Play GuidePlay Guide

King Learby William Shakespeare

King Learby William Shakespeare

The Professional Theatre in Residence at UMKC

Editor/Contributing Writer: Laura Smith Muir

Executive Editor: Peter Altman

Design: Nancy Arehart Premer

Published January 2007

Special acknowledgement to Thomas Canfield for his contributions to this Play Guide, Shakespeare’s Sources for Lear, TheCourt Fool in History and King Lear, and The Celtic Era: A Brief Pictorial History. Dr. Canfield earned his Ph.D. in RenaissanceDrama from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He currently teaches English at Grantham University and served asDramaturg for the Kansas City Repertory Theatre production of King Lear.

William Shakespeare’s

King Leardirected by Larry Carpenter

Table of Contents4 Characters in the Play

5 Synopsis

10 William Shakespeare: Biography

12 Shakespeare’s Lear

14 Shakespeare’s Sources for King Lear

18 The Court Fool in History and King Lear

23 The Celtic Era: A Pictorial Album

27 The Life and Times of Shakespeare: A Chronology

32 Focus on Production: An Interview with Larry Carpenter

34 Bibliography

Play Guide

4

Characters in the PlayKing Lear: Ruler of Celtic Britain.About 80 years old, the father of threedaughters.

Goneril: Lear’s strong-willed eldestdaughter, wife of the Duke of Albany.

Regan: Lear’s treacherous seconddaughter and wife to the Duke ofCornwall.

Cordelia: Lear’s youngest daughter. Atthe beginning of the play, she has yet tomarry and has two suitors, the Duke ofBurgundy and the King of France.

Duke of Albany: Goneril’s husband.

Duke of Cornwall: Regan’s husband.

Earl of Gloucester: A prominent lord.Edgar’s father and the father of an ille-gitimate son, Edmund.

Earl of Kent: A faithful supporter ofLear who is banished by the king after heprotests against the king’s treatment ofCordelia.

Edmund: Gloucester’s illegitimate son.

Edgar: Legitimate son of Gloucester.

Oswald: Goneril’s servant.

The Fool: Lear’s court jester who isdevoted to the king and Cordelia.

King Lear

SynopsisIt is the night of a lunar eclipse in Celtic Britain and the aging King Lear

has decided to relinquish his royal throne and divide his kingdom between histhree daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. His surprise stipulation is thateach daughter must prove her love to him by public declaration in order toreceive her third of his land and power.

Goneril, the oldest, speaks first, declaring that she loves Lear “dearer thaneye-sight, space and liberty…No less than life.” Regan continues the flattery,adding, “I am alone felicitate in your dear highness’ love.” Lear then asksCordelia, the youngest and his favorite, “what can you say to win a third moreopulent than your sisters? Speak.” Cordelia, indignant at having to prove herlove and refusing to flatter her father, proclaims “I love your Majesty accord-ing to my bond, no more nor less.” Her father urges her to mend her speech“lest you mar your fortunes” but she says she cannot.

Unjustly enraged, Lear withdraws his offer to give Cordelia her share ofhis realm. His longtime ally the Earl of Kent implores his king to reconsider,but Lear is steadfast. He calls forth the Dukes of Albany and Cornwall, hus-bands of Goneril and Regan, and passes his coronet to them, investing themjointly with his power, and says that he will alternate living in their house-holds. Kent again urges Lear to reconsider but his loyalty and sound adviceare ignored; Lear declares Kent’s advice treasonous and banishes him onthreat of death.

Lear has called for the King of France and the Duke of Burgundy, bothlong-time suitors of the now impoverished Cordelia. He offers Cordelia firstto Burgundy but, without the dowry of land, as previously agreed; the dukedeclines. Acknowledging Cordelia’s discredit, Lear then beseeches France to“direct your liking a more worthier way than on a wretch whom Nature isashamed almost to acknowledge hers.” France, however, is impressed byCordelia's steadfastness and says that he considers Lear’s youngest daughter“herself a dowry.” He takes her as Queen of France, explaining, “Thy dower-less daughter, King, thrown to my chance, is Queen of us, of ours, and our fairFrance.” Lear’s court exits, leaving behind Regan, Goneril, France, andCordelia who entreats her sisters to “Love well our father: to your professedbosoms I commit him.” France and Cordelia exit.

Later that night, as the eclipse wanes, Edmund, bastard son of the Earl ofGloucester, vows to himself to secure the land his father has given to his legit-imate son Edgar. His scheme involves a clumsy attempt to hide a letter from

Lear considers

Kent’s advice

treasonous and

banishes him on

threat of death.

5

Gloucester that was supposedly written by his half-brother Edgar. Falling intoEdmund’s trap, Gloucester demands to see the letter. Edmund’s forgery of hisbrother’s hand states that Edgar believes their aging father should turn over hisfortune to his sons and let them manage his affairs. Gloucester is enraged, butEdmund calms him. Later, Edmund warns Edgar that he is in trouble with theirfather, “Bethink yourself wherein you may have offended him.” After Edgar’sdeparture, the wily Edmund reflects on his situation which he believes is soonto change in his favor: “Let me, if not by birth, have lands by wit.”

At Goneril’s house on a subsequent day, she accuses her father of disruptivebehavior and instructs her steward, Oswald, to act coldly towards Lear and hisknights. Meanwhile, the banished Kent arrives, disguised as a servant, intend-ing to continue to be of service to Lear, behind the scenes. “Now, banished Kent,if thou canst serve where thou dost stand condemned, so may it come, my mas-ter, whom though lov’st shall find thee full of labours.”

Lear demands to see Goneril, but she instructs Oswald to say she is ill;Lear’s Fool jeers at him for giving his lands to his unappreciative daughters.Finally, Goneril enters and begins arguing with her father about an outbreak ofquarrelling and rioting in his retinue of 100 men, accusing him of protecting themiscreants and being too old to keep his knights in order. Furious, Lear leaves,proclaiming to Albany, Goneril’s husband, “How sharper than a serpent’s toothit is to have a thankless child!”

Lear vows to take refuge at Regan’s, declaring “I have another daughter,who, I am sure, is kind and comfortable,” unaware that Goneril is at that momentwriting to her sister.

That night, at Gloucester's castle, Edmund convinces Edgar that he is in dan-ger and urges him to flee: “My father hath set guard to take my brother…O Sir!Fly this place.” Edmund then wounds himself to make it look as if Edgar hasattacked him. Gloucester, misguidedly thankful for Edmund's support, vows tocapture Edgar and reward Edmund.

Meanwhile Regan and Cornwall arrive to discuss their ensuing war againstLear, using Gloucester’s dispute with his son as fuel. Edgar is accused of beinga companion of Lear’s riotous knights. Regan vows that if Lear “come tosojourn at my house, I’ll not be there.”

In the predawn hours, Kent arrives at Gloucester's with a message from Learand meets Oswald (whom Kent dislikes and mistrusts) who is carrying a mes-sage from Goneril. Kent attacks Oswald, but Cornwall and Regan break up thefight and Cornwall puts Kent in the stocks. Gloucester tries to intervene, “Pray,do not, Sir,” replies Kent. While all this is ensuing, Edgar decides he must fleeand disguise himself as a beggar for his own safety.

The banished

Kent arrives

disguised as a

servant,

intending to

continue to be

of service to

Lear, behind

the scenes.

