lengua.

The story itself is rather easy to follow. This work tells us the story of King Lear who is at a point where he wants to decide to whom and how much of his possessions he will bequeath to his daughters. There is Goneril who is married to the Duke of Albany, Regan who is married to the Duke of Cornwall, and Cordelia who has not yet decided between the King of France or the Duke of Burgundy.

When King Lear asks them how much they appreciate him, Goneril and Regan go to great lengths in their praise, but Cordelia is more prudent. This is the reason why the king expels her and curses her. However, as the play progresses, we see how the two older sisters plot to take away King Lear's privileges and reduce him practically to nothing. They start by taking away his knights. Subsequently, a civil war will break out, of which this piece of theater is a witness. Lear will have the Earl of Kent, the Earl of Gloucester, and a fool as allies. I didn't like the role of the fool as almost always in these works.

"Redujo mi séquito a la mitad. Me miró sombríamente, en pleno corazón me golpeó con su lengua, que es de serpiente. ¡Caiga sobre su ingrata crisma todo el cúmulo de las venganzas del cielo! ¡Aires malignos, dejad lisiados sus tiernos huesos!"

Another very interesting plot is that of the Earl of Gloucester and his sons. He has Edgar who is the legitimate one, he loves him very much and is very selfless; but on the other hand there is his bastard son Edmond who is very ambitious and I found his development throughout the play interesting.

The ending, in my opinion, is a massacre, and the outcomes had such an impact on me. I think it was excessive. On the other hand, I practically didn't get attached to the good ones nor feel pity for the bad ones. In my point of view, it lacked a better dosage of the actions and also the postures of each one to achieve more impression on the spectator.

It has some good phrases especially about old age, despair, and it graphically shows the cruelty of the daughters although sometimes so fast that one doesn't quite remember well the intentions of each one.

"El peso de un cruel tiempo debemos asumir, diciendo lo que es cierto, no lo que hay que decir. Los más viejos pasaron penas que los jóvenes no veremos. Ni tanto como ellos nosotros viviremos."

One of the masterpieces of theater and literature offers several remarkable aspects for me.

The portrayal of madness, in terms of losing touch with reality and/or the anxiety it brings us. King Lear's rants, Edgar naked and possessed in the storm. As the saying goes, "We are born crying because we have come onto this great stage of fools."

The fake suicide of Gloucester on the white cliffs of Dover.

That sense of the cosmic senselessness of events, people, and everything. "We are to the gods as flies to wanton boys; they kill us for their sport."

The difficulty, in all times, of the parent-child relationship. Goneril and Regan with hearts of dogs, Cordelia and Edgar misunderstood, Edmund the traitorous bastard.

The fool, the madman, who, despite his name and role, tries to bring the king, and us, back to a dimension of reality.

The king who will understand too late the true love of his daughter Cordelia (and later Gloucester for his son Edgar), and that beautiful scene where they are seen together, like birds in a cage, observing the world. "We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage; when thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down and ask of thee forgiveness; so we'll live, and pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh at gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues talk of court news; and we'll talk with them too, who loses and who wins, who's in, who's out - and take upon 's the mystery of things as if we were God's spies; and we'll wear out, in a walled prison, packs and sects of great ones that ebb and flow by the moon."

The happy ending: Edgar will take on the kingdom. Somehow we must bravely face and govern reality, with the best approximation we are capable of. "We must bear all the weight of this sad time. Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say."

“The truth is a jewel too precious to be used as an ornament.”

With more doubts than excitement, I began my fourth encounter with Shakespeare. And I'm not ashamed to say at all that in the second scene, I was already immersed in the plot. A few days before finishing it, I think the edition I chose was crucial for better understanding the story. I've never been the type of reader who turns to translation notes when reading a classic, but for Shakespeare, the notes almost form part of the plot.

I didn't expect to find a work full of duality, counterparts, and mythological references; I didn't expect to want to hit more than one character; I didn't expect to feel sorry for a tragic and so Shakespearean ending. I'm happy to finally get through with an author of such name and power and be able to recommend one of his works with total confidence. I'm fascinated with “King Lear” because it's been a week since I read it and I still think it's much more than an imperial betrayal, but a total reflection of family psychology, aging, and loyalty.

If you've never read Shakespeare and are only going to give it one chance, my recommendation is that you read “King Lear” because it left me devastated and that's what good literature does.

A Fairy Tale I Give Thee, A ‘True Chronicle History’

Dramatis Personæ:
The Bard, as Himself
World, as Itself
You, as Fool, in the Bard’s service
Kings, Daughters, Sons, Knights, Fools, Gentlemen, Soldiers, Attendants, Messengers, Servants.

Act 1.1

Sennet. Enter [The Bard, You]

Bard: Hark, a fairy tale I give thee, fit for today’s times! I have written many plays in my time - tragedies, comedies, all. But reader beware: this might be my darkest vision yet. I will exalt you; and in death’s throngs. Have you heard of Cinderella, of King Leir, of Arcadia’s Kings, and all such happy and sad tales of old? Have you laughed with relief at their ends? Well, let me show the real end of tales. Have you hated the villains and prayed for the heroes? Let me show you how they only plough despair on themselves! Let me show you of good and evil and their intermingled confusion. Let me show you the face of the Gods, mocking and crying.

Note my words well and the tales I tell. You have heard them before, so note where I differ! Note how Leir and his daughters are mixed with the Paphlagonian King of Sidney’s Arcadia. Pay special heed to my introductions: to the Storm, the Madness, the Fool, poor Tom, the faithful and noble servant, the slimy one, and most of all the Protean one. See all this in me, be not blind! See also what I leave out, the tightened plot, the stripped-off base plottings and machinations, and the happy endings! See my sources condensed and expanded into a potent brew. But most importantly, see the mixing of the tales: all themes pour into my cup, raised from mere tales to an epic of cosmic proportions. Watch as Leir’s small world becomes Lear’s world - and then the world entire. Is it clear that Lear’s fate may be yours? It’s a mystery you can’t fathom.

[Aside] Alack, the future will find this impossible to bear. Just as I mutilate the happy myths, my sad tragedy will be undone by nates and nit-wits! Actors and audiences will prefer this mutant version. Oh, how its happy ending will comfort them for a century and a half! But not for much longer - you will be back to me. Comforting endings are fictions, only there to mock.

Finally, see the ending I’ve stored for you. See how I’ve left no consolations. See how I raise your hopes and shatter them. See through these windows I make for you, before you erect your mirrors again. You must see that beyond the apparent ‘worst’, there is a worse suffering. Ha! And yet, it will be more appalling than you could expect. See! See for a moment, before you leave me and slip back into your cozy habits, your blindness of self-absorption.

Alack, it is for me to shatter your expectations. Only in the cracking of the mirror can you see through the window and into the truth. Let me be your guest and enter your homes and crack all the mirrors where windows should be, and let in the wild and gorgeous world. A difficult play to stage, my hands said to me! Indeed, I meant it to be so - ‘only the imagination can encompass it’ (which might serve well when reading supplants all staging). But stage it I shall, watch it you shall, break the mirrors I shall, and rush in the World shall.

Flourish. Exeunt [The Bard, and Attendants]
Enter [World] [You remain on stage]

[Inspired by: Kermode]