Nature and Space in King Lear and The Winter’s Tale
Uploaded by mebassakwards on Oct 26, 2011
This paper discusses the way in which Shakespeare uses nature in the two plays, and argues that the moor and the storm is the place to go to escape back to nature. (5.5.pages; 2 sources; end notes)
I Introduction
Shakespeare makes greater use of Nature in both “King Lear” and “The Winter’s Tale” than he does in most of his other plays. “Lear” in particular is renowned for it: the “storm on the heath” is one of the most celebrated scenes in all of theater. But the storm is violent, cold, miserable, and frightening: a reminder that Nature can be deadly.
In contrast, the natural world that we find in “The Winter’s Tale” is quiet and beautiful, the world of springtime, flowers, rebirth and growth. Nature here is benign and friendly; almost as if it’s celebrating the restoration of Hermione to Leontes and the love of Perdita and Florizel along with the humans in the play.
This paper describes the way in which Shakespeare uses nature in these plays, and discusses whether these places are the types of environment where one can get “back to nature,” or if they reflect human intervention.
II ”King Lear”
“King Lear” has been controversial since it was written. Critics can’t seem to decide if it’s a great play, great Shakespeare, both, or neither. They tend to dislike the basic premise (what king in his right mind would divide his kingdom?), but admit that the gradual disintegration of Lear, the plots of his daughters, and the moment when he appears with Cordelia’s body (“Howl! Howl! Howl!”) are all great theater. And the centerpiece of this intensely theatrical play is the storm on the heath, in which the old king strips himself naked, his mind in turmoil, his emotions as much a whirl as the elements.
Most critics tend to equate the storm with Lear’s emotional state; that is, they see the violence of nature as a direct reflection of Lear’s violent feelings about his circumstances. This is certainly a valid interpretation, because we have watched as the king endures shock after shock at the hands of his ungrateful daughters, Regan and Goneril; they have systematically stripped him of his retinue and left him little better than a beggar at the doors of their houses, where he is forced to ask them for shelter.
When the two women finally suggest that he...