6

Lear now arrives, and finds Kent in the stocks. At first, Regan and Cornwallrefuse to see her father claiming fatigue from the night’s travels. Finally, theyagree to see Lear, and Regan chides him to the brink, telling him that he “shouldbe ruled and led” and encouraging him to return to Goneril’s. Soon, Gonerilarrives and together the sisters admonish Lear for his behavior, accusing him ofweakness; they push Lear to the brink of sanity, and he comments, “I gave youall…made you my guardians…” Lear, in a rage, leaves Gloucester’s castle andsets out into a building storm. Gloucester is concerned for his safety, butCornwall urges him to “Shut up your doors my Lord; ‘tis a wild night…comeout o’th’storm.”

Gloucester complains to Edmund that Lear’s daughters and their husbandshave commandeered his home for their own use and “charged me, on pain ofperpetual displeasure, neither to speak of him [Lear], entreat from him, or anyway sustain him.” But Gloucester vows to search for his old master even if itcosts him his life.

On the Heath, Lear and the Fool are buffeted by the raging storm when Kentarrives, still in disguise. He finds shelter for the King, whose sanity is faltering—“My wits begin to turn.” Lear refuses to enter. Unexpectedly, Edgar, disguisedas Poor Tom, a madman, comes out of the hovel. Recognizing the King and hisFool, Poor Tom engages the men but Lear sees only references to his daughtersin Tom’s rages and begins tearing off his clothes. The group sees an approach-ing torch and Kent calls out for the man to identify himself. It is Gloucester whohas arrived. He entreats Lear to enter the hut explaining, “My duty cannot obeyyour daughters’ hard commands to bar my doors…I have ventured to come seekyou out and bring you where both fire and food is ready.”

Back at Gloucester’s, Cornwall tells Edmund that he will seek revengeagainst Gloucester for his sympathy for Lear. Cornwall urges Edmund to betrayhis father, claiming, “though shalt find a dearer father in my love.”

During the night, Gloucester has brought Lear, Edgar (as Poor Tom) and theFool to an isolated farmhouse. Lear, half- mad, continues his rant against hisdaughters, prosecuting them in a mock trial. Kent cautions Lear to showpatience with his daughters, and Edgar, in an aside, takes pity on the old king.Gloucester urges Kent to immediately take Lear to Dover, where protectionawaits him. “If though should’st dally half an hour, his life…stand[s] in assuredloss.” Together, they leave for Dover.

Meanwhile, the storm is blowing itself out and Cornwall, Regan, Goneriland Edmund return to Gloucester’s house with their servants. Cornwall tellsGoneril that an army from France has landed at Dover, and tells his knights toseek out the traitor Gloucester. Goneril says to pluck out his eyes. Cornwalltakes his leave and tells Edmund, who is now calling himself Earl of Gloucester,

Kent cautions

Lear to show

patience with

his daughters,

and Edgar, in

an aside, takes

pity on the

old king.

7

to say behind. “The revenges we are bound to take upon your traitorous fatherare not fit for your beholding.”

Gloucester, now a prisoner, is returned to his home where he is interrogatedabout his alleged treason and his loyalty to “the lunatic king.” Cornwall savage-ly plucks out Gloucester’s eyes. Blinded, Gloucester calls out to his son Edmundfor mercy but Regan exclaims, “Thou call’st on him that hates thee; it was hethat made the overture of thy treasons to us.” Gloucester is turned out of hishome, but is followed by two servants who plan to help him.

On the Heath the following morning, Goneril’s servant leads Gloucester tothe farmhouse and comes upon Poor Tom (Edgar). Gloucester sends the servantaway and asks Tom to lead him to the edge of the high cliffs at Dover.

That afternoon, Edmund pledges his loyalty and love to Goneril. When herhusband Albany learns that the daughters have mistreated their father (Lear) helashes out at Goneril, “You are not worth the dust which the rude wind blows inyour face,” Their conversation is interrupted by a messenger who brings newsthat Cornwall is dead from a fatal jab he received from a protesting knight dur-ing his savage attack on Gloucester. Albany, feeling sorry for Gloucester andlearning of Edmund's treachery with his wife, vows revenge.

At a French camp near Dover, Cordelia sends out a sentry to find her errantfather. That night, at Regan’s nearby encampment, Regan shares her concernswith Oswald (who has delivered a letter to the encampment) that her sister mightbe in love with Edmund, whom Regan (now a widow) would like to marry. “MyLord is dead; Edmund and I have talk’d and more convenient is he for my handthan for your Lady’s.”

In the countryside near Dover, Edgar describes the perilous drop off the cliffto the blind Gloucester who jumps, thinking he will die. In fact, he falls but ashort distance. Realizing he is alive, Gloucester cries out, “Alack, I have noeyes. Is wretchedness deprived that benefit to endself by death?” Now tellingGloucester he is a beggar, Edgar helps his father up. Lear, now fully mad,approaches and speaks to them. Gloucester recognizes Lear’s voice. A Frenchknight and some comrades approach and, finding Lear, try to convince him togo to Cordelia, but Lear runs away.

Oswald comes across Edgar and Gloucester and threatens to kill them.Edgar, though, kills Oswald in a fight; he then discovers a letter that proves thatGoneril plans to murder Albany and marry Edmund. “O indistinguish’d space ofwoman’s will! A plot upon her virtuous husband’s life; and the exchange mybrother!” Edgar takes Gloucester’s hand and leads him away.

At the French camp near Dover, Kent, who has continued to serve as Lear’sprotector, and Cordelia discuss Lear’s condition with a doctor. When Lear

8

A French

knight and

some com-

rades approach

and, finding

Lear, try to

convince him

to go to

Cordelia, but

Lear runs away.

awakes, he seems saner than before and recognizes his formerly favorite daugh-ter. Lear questions whether or not Cordelia has plans to poison him, “I know youdo not love me; for your sisters have, as I do remember, done me wrong: Youhave some cause, they have not.”

That night at the British camp near Dover, Regan interrogates Edmundabout his possible love for her sister. “Dear my lord, be not familiar with her.”Goneril and Albany enter. Albany tells them that Lear is with Cordelia. Gonerilsays the sisters and their forces must band together to battle Cordelia and theFrench troops. Still disguised, Edgar pulls Albany aside and presents a letter thathe believes will change the course of action. Edmund enters, soliloquizing tohimself about having pledged his love to both sisters. If Albany is killed in bat-tle, both sisters will be widows. Edmund vows to show no mercy to Lear andCordelia.

Lear and Cordelia are captured in battle by Edmund who orders them takento prison and instructs a Captain to kill them. Albany, Goneril and Regan arriveand argue about the battle. Regan complains of stomach pains and is taken toher tent.

Edgar, the rightful heir to the title of his father Earl of Gloucester, arrivesand challenges Edmund’s claim to the title. They fight and Edmund is injured.Goneril cries out to save Edmund but Albany intervenes and reveals Goneril’sletter; Goneril hastily leaves. Edmund and Edgar continue to argue and Edgaradmits to protecting Lear. A knight rushes in carrying a bloody knife. Gonerilhas poisoned Regan and then stabbed herself. Both sisters are dead. Trying tomake up for some of his actions, Edmund reveals that he has ordered his Captainto hang Cordelia and kill Lear. Edmund dies of his wounds.

Lear emerges, carrying the body of Cordelia in his arms, and cries out “Aplague upon you, murderers, traitors all.” Grief stricken, he dies. The future ofhis kingdom rests in the hands of Albany, the aging Kent, and Edgar.

9

Trying to make

up for some

of his actions,

Edmund

reveals that he

has ordered his

Captain to hang

Cordelia and

kill Lear.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Only a small collection of documents about thelife of William Shakespeare has come down

through the centuries to us, but available materialsstate that he was born in 1564 and grew up inStratford-upon-Avon, a prosperous English markettown in the county of Warwickshire northwest ofLondon. His father, John Shakespeare, was a glovemaker and a prominent citizen of Stratford whoeventually held the position of mayor. No known sur-viving formal records of the playwright’s life existdating from the time between his christening in 1564at Stratford’s Holy Trinity Church and his marriagein 1582 to Anne Hathaway, a woman eight years hissenior. The couple’s daughter Susannah was born sixmonths after their wedding, and twins, Hamnet andJudith, were born in 1585. How Shakespeare sup-ported himself in his early adulthood and when orwhy he left Stratford for the London theatrical worldhave been the subject of much scholarly speculation.

