Shakespeare, yay!
May. 11th, 2004 04:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brigdhI just finished reading King Lear, and I have two things to say.
1. The Fool from Robin Hobb's novels is *so* based on the Fool from this play. They both have no real name outside of their position, they both are ambigous about age, gender, class, etc. They both have a very close relationship with an old King- allowed to say things others would not be, spending a lot of time with. They both have crazy loyalty to this King, remaining with him when all others have left. They both appear to make stupid jokes and nonsense rhymes, but these are just a cover for very insightful, biting commentary on what going on around them and all of society. A lot of their personality traits are very similiar.
That is way cool. One of my favorite characters in all literature, and now I find out he's based on Shakespeare? Too neat.
2. Poe also steals from this play. Compare:
You think I'll cry?
I won't cry.
My heart will break before I cry.
I will go mad.
-Haunted (at the very end, in a little girl's voice)
You think I'll weep,
No, I'll not weep.
I have full cause of weeping, but this heart
Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws
Or e'er I'll weep. O fool, I shall go mad.
-King Lear 2.2.471-475
See? Totally the same.
I <3 this play, by the way. I'd never read it before, and I decided to for fun, and it is very, very good. Much better than Richard III, which I read last week and didn't like too much. But everyone should read this one. And point out other neat things I'm sure I've missed. *nodsnods*
1. The Fool from Robin Hobb's novels is *so* based on the Fool from this play. They both have no real name outside of their position, they both are ambigous about age, gender, class, etc. They both have a very close relationship with an old King- allowed to say things others would not be, spending a lot of time with. They both have crazy loyalty to this King, remaining with him when all others have left. They both appear to make stupid jokes and nonsense rhymes, but these are just a cover for very insightful, biting commentary on what going on around them and all of society. A lot of their personality traits are very similiar.
That is way cool. One of my favorite characters in all literature, and now I find out he's based on Shakespeare? Too neat.
2. Poe also steals from this play. Compare:
I won't cry.
My heart will break before I cry.
I will go mad.
-Haunted (at the very end, in a little girl's voice)
No, I'll not weep.
I have full cause of weeping, but this heart
Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws
Or e'er I'll weep. O fool, I shall go mad.
-King Lear 2.2.471-475
See? Totally the same.
I <3 this play, by the way. I'd never read it before, and I decided to for fun, and it is very, very good. Much better than Richard III, which I read last week and didn't like too much. But everyone should read this one. And point out other neat things I'm sure I've missed. *nodsnods*
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Date: 2004-05-11 02:34 pm (UTC)Historically, court fools were the only people allowed to give honest commontary on what was going on. Although people it was sometimes laughed off, people "in the know" knew to listen...
At least, that's what they told us in our 10th grade history class...
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Date: 2004-05-12 11:48 am (UTC)And hey, neat. I didn't know that!
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Date: 2004-05-11 11:02 pm (UTC)clarity in madness was one of my favorite themes to take apart.
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Date: 2004-05-12 11:49 am (UTC)And hey, cool icon! So appropriate.