Shakespeare: Traditionsl Notion Of Sovereign Power in King Lear And The Tempest - Essay Example

? SHAKESPEARE: TRADITIONAL NOTION OF SOVEREIGN POWER IN KING LEAR AND THE TEMPEST The Traditional Notion of Sovereign Power in King Lear and The Tempest In the time Shakespeare was writing, traditional assumptions about who had the right to exercise power were being challenged, and this gives his plays their dramatic tension. After writing his history plays in sequence, adding Henry V in it, Shakespeare gave a pause before writing King Lear. But this time it was not a character depiction from the chroniclers. It was rather a denial of man’s right to exercise his own construal of the essence of life and urge for a satisfying life in the order of events. Too much is lost in Lear’s world. The king is considered such a human figure that wears the coronet of the creation and has the ultimate knowledge and reason which gives him “the marks of sovereignty” (Shakespeare, King Lear I, iv,). In the play, “the possibility that there is anything divine in the human version of God’s likeness recedes” (Greer, 2002). Likewise, Prospero of The Tempest is a grand magician who is very powerful, yet Caliban’s presence elevates Shakespeare’s style which salutes the groundlings that represented a major part of the Elizabethan theatre. The Divine Right of Kings was mainly instilled to show that they were chosen by God for the safety and protection of the land and its people. The king’s decision in all aspects of government is the final decision and the most tyrannical of kings must not be resisted but obeyed (Greer, 2002). Through other history plays like Richard II, Shakespeare reveals the true picture of Elizabethan society and government. This paper will discuss the traditional notion of monarchy in Shakespeare’s time. The sovereign power is associated with a family. The one in authority has more land and wealth and the others follow him like a flock of birds. Both the king and the queen participate in the government and royal matters. In the Tempest, Prospero and Caliban ruler-slave relationship is mutually considered just (McDonald, 2004). It was as if Caliban had come to terms with Prospero’s rule and dominance. But he eventually retaliates against his master. King Lear is also considered cruel but in a different light. By shunning his youngest daughter from the land he has decided to distribute amongst his daughters on the ground of whoever expresses love for him the most. This shows that “there is providence in the fall of a great man as in the fall of a sparrow” (Greer, 2002). Shakespeare shows that the long-established monarchy in the kingdom falls with the king. "Rumble thy bellyful! Spit, fire! Spout, rain! Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire, are my daughters: I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness; I never gave you kingdom, called you children, You owe me no subscription: then, let fall Your horrible pleasure; here I stand, your slave, A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man.” (King Lear III.ii.) Lear has realized his mistake a little too late. He has lost his land and kingdom to his own shallow daughters. This recognition and the moment of epiphany collide and create a sensation throughout the play. Lear’s madness reaches its peak and concurs with thunder storm displaying the rage of the lost King and the exhilaration of the Divine force. Based on the theme of decay and the destruction of the world, Shakespeare makes it look like a morality play in which all the characters die. The restoration of the crown is not a ceremonial one because nobody has survived to attend it (Kott, 1974). It is worth noting that King Lear is himself a cause of his own plummet. In the Tempest, Prospero is a supervisor of his colony. Through this play, Shakespeare highlights the notion of a master-governed society. He also portrays that political picture of his times when people used to believe that without a master the people are savages and barbarous. He created an ugly and dark character that Prospero raises and governs. Later on his own island which is turned into a stage for the readers he confesses “this thing of darkness I acknowledge mine” which proves the otherness of Caliban as being part of Prospero himself (Dollimore, 1985). Power is after all synonymous to the white man who considers it a burden upon himself to civilize the others to make this world a better place to live. "These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits, and Are melted into air, into thin air, And, like the baseless fabric of vision, The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with sleep." (The Tempest IV.i) This is the deepest that Shakespeare could get with regard to those in power. Critics argue that these lines appear as if Shakespeare is finally addressing his audience face to face. There is no doubt in such a view. In fact it will emerge as a truth that his plays represent the whole of England with all its follies of monarchy being played out on stage. Hawkes illustrates in Meaning by Shakespeare that “Cultural Materialism also recognizes that power can seek to generate subversion for its own ends in order to make its own task of containment easier”. As stated earlier, power was used to lay stress on authority and Divine Rights. Elizabethan England had a hierarchy that consisted of the monarchy on top and then the Privy Council and Parliament. This means that there was no action done without a cause. With the cultural practice came the influence of politics (Hawkes, 1992). When Lear distributes the lands amongst his daughters he is so obsessed with the ultimate aim of settling with each of his daughters that he fails to recognize Cordelia’s true love for her father. He believes that love could be calculated. His paranoia violates the bond of aesthetic empathy and he ends up as a victim of his physical existence (Eagleton, 1987). Shakespeare took upon himself a challenge to reflect upon the actual Elizabethan state of affairs in his plays. In his time the nobility and gentry was of great influence. The land meant everything to the superiors. These people helped the monarchy in governing the land. Those who had wealth and land were considered in power. The example of the Earl of Leicester is sufficient to explain this point as he proved his loyalty by taking his job seriously and built a hospital in Warwick. Other examples included going at war for their lords. The tenants had to show obedience to their masters. The political and religious views of the aristocrat were of great importance because they reflected in their tenants and subjects. Tudors feared a rebellion because of their controversial believes. The courts of the land were very important to the government. They were ranked according to the wealth of the people. Hence, the aristocrats went with their case to the Star Chamber. The Church court dealt with religious and moral affairs (Eagleton, 1987). These were some of the practices of the Elizabethan England which affected the working class the most. It was impossible for them to retaliate in the given conditions because their families were not secure. Shakespeare portrays the inside story of the monarchy which is too dirty to handle the country’s affairs. He shows how the Kingdom, in case of King Lear, is lost in the hands of his own family who is least bothered about the matters concerning the outside world. Instead it is more involved in vanity and lust. Shakespeare elucidates that too much wealth and power can become destructive and lead to the fall of the kingdom. It is more like a warning to the royalty who is entertained by the theatrical aspect of his plays, sitting amongst the audience applauding at the delivery of each character. In the two plays this paper has discussed, there is a common element of dramatic appraisal. The storm scenes in both the play indicate the mighty sway of Divine at work. Through these features in the play, Shakespeare conjures up an image of a royal stage in which both good and evil is playing their part. Cordelia is an epitome of nature who denies materialism in the face of natural philosophy. Prospero is a combination of a fairy king and the duke. He is a magician who is capable of altering matters of state by means of magic. According to McDonald, The Tempest and King Lear are “two non-historical plays which deal especially with the succession of royal rule”. The unwise management of the three parts of the British Kingdom by Lear is contrasted with the wise management of the Italian succession by Prospero. The relation between their daughters is also contrasted. Both the plays concern the termination of conventional order (McDonald, 2004). Bibliography GREER, G. (2002). Shakespeare: a very short introduction. Oxford, Oxford University Press.Bottom of Form MCDONALD, M. A. (2004). Shakespeare's King Lear with The tempest: the discovery of nature and the recovery of classical natural right. Dallas, University Press of America. p.11 Bottom of Form Top of Form KOTT, J. (1974). Shakespeare our contemporary. New York, Norton. p. 104 Bottom of Form Top of Form HAWKES, T. (1992). Meaning by Shakespeare. London, Routledge. p. 121 Bottom of Form Top of Form EAGLETON, T. (1987). William Shakespeare. Oxford, UK, B. Blackwell. p. 76 Bottom of Form Top of Form DOLLIMORE, J., & SINFIELD, A. (1985). Political Shakespeare: new essays in cultural materialism. Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell University Press. p. 49 Bottom of Form Top of Form Top of Form Read More