By 1592, Shakespeare had achieved some promi-nence in London both as an actor and as an author,especially of history plays; he also had published along narrative poem, The Rape of Lucrece. TheTaming of the Shrew (circa 1593) gained him furtherrecognition. By about this time he also had becomea member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a theatrecompany (renamed the King’s Men during the reignof James I which began in 1603) of which he was aprincipal actor, playwright and shareholder for thenext 20 years. In 1598, Shakespeare’s company wasevicted from its playhouse and then built the GlobeTheatre in South London near the Thames River.

It was at the Globe that Shakespeare producedhis most famous tragedies: Hamlet (1600), Othello(circa 1604), Macbeth (1606), and King Lear (circa1606). The first performances of Antony and

10

Portrait of Shakespeare, circa 1610.

Photo of William Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon,England.

11

Cleopatra, Coriolanus, and Timon of Athens most likely occurred during 1607 and1608. Late in his life, Shakespeare produced a series of plays—includingCymbeline (circa 1609), The Winter’s Tale (circa 1610), and The Tempest (1612)—to which scholars have attached different labels; sometimes these have beenreferred to as “tragicomedies,” but in recent years they have most usually beendescribed as “romances.”

In 1613, the Globe Theatre caught fire and burned to the ground. About thistime, Shakespeare returned to Stratford, where his wife and children still lived.(Like the playwright’s early years, this move has long been the subject of extensivescholarly conjecture.) Made financially prosperous by his years in the theatre, he

died a wealthy Stratfordlandowner at age 52, in 1616,and is buried in the sameStratford church where hehad been christened.

Although many ofShakespeare’s plays wereextremely popular in Englandduring the playwright’s life-time, it was not until the 18thcentury—more than 100years after his death—that hiswork began to exert a majorinfluence internationally. Hisplays now are producedworldwide more than those ofany other dramatist.

Since the mid-19th century, it has occasionally been argued that someone elseof nobler lineage and greater education must have written his works, because somehave found it inconceivable that a man of modest family background and only agrammar school education could have written the 37 masterpieces credited toShakespeare. Nevertheless, the literary canon which every season is celebrated bytheatrical companies worldwide continues to bear his name, as do Shakespearefestivals all around the English-speaking parts of the globe.

Model of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

The first recorded performance of King Lear by William Shakespeare was onDecember 26, 1606, before King James I at Whitehall in London. There has

been much disagreement, however, about exactly when Shakespeare wrote thetragedy many have judged his greatest masterpiece. Although some think Learmay have been created as early as 1604, most scholars now believe that Lear waswritten in 1605 or 1606. Natural events support the later date; in the play,Gloucester refers to eclipses of the sun and moon, and such eclipses actuallyoccurred in Britain in September and October 1605.

Long before Shakespeare wrote his account of the struggles and madness ofLear, the story had appeared in pre-Roman English folklore and fairytales as KingLyr, or Ler. The tale was included in Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles (published

12

Shakespeare’s Lear

Cover of First Folioedition of

Shakespeare’s workspublished in 1623.

1577, 1587) and in John Higgins’s A Mirror for Magistrates (1574). An anony-mous play, The Chronicle History of King Leir, was written sometime in the1500s and published in 1605, and Shakespeare is very likely to have been famil-iar with it.

Shakespeare’s Lear first appeared in print as The True Chronicle of theHistory of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters, publishedin quarto in 1608. A more theatrical version of the text, The Tragedy of KingLear, appeared in 1623 in the First Folio, the first published collection ofShakespeare’s plays. Over the centuries, these two early editions of King Learhave frequently been combined into one edition, although many modern schol-ars and editors posit that each version has its individual integrity.

In 1681, Shakespeare’s King Lear waseclipsed by a new adaptation written by NahumTate, an Irish poet and writer for the stage whocreated a popular series of versions of Elizabethandramas. In his retelling of Lear, Tate eliminatedthe character of the Fool and the blinding ofGloucester and he created a happy ending for thestory by marrying Cordelia and Edgar and restor-ing Lear to his throne. In that era, the populace didnot necessarily regard the integrity of dramaticmaterial as particularly essential, which may helpto explain why many critics and audiencesapplauded Tate’s adaptation. His reworked KingLear was praised by Samuel Johnson, one ofEngland’s most influential 18th century literarycommentators, and acted by esteemed performersof the Georgian period including David Garrick; itwas also a famous vehicle for Edmund Kean. Itwasn’t until the mid–19th century thatShakespeare’s account of King Lear was restoredto the British stage with a production staring actorWilliam Charles Macready.

Now, more than 400 years later, Shakespeare’spresentation of the King of Britain, his threedaughters, and the strife he unleashes when he gives up his royal power, isregarded increasingly by scholars and critics as one of the greatest of all theatri-cal achievements.

Despite being perhaps the most bleak and pessimistic of his tragedies, itspsychological complexities speak directly to the modern audience and contem-porary sensibilities.

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Cover of a version of King Lear as adapted by Nahum Tate in 1681.

Popular commentators and academic experts around the world have celebrated Shakespeare’s genius for 400 years. Yet theatre audiences do not

often realize that the most esteemed playwright in world history, whom theyadore for his great dramatic plots and poetic language, was in fact a very liber-al borrower from a variety of sources. A significant portion of Shakespeare’strue greatness does not exist in the originality of his stories, which he typicallyderived and reconstructed, but rather is due to his artistictransformation–through language and character development–of materials byearlier authors masterfully conscripted for his own use. The Tragedy of KingLear is a perfect example of Shakespeare’s inspired adaptation of sources, andalso typifies his skill in employing older elements to create works of dramaticart which completely overshadow their originals in craftsmanship and brilliance.

Numerous early versions of the basic Lear story existed hundreds of yearsbefore Shakespeare’s play was written in the early seventeenth century, and thishas caused frustration for scholars seeking to answer the sphinx-like riddle ofexactly which sources Shakespeare had on hand when composing his work. InKing Lear, for example, the general theme of filial ingratitude and the contrastbetween the treatment of their aged parents by good and selfish children arecommon features found in ancient tales from Asian tradition. The motif of a lovetest as a basis for the division of a parent’s property comes from European folk-lore, several variants developing a tale in which a daughter first tells her fatherthat she loves him as much as salt, and then dissipates his anger by demonstrat-ing that this means he is essential to her life. Scholars have also recognized inLear’s motif of three sisters, two of whom are evil and one who is good, affini-ties between the play and the fairy tale of Cinderella. The name “Lear” itselfappears to originate in Celtic tradition, with characters called Ler, Leir or Lyr.

The earliest extant written down version of the Lear story–one thatShakespeare could have known—is the Historia Regum Britanniae (History ofthe Kings of Britain), a work composed in Latin by Geoffrey of Monmouth (c.1100-c. 1155), a twelfth-century monk and historian. In this text, a pseudo-his-torical figure called Leir, eleventh king of the Britons and legendary founder ofthe city of Leicester, plans to divide his kingdom among his three daughters—Gonorilla, Regau and Cordeilla–who are put to a verbal test and given ruleover their father’s land according to their relative professions of affection. Theyoungest daughter, when she refuses to flatter her father, is disinherited andafterwards marries the king of the Franks. No English translation of this workwas available in Shakespeare’s day, but he might have read it in its original Latinor, just as likely, received the story as it was retold by numerous later writerswho borrowed from the Historia. For example, Geoffrey’s work forms the basis14

Shakespeare’s Sources for King Lear

Scholars have

recognized in

Lear’s motif of

three sisters, two

of whom are evil

and one who is

good, affinities

between the play

and the fairy tale

of Cinderella.

of two verse romance chronicles which retell the Lear story: the Anglo-NormanRoman de Brut (1155) by Wace—translated into English by William Caxtonbefore Shakespeare’s time—and Brut by Layamon, one of the first major textswritten in Middle English.

Three centuries later, the Lear story was again briefly retold by JohnHardyng in his Chronicles (1436), but it was a renewed interest in the story byTudor chroniclers and versifiers of the next century that gave the tale truly wide-spread circulation. Obviously, such more contemporary sources have greaterprobability of having been familiar to Shakespeare. For example, the story ofLear was recounted by Robert Fabyan in his New Chronicles of England andFrance (1516), and it appears as well in Polydore Vergil’s Anglicae Historiae(1534), a work which introduces Cordilla’s argument for transferring her pri-mary devotion from her father to her husband after marriage–a detail which alsoappears in Shakespeare’s version. Later, elements from both Hardyng andFabyan were appropriated by John Stow in his Summarie of EnglysheChronicles (1563) and Annales (1592).

In the 1574 edition of A Mirror for Magistrates, a verse biography of vari-ous figures from English history, John Higgins reiterated the tale of Leire aspart of a collection of early legends of Britain. In Higgins’s version, whichdraws upon Geoffrey of Monmouth as a primary source and contains many sim-ilar details, the dead Cordilla provides a first-person narrative account–in theform of a verse complaint—of her disinheritance and the subsequent disgraceinflicted on her father by her sisters. Eventually, Leire comes to France andrequests his estranged daughter’s assistance. Once reconciled, Cordilla aids himin reestablishing his rule for three years and, after Leire dies, she rules the coun-try for five additional years—until the sons of Gonerell and Ragan imprison herin a dungeon, eventually leading her to commit suicide in despair.

Other possible sources for the play are William Warner’s Albion’s England(1586), a long verse chronicle containing a version of the Lear story, as well asthe 1587 second edition of Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of England,Scotland, and Wales, a work which Shakespeare clearly used as a staple sourcenot only for King Lear, but also for Macbeth, Cymbeline and several of hisEnglish history plays.

It was not until 1590, with the publication of two of the most famous EnglishRenaissance poems—Edmund Spenser’s The Fairie Queene and Sir PhilipSidney’s The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia—that plausible antecedents for Shakespeare’s play represent literary and artistic modes rather than histori-cal writing. This is also where it becomes possible that Shakespeare becomes the source for subsequent works dealing with the story, in the view of some scholars.

15

In the 1574

edition of A

Mirror for

Magistrates,

a verse

biography of

various figures

from English

history, John

Higgins retold

the tale of Leire

as part of a

collection of

early legends

of Britain.

Book II of Spenser’s unfinished epic allegory celebrates the virtue ofTemperance in the character of a knight named Sir Guyon. In Canto X, SirGuyon reads a “chronicle of Briton kings” while sojourning at the House ofAlma. This seven-stanza section of the lengthy epic is notable especially for themode of Cordelia’s death; it is in Spenser that, for the first time known, the man-ner of her death is specified as being through hanging, by her own hand.Sidney’s work is also notable for being a primary source for the secondaryGloucester plot in King Lear. One episode in Book II is set in “a certain hollowrocke” where the two main characters are compelled to take shelter from the hailand wind of a “tempests furie.” There, they encounter a king who has been alien-ated from his legitimate son by the false accusation of his bastard son–who hasusurped his father’s title and blinded him. Subsequently, the rightful son,described as “poorely arayed” and “extreamely weather-beaten,” rescues hisfather and prevents him from committing suicide by leaping from a cliff.

The single most important and immediate source for the main plot ofShakespeare’s tragedy, however, is The True Chronicle Historie of King Leir andhis Three Daughters: Gonorill, Ragan, and Cordella, a chronicle play (authorunknown) published in 1605 (although there is evidence that it was performedby the Queen’s Men before 1594). Because this play draws upon many of thesame historical sources that Shakespeare may have used independently for hisown work, the problem of scholarly attribution is tangled. There is no doubt thatShakespeare freely adapted some language and plot details of the earlier play tohis own ends, making it superior. However, unlike Shakespeare’s play, King Leirfeatures a prevalent Christian emphasis. Another major difference is the fact thatthe king and Cordella do not die in Leir but survive and live happily. The kinggoes off with his companions at the conclusion, leaving Cordella to reign in hisplace. Her two sisters—called Gonorill and Ragan—also do not die, but insteadbecome fugitives. Two important features in Shakespeare’s play, the parallel plotof Gloucester and the character of the Fool, do not appear in Leir.

For the mad verbiage Edgar employs when disguised as Poor TomO’Bedlam, Shakespeare may have been indebted to a work published in 1603 bySamuel Harsnett (1561-1631). Harsnett was Chaplain to the Bishop of Londonand later became Archdeacon of Essex and subsequently Archbishop of York.His tract A Declaration of Egregious Popish Impostures is a detailed account ofseveral heretical exorcisms conducted by Roman Catholic priests in Englandduring 1585-86. In Shakespearean Negotiations, Stephen Greenblatt notes thatShakespeare appropriated from Harsnett “the names of the foul fiends by whomEdgar . . . claims to be possessed” as well as “some of the language of madness,several of the attributes of hell and a number of colorful adjectives.”

In the same year that Harsnett’s work was published, two other possiblesources for Shakespeare’s play also emerged, namely John Florio’s translation of

16

There is no

doubt that

Shakespeare

freely adapted

some language

and plot details

of an earlier

play to his own

ends, making it

superior.

Michel de Montaigne’s Essais and an account of the highly publicized courtcase in October involving Sir Brian Annesley. Scholars have noted that morethan one hundred words from Florio’s translation do not appear anywhere inShakespeare’s writing before King Lear, and that two of Montaigne's famousessays, “Of Solitariness” and “An Apology for Raymond Sebonde,” apparentlyrefer to themes similar to those which Shakespeare's deals with in Lear. In thelawsuit involving Annesley, an ex-servant of Queen Elizabeth I who owned avaluable estate in Kent, the eldest of his three daughters, Lady Grace Wildgoose,attempted to have her father certified as incompetent so that she and her hus-band could take over the management of his affairs. Although the role played byAnnesley’s second daughter in the affair is unknown, his youngest daughter,Cordell, opposed the malevolent designs of her elder sisters by appealing to SirRobert Cecil.

The Annesley case, moreover, does not stand alone as a possible legal histo-ry source of themes expressed by Shakespeare’s play. Another case involved SirWilliam Allen, Lord Mayor of London from 1571-72. Growing old and frail,Allen decided to divide his estates and wealth between his three married daugh-ters, arranging to stay with each in turn. The trio eventually resented the chargeof his upkeep and argued that Allen was rude to their servants. After cursing hisdaughters for their mistreatment of him, Allen died in misery.

Yet one more literary and dramatic source for King Lear may be the work ofJohn Marston (1576-1634), the English poet, playwright and satirist. Somescholars have identified the mad speeches of Lear as being influenced byMarston’s book of satires, The Scourge of Villanie (1598), but more important-ly they have seen his play The Malcontent (1604) as a source for the saturninepersonality and psychology of Edmund. The malcontent, a character type whichfrequently appears in Renaissance drama, stands apart from the society sur-rounding him, usually having separated himself by choice. A discontentedobserver, the malcontent is often a melancholic anti-hero with a dark, sarcasticview of life. In Edmund’s case, it should be noted in fairness, this separation isnot only by nature but also due to illegitimate birth.

While the quest to unearth Shakespeare’s sources provides much interestingmaterial for study and research, it is often a difficult and inconclusive endeavorresulting in more questions than solutions. The same evidence can point toopposing interpretations. King Lear is by no means an exception to the typicalproblem of identifying the originals of Shakespeare’s work, and is perhaps anindication of the playwright’s genius by showing how he combined elementsfrom a wide variety of previous authors. Ultimately, for the true lover of dramat-ic art, the products of Shakespeare’s craft usually soar above any of his histori-cal or literary sources, and their excellence far surpasses the quality of the rawmaterials the playwright exploited for their composition.

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A discontented

observer, the

malcontent is

often a

melancholic

anti-hero with a

dark, sarcastic

view of life.

18

King Lear features a remarkable characterwhom, at first glance, seems to run counter to

the play’s identity as a naturalistic tragedy.Stemming from a long and complicated historicaland literary heritage, the court fool is a central figure in various Shakespeare plays and functions asan integral force of Lear’s dramatic art.

The idea of the professional fool or jester thatresides in the imagination of most modern audiencemembers developed in the Middle Ages, although

such figures can be found in many cultures. Apygmy clown performed in the court of PharaohDadkeri-Assi during Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty (c. 2500B.C.). Court jesters are known to have existed inChina as early as 1818 B.C. Fools have been docu-mented at the courts of Philip of Macedon, the leg-endary Caliph of Baghdad Harun al-Rashid, and inthe royal household of Montezuma. In fact, afterCortez conquered the Aztecs of Mexico in 1520,fools, dwarf clowns and hunchbacked buffoons were

Foolscap

The Court Fool in History and King Lear

“Everything is folly in this world, except to play the fool.”—Giacomo Leopardi, Italian poet and philosopher (1798-1837)

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among the treasures he brought back to PopeClement VII. Many scholars have noted connectionsbetween Harlequin and Pulcinello, the comic ser-vants of Commedia dell’Arte tradition, and the typeof the Fool.

The traditional duties of a medieval fool were toamuse his or her master in order to prevent oppres-sion from state affairs, and to assist in the lord'sdigestion by providing mealtime entertainment. Thejester’s skills generally included dancing, juggling,acrobatics, singing, playing musical instruments,and extempore rhyming wordplay. Yet the fool oftenhad another important role, as expressed by Erasmusin his “Letter to Martin Dorp” (1515): “The sorts offools which princes of former times introduced intotheir courts were there for the express purpose ofexposing and thereby correcting certain minor faultsthrough their frank speech.”

By the thirteenth century, European courtclowns had adopted a fairly typical uniform. Royalfools often had bald or shaved heads and wore head-gear resembling a monk’s cowl or a fool’s cap–whichwas mounted with bells or asses ears and oftenturned-up or horned to resemble the comb of a roos-ter. Lear’s Fool, of course, calls this apparel a “cox-comb.” Many jesters wore a parti-color or motleycostume consisting of a robe and tight breeches ofcontrasting colors. This distinctive garb typicallydenoted the fool’s bifurcated nature as having onefoot in reality and another in the world of imagina-tion. Some jesters at times carried a bauble–a staff ormock scepter mounted with bells, mirrors, or aridiculous miniature head (often ornamented withasses ears). The more grotesque baubles terminatedin a deflated pig’s bladder fashioned in the shape ofa penis–which was used to make mock sexual ges-tures and to castigate members of the court.

Fools tended to exist in two classes, being either“natural” (sometimes termed “innocent”) or “artifi-cial,” indicating that their ludicrous behavior waseither real or feigned. “Natural” fools were consid-

ered entertaining due to a mental deficiency orgrotesque physical abnormality. During the RomanEmpire, wealthy men kept half-witted and deformedslaves as jesters for entertainment during feasts.Fools often were crippled, humped, twisted ordwarfed, and in some societies fools were deliber-ately malformed, since abnormal mascots werethought to protect against the evil eye. Because foolswere non-essential household servants, they werestatus symbols not only for monarchs but also forwealthy nobles of lower rank. In some instances,peasant families would bind a young child'slimbs–resulting in physical deformity–in order toinduce the local lord to adopt the child into hishousehold. This practice was known as “begginghim a fool.”

In contrast to the “natural,” the “artificial” foolpossessed a quick wit and the ability to engage inlively repartee. Such fools were cunning and sarcas-tic entertainers, but the treatment of any courtdependant varied according to the master. A royalfool was considered parasitic, in that he relied sole-ly and totally on the monarch for his existence. Hecould be a scapegoat for his master’s anger, but ingeneral he was treated as well as other court“pets”–such as hounds and horses–in whose class hebelonged. Since a jester wasn't expected to followcontemporary social graces, his presumed inno-cence allowed him to speak his mind. This freedomoften took the form of criticizing the state or evenhis own master.

Royal fools sometimes achieved significantinfluence and power, and many amassed wealth.Some of the more privileged court jesters had theirown servants, ate at the same table as their mastersand even operated as spies for the monarch. Becausea fool’s status was isolated from the rest of the court,his singular standing both mirrored and parodied theexclusive position of the ruler. The fool’s marginal-ized place outside the court hierarchy allowed him tocome closer to the throne than anyone else and to be

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taken into royal confidence without being perceivedas a political threat.

The names of many official jesters in the courtsof Europe are preserved in historical records. InEngland, the long list of jesters extends from Hitard,the fool of Edmund Ironside (ruled 934-46) toMuckle John, the fool of Charles I (ruled 1625-1649) who was the last official royal jester. With thebeheading of Charles I and the coming of the PuritanCommonwealth under Oliver Cromwell–accompa-nied by the abandonment of belief in divineright–the English court fool went out of fashion.

One of the best known English Renaissancefools was Will Somers, the legendary jester to HenryVIII who is credited with bringing about the down-fall of Cardinal Wolsey. Somers went on to serveunder Edward VI and Mary, and lived into the reignof Elizabeth I. In addition to a motley crowd of courtentertainers, including an Italian fool namedMonarcho, Elizabeth employed several dwarfs dur-ing her reign. One dwarf, Thomasina, was habitual-ly attired in fine clothing made from the Queen'scast-off dresses. Under James I, the ruler when KingLear was first performed, England saw the appear-ance of Archibald Armstrong who came with theking from Scotland in 1603. Designated in officialaccounts as joculator domini regis, Armstrong wasone of the most boisterous and impudent fools everknown at the British court. By the time James’s sonCharles I came to power, Armstrong had been grant-ed 1000 acres of land in Ireland, a pension of twoshillings a day and a royal patent for making tobac-co pipes.

The Fool in King Lear is one of the most puz-zling figures in the play, and the role traditionallyhas been open to a wide range of theatrical interpre-tations. Over the ages, Lear’s Fool has been inter-preted as a sprightly gymnast and as a hobblingarthritic, and the character has been modeled onboth a monkey and a pet spaniel. The Fool has beenperformed as a saucy adolescent knave, a rustic

clown who appears to be older than the king himself,and as a traditional medieval court jester. Mostscholars believe that the first actor to play the role ofLear’s Fool was Robert Armin, a member ofShakespeare’s company who wrote Foole uponFoole (1600), a pamphlet which tells us a great dealabout jesters in the Elizabethan age.

Many of Shakespeare’s characters have beenidentified in the generalized tradition of the clownor fool, including Dogberry in Much Ado AboutNothing, Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant ofVenice and Falstaff. In the purest sense, however,Shakespeare’s most notable fools appear in thecomedies: Touchstone in As You Like It, Feste inTwelfth Night, and Lavatch in All’s Well That EndsWell. In such works, the playwright’s characteriza-tion of the fool as a dramatic device seems to havebeen quite original. In the decade beforeShakespeare’s play was produced, court foolsappeared in Robert Greene’s Friar Bacon and FriarBungay and in his Scottish History of James IV; butH.F. Lippincott notes that “there are no fools whichresemble Shakespeare’s in the pre-ShakespeareanEnglish drama, and none of the Shakespearean foolsis found in the known literary sources for the plays.”

Like Rigoletto, the hunchbacked jester to theDuke of Mantua in Verdi’s opera, the unnamed Foolin Lear is distinct from the other court fools inShakespeare because he appears in tragic rather thancomic circumstances. During the Restoration, thisapparent disparity in the tone of the play ran count-er to the neoclassical dictum of a clear separationbetween the genres of tragedy and comedy, thusproving distasteful to fashionable critics. In his 1681revision of Lear, Nahum Tate completely eliminatedthe Fool, with long-lasting repercussions: the char-acter remained absent from all London productionsfor a century and a half, until 1838 when WilliamCharles Macready produced a new-style version ofthe play. After envisioning the Fool as a “sort offragile, hectic, beautiful-faced boy,” Macready set-tled on a woman in the role.

Shakespeare undoubtedly had a well-consideredpurpose for including Lear’s Fool in the play, and themingling of comic elements within a serious plot isa typical feature of his tragedies. Anyone familiarwith the Porter in Macbeth or the Gravediggerclowns of Hamlet can attest to this fact. Such comiccharacters often provide a brief interlude in the trag-ic course of events, increasing the appeal of the playand momentarily releasing the audience from thetension of the gathering tragedy. The juxtapositionof comic elements within a tragic structure alsoamplifies the poignancy of the tragedy itself throughcontrast, as many critics have suggested. However,

because Lear’s Fool is such a major char-acter in the play, his purpose goes beyondthat of a minor comic foil to the course oftragic events.

In Lear’s jester, we see the paradox ofthe “wise fool.” Although he makes his liv-ing by witty speeches and comic behavior,the Fool’s primary role in the play is that ofa speaker of unpleasant truths. In thissense, he is not so much the provider ofmerry interludes that we–and Lear–antici-pate, but instead he is a “bitter fool” whoenlightens the king about the harsh facts ofthe world. Goneril refers to him as an “all-licens’d Fool,” meaning that he is affordedthe broad freedom to do and say what helikes in the presence of his betters. Evenso, his biting speeches and acid commen-tary on Lear’s rash behavior–and on thedisrespect of their father by Goneril andRegan–readily result in threats of thewhip. Countering the expectations of hismaster to be a light-hearted court enter-tainer, the Fool maintains his diplomaticdistance by speaking in oblique riddles,catch phrases, proverbs and snatches ofsong–yet his best efforts continually skirtthe risk of being incendiary.

The word “fool” appears 49 times in King Lear,more frequently than in any other Shakespeare playexcept for Twelfth Night. Yet as Kent notes in 1.4, theuse of such terminology in the play is “not altogeth-er fool.” In the inverted, topsy-turvy world of thistragedy, all the admirable characters are addressedas fools or alluded to as being foolish includingLear, Albany, Kent, Edgar, Gloucester and Cordelia.The most sweeping reference to folly is spoken byLear himself, who refers in his madness to thehuman condition as “this great stage of fools” (4.6).

The Fool points out to Lear that he has “mad’stthy daughters thy mothers” and “gav’st them thy rod,

Tom Derry and Muckle John

21

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and put’st down thine own breeches” (1.4), and hisprophetic speeches evoke a medieval debate on theproper relationship between youth and old age. Thebrief reference in 1.2 to the chiding of the Fool byGoneril’s servant is one of the indications of adecline in Lear’s power. Goneril uses the king’sdefense of his Fool–which entails Lear physicallystriking back at her gentleman–as an excuse for hav-ing Lear’s own actions “come to question.” Unlikehis metaphorically-blind master, the Fool clearlysees Lear’s predicament and is able to make, ifsomewhat cryptically, both his master and the audi-ence conscious of the magnitude of the king’s errorsand his fallen status after he abdicates.

On one level, the Fool functions as Lear’s con-science after he disowns Cordelia for being honestin lieu of the false vows of Goneril and Regan. Itcould be argued that the Fool not only points outLear’s folly and change in sovereign status, but thathis lucid insight also spurs Lear on to the harsh real-ization of “filial ingratitude” that accelerates theking’s spiraling madness.

Scholars have often been troubled by the factthat the Fool disappears barely halfway throughoutthe play. However, perhaps Shakespeare at this pointconsidered the Fool no longer dramatically neces-sary, Lear having learned the hard way the necessarylesson about loving devotion versus sycophantic lipservice that the Fool sought so earnestly to teach.The advent of Edgar in the assumed guise of themad Poor Tom O’Bedlam, in a sense, replaces andovershadows the madcap musings of Lear’s courtfool. Most importantly, Lear’s madness gains fullforce after the Fool disappears; the king can handleno more instruction concerning his rash actions,thereby rendering the Fool’s presence superfluous.

Because the Fool remains an enigmatic charactereven in his exit, there have been various methods ofportraying his disappearance from the stage. Someinterpretations have included the Fool cravenly

deserting Lear in the king’s darkest hour; the Foolbeing stabbed by the insane Lear during the mocktrial after being mistaken for one of the “unnatural”daughters; and the Fool dying alone and abandonedin the hovel of mysterious causes while his master istaken away. No matter how stage productions chooseto depict his exit, the Fool’s enigmatic character andequivocal nature continue after 400 years to helpmake King Lear one of the most complex andrewarding challenges for directors and actors in theliterature of the theatre.

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A Pictorial Album

One of the most popular schools of thought regarding the Celtic calendar maintains that the year wasdivided into thirteen months. This theory, developed by Robert Graves, argues that the months corre-sponded to the vowels of the Ogham or Celtic tree alphabet. Represented (clockwise from top) are thebirch, rowan, ash, alder, willow, hawthorn, oak, holly, hazel, vine, ivy, reed and elder.

The Celtic Era

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During the final stages of the Iron Age (c. 6th century B.C.), the La Tène culture gradually trans-formed into the explicitly Celtic culture of early historical times. The original Celtic homelandflourished in parts of what is now France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic,Slovakia and Hungary. Over the next few centuries, the Celts migrated into modern-day Britain,Ireland, Spain, northern Italy and Greece. To the east, the Celts spread as far as Turkey and theUkraine.

“Plate sin with gold, / And the strong lanceof justice hurtless breaks” —King Lear IV.6.Celtic wheel design on the Battersea shield,a red-glass inlaid bronze shield used forornamental and ceremonial purposes.Found buried in the Thames River, thisshield dates from the third to late first cen-tury B.C. Currently located in the BritishMuseum, London.

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“These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend nogood to us”—King Lear I.2. A second century A.D. Celticcalendar discovered in Coligny, France. Possibly the old-est Celtic solar/lunar ritual calendar, this framed bronzesheet measures 5 by 3.5 feet. The calendar is written inthe Gaulish language (similar to Welsh) using Roman-style letters and numerals. It was originally mounted ona wall but later smashed and buried.

“O you are men ofstones: / Had I yourtongues and eyes,Il'd use them so /That heaven's vaultshould crack” —King Lear V.3. ThisCeltic two-faced(Janiform) sculp-ture of uncertainand disputed age islocated on BoasIsland in CountyFermanagh, Ireland.

“Fortune, good night: smile once more: turn thywheel!” —King Lear II.2. Detail from a bronze shieldmount dating from the fifth century B.C. Found inTal-y-llyn, Wales. Located in the Cardiff NationalMuseum.

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“Horns whelk'd and waved like theenridged sea” —King Lear IV.6. Detail ofthe Gundestrup cauldron. The antler-headed god Cernunnos holds a ram-headed snake and a torque. He wearsanother torque around his neck, a long-sleeved shirt, belt, knee breeches andlaced shoes. Surrounding him are plantsand wild animals, including a boar and a deer.

“Now, gods, that we adore, whereof comes this?” —King Lear I.4. The Gundestrup cauldron (c. 1stcentury B.C.) was discovered ritually buried in a bog in Denmark. Made of silver and weighing closeto 19 pounds, it is covered inside and out with depictions of male and female divine beings and theirattendants.

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The Life and Times of ShakespeareA Chronology

1564 William Shakespeare is born to JohnShakespeare and Mary Arden ofStratford-upon-Avon, England, theirthird child and first son. (Traditionally,Shakespeare’s Day is celebrated onApril 23.)

Galileo Galilei is born.

British playwright Christopher Marlowe is born.

England, Spain, Portugal, France, and the Netherlandsundertake voyages of exploration, trade, and coloniza-tion throughout the “New World.” Rivalries break outbetween European trading powers.

1576 Richard Burbage opens The Theatre, London’s firstplayhouse used by professional actors.

The dining hall of Blackfriars monastery is convertedinto a theatre for private performances given by a company of boy actors. It remains open until 1584.

Raphael Holinshed publishes Chronicles of England,Scotland, and Ireland, a primary source forShakespeare’s history plays.

1577 Sir Francis Drake begins three-year voyage around theworld.

1578 Shakespeare’s family finds itself inserious debt and mortgages Mary’shouse in Wilmcote to raise cash.

Interest in Roman and Greek antiquities leads to the discovery of the catacombs in Rome.

1580 John Shakespeare is involved in law-suits regarding several mortgaged family properties.

The English folksong “Greensleeves” is popular.

1582 A marriage license is issued inNovember to William Shakespeare andAgnes (Anne) Hathaway. She is eightyears his senior and pregnant at thetime of their marriage. The followingMay their first daughter, Susanna, is born.

The Gregorian calendar is adopted in Spain, Portugal,France, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. (Englanddoes not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1752.)

1585 Twins Hamnet and Judith are born inFebruary to William and AnneShakespeare.

Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes writes the pastoralnovel Galatea.

Year Playwright World History

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1585-91 No surviving records documentShakespeare’s life during these “lostyears.” At some point, he must havemade his way to London without hisfamily.

1586 Mary, Queen of Scots is accused of plotting to murderQueen Elizabeth. Other conspirators are tried and exe-cuted. Mary is executed the following year.

1588 An attempt by the Spanish Armada to invade Englandfails due to the combination of bad weather in theEnglish Channel and the ability of smaller English shipsto out-maneuver the attackers. The event establishesEngland as a major naval power. England enters a period of economic, political, and cultural expansion.

1590-91 Shakespeare writes Henry VI, Part Twoand Henry VI, Part Three.

1591-92 Shakespeare writes Henry VI, Part One.

1592 Shakespeare is listed as an actor withthe Lord Chamberlain’s Men inLondon.

Writer and dramatist Robert Greenescathingly lashes out at “an upstartCrow, beautified with our feathers” atthe time when Shakespeare’s KingHenry VI, Part One is performing successfully.

15,000 people die of the plague in London. Theatresclose temporarily to prevent the spread of the epidemic.

1592-94 Shakespeare writes several more plays(their dates of composition have notbeen established with certainty in allcases): Richard III, The Comedy ofErrors, Titus Andronicus, The Tamingof the Shrew, Two Gentlemen of Verona,and Love’s Labour’s Lost. During thistime, Shakespeare also wrote thepoems “Venus and Adonis” and “TheRape of Lucrece.”

Christopher Marlowe is killed in a tavern brawl in 1593.His tragedy Edward II is published the following year.

London’s theatres reopen in 1594 when the threat of theplague has abated.

Italian astronomer Giordano Bruno is accused andimprisoned by the Vatican for supporting theCopernican theory of the universe. He is burned to deathin Rome in 1600.

Year Playwright World History

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1595 Close to this year Shakespeare writesthe plays Romeo and Juliet, Richard II,A Midsummer Night’s Dream, KingJohn, and The Merchant of Venice.

Sir Philip Sidney’s An Apology for Poetry is publishedposthumously

1596 John Shakespeare, the dramatist’sfather, is granted a coat of arms.

Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet, diesat the age of eleven.

The Blackfriars Playhouse, later to become the wintertheatre for Shakespeare’s company, opens in London.

1597-98 Shakespeare’s sonnets circulate unpub-lished.

The dramatist writes Henry IV, PartOne; Henry IV, Part Two; Much AdoAbout Nothing; and The Merry Wivesof Windsor. (Some sources place thewriting of The Merry Wives of Windsorcloser to 1601).

A second armada of Spanish ships en route to attackEngland is dispersed by storms.

Sir Francis Bacon’s Essays, Civil and Moral is pub-lished.

An Act of Parliament prescribes sentences of deporta-tion to British colonies for convicted criminals.

1599 The Globe Playhouse opens.Shakespeare is part owner by virtue ofthe shares divided between theBurbage family of actors (half) andfive others, including the dramatist.

This is the approximate year of compo-sition for the plays Henry V, JuliusCaesar, and As You Like It.

The Earl of Essex is sent to command English forces inIreland. He fails to secure peace and returns to Englandagainst the orders of Elizabeth I.

1600-02 Shakespeare writes the poem “ThePhoenix and the Turtle.” Around thistime he also writes the plays TwelfthNight, Hamlet, Troilus and Cressida,and All’s Well That Ends Well.

Shakespeare’s father dies in 1601.

London barrister John Manningham in1602 makes this entry in his diary: “Atour feast we had a play called TwelveNight Or What You Will, much like TheComedy of Errors, or Menechmi inPlautus, but most like and near to thatin Italian called Inganni.

The international trading corporation the English EastIndia Company is founded in 1600.

The Earl of Essex attempts a rebellion and is executed in1601.

The Dutch East India Company is founded in 1602.

Year Playwright World History

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1602(cont.)

Comedian Will Kemp dances a Morris Dance fromLondon to Norwich.

Ben Jonson, offended by a satirical portrayal of himselfin a play, returns the insult, sparking a series of playsknown as the War of the Theatres, in which playwrightsridicule each other from the stage.

1603-04 The approximate years of compositionfor Shakespeare’s plays Measure forMeasure and Othello.

When James I is crowned King ofEngland, the acting company known asthe Lord Chamberlain’s Men, withwhich Shakespeare is affiliated,becomes the King’s Men. The companywill perform twelve plays per year forthe court of James I.

Elizabeth I dies in 1603 and is succeeded by her cousin,James I. (The era of his reign is called the Jacobean period.)

Sir Walter Raleigh, arrested for suspected involvementin a plot to dethrone James I, is tried for treason andimprisoned.

Plague breaks out again in London.

1605-06 Shakespeare’s name is included amongEngland’s greatest writers in Remainesof a Greater Worke ConcerningBritaine, published by the antiquarianWilliam Camden.

Shakespeare writes the plays King Learand Macbeth.

Guy Fawkes and others are arrested following the dis-covery of the Gunpowder Plot, a plan to blow up theHouse of Lords during an address by James I onNovember 5th. They are executed the following year.

Ben Jonson writes Volpone.

1607-08 The approximate years of compositionfor the plays Antony and Cleopatra,Timon of Athens, Pericles, andCoriolanus.

Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna mar-ries Dr. John Hill in 1607; the couplesettle in Stratford.

In 1608, Shakespeare’s acting companysigns a lease for the use of theBlackfriars Playhouse.

Shakespeare’s mother dies in 1608.

English colonists sail to America, led by John Smith,and establish the city of Jamestown, Virginia.

Dutch scientist Johan Lippershey invents the telescope.Galileo copies the design to construct one of his own.

1609-11 Shakespeare’s sonnets are published.

Shakespeare writes Cymbeline, TheWinter’s Tale, and The Tempest.

The Dutch East India Company begins shipping teafrom China to Europe.The King James version of the Bible is published in 1611.

Year Playwright World History

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1612 Records indicate that by this timeShakespeare “of Stratford-upon-Avongentleman” has returned to live in hisbirthplace.

John Webster’s tragedy The White Devil is staged andpublished.

1613 Henry VIII and The Two NobleKinsmen are attributed to bothShakespeare and John Fletcher.

The Globe Playhouse burns down during the first performance of Henry VIII.

1616 Shakespeare’s daughter Judith is married.

Shakespeare dies on April 23 and isburied in Stratford’s Holy TrinityChurch.

The Catholic Church prohibits Galileo from further scientific work.

1620 English Puritans, led by Miles Standish, settle atPlymouth Colony in Massachusetts.

Serious economic decline begins in England.

1623 Heminge and Condell of the King’sMen compile Shakespeare’s completedramatic works which are published inthe First Folio.

Shakespeare’s widow Anne dies.

John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi is published.

Dutch colonists settle in New Amsterdam (seized by theEnglish and renamed New York in 1664).

Year Playwright World History

Focus on Production:Director Larry Carpenter on the Challenges ofShakespeare’s Powerful and Poetic King Lear

Larry Carpenter, director of Kansas CityRepertory Theatre’s production of King Lear by

William Shakespeare, has previously been directorat the Rep for Company, Saint Joan, The Front Pageand Give ’Em Hell, Harry. All of these productionshave been acclaimed by critics and audiences alike.Carpenter informs his directing with a singularblend of intellect and wit as he takes on a variety ofchallenges from musicals to comedy to drama. Hereceived a Tony Award nomination for best directorfor Starmites and has directed productions in New

York for Roundabout Theatre Company, SohoRepertory Theatre, Playwrights Horizon, theJuilliard School, and Tisch School of the Arts atNew York University. His many directing credits atregional theatres include the Huntington TheatreCompany in Boston, Seattle Repertory Theatre, andPasadena Playhouse.

The following interview was conducted byKansas City Rep’s director of communicationsLaura Muir.

The previous works you have directed for KansasCity Rep are very diverse and yet each of themraises questions about how individuals, be theyprivate citizens or religious and political figures,respond to societal issues. Is this subtext some-thing you look for in your directing projects?

The simple answer is that every play in someway is a reflection of its society. I like to think thatI’m drawn to plays that wrestle with bits and cornersof moral and ethical dilemmas that operate as frac-tals of our greater societal problems. Theatre is anarena which often places an individual charactercenter stage as a proxy for the audience member.This character then acts out a ritual of trying to solvea dilemma—whether successfully or not—on behalfof the audience member and society at large.

You are well known for the extensive research youconduct for your plays How did you prepare todirect King Lear?

Yes, I'm a research maven. I have read a greatdeal on the play. I’ve also viewed five or six of theDVD versions that are available. In addition, I’vedone quite a bit of research on what was happening to Shakespeare in 1604-5 London. There

Larry Carpenter

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is a fascinating book by James Shapiro titled 1599:A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare. It is a veryaggressively researched and well-thought-out exam-ination of the year (1599) in which Shakespeareapparently wrote Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You LikeIt, and Hamlet. I’m in the process with our produc-tion’s dramaturge of conducting a similar study tounderstand the social, political, religious, and the-atrical issues that affected Shakespeare when he wascreating Lear.

King Lear is such a profound exploration of thecomplexities of the human spirit. What qualitiesof Shakespeare’s works stimulate you as a direc-tor?

Well, he engages the big issues, doesn't he? Hisplots and his understanding of character are extraor-dinary. And when you add to this his extraordinaryuse of language—both verse and prose—he alwaysholds me captive. Further, when he uses plot, char-acter and language to advance some central theme—nihilism, in the case of this play—he can be devas-tating. Simply being responsible for getting thescope and magnificence of this play on the boards isa great challenge. It’s terrifying and exhilarating allat the same time. I hope to be able to pass that feel-ing onto the audience.

Has the text of the Rep’s production of King Learbeen altered in any way? If so, how do you deter-mine what to eliminate or change and why?

Yes, we have shortened the play. I’ve examinedmany different cuts of the play from many sources.From these sources and from my entry point on theplay, I generated a first draft cut script. Peter Altmanand I then worked together to generate the rehearsaldraft.

As a side bar, it’s probably also important to saythat I was fortunate enough as a younger man to actin two separate productions of King Lear with therenowned American classical actor MorrisCarnovsky. Morris was very famous for his portray-

als of both Lear and Shylock. I learned a great dealabout the play, about the theatre and about the art ofliving from Morris. I owe him a great debt. That’s avery big reason for my interest in this play.

Do you consider King Lear to be a play of ourtime that reflects contemporary politics andhumanity?

Since 9/11, the world has become progressivelyunpredictable, unstable and chaotic. By renouncinghis kingdom, Lear throws his own world into a sim-ilar chaos. That chaos permits a perversion of estab-lished moral and civil codes, cruelty, terrorism, andrevolt. Lear is very much a cautionary tale for ourtime.

Do you have a favorite play by Shakespeare orany other playwright that you would still like todirect?

Shakespeare—Richard II, Stoppard—Arcadia,Shaw—Major Barbara, Sondheim—A Little NightMusic. These four authors really are my heroes. I’dpretty much direct any of their work anytime. I’dalso like to take a crack at Aeschylus, Athol Fugard,Chekhov, Brecht, and Samuel Beckett.

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Billington, Sandra. A Social History of the Fool. St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1984.

Bullough, Geoffrey, ed. Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare. Vol. 7. Routledge and KeaganPaul, London, 1973.

Clark, Cumberland. Shakespeare and Science. Haskell House Publishers Ltd., 1970.

Collington, Philip D. “Self-Discovery in Montaigne’s ‘Of Solitariness’ and King Lear.” ComparativeDrama 35, 2001.

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KC Rep’s 2006-07 season is supported in part by Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation, Hallmark Corporate Foundation, theHall Family Foundation, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Now in its 43rd season, Kansas City Repertory Theatre is the professional theatre in residence at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The Rep produces up to eight mainstage plays each season, employs more than 250 professional artists, techniciansand administrators, and serves approximately 100,000 patrons annually. As the region’s only professional theatre with member-ship in the national League of Resident Theatres, the Rep operates under agreements with Actors’ Equity Association (the nation-al union of professional actors and stage mangers), the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc., and United ScenicArtists Local USA-829 IATSE.

Peter Altman, Producing Artistic Director4949 Cherry Street • Kansas City, MO 64110

For information about the Sprint Student Matinee Series,please call 816-235-2707.

King Lear is produced in cooperation with the University of Missouri-Kansas City Department of Theatre

Media sponsor for this production is

The Professional Theatre in Residence at the University of Missouri-Kansas City

This production is made possible through the generous support ofthe Hall Family Foundation.

Honorary ProducersCelebrating Our Heritage Fund—Miller and Jeannette Nichols

Dr. and Mrs. Keith W. Ashcraft