Love's Prison

It's not unusual to find love's companion is ironically misery. People "fall" in love--an action that typically ends in an abrupt end, and often pain. Cupid's piercing arrow serves as an instrument of love. Lady Mary Wroth seems able to address the pleasures of love only by identifying its pains. Pamphilia to Amphilianthus paints a unique picture of love. Love, to Wroth, seems to pull her down like an undertow. Although she wishes to resist its appeal, she is overpowered by emotions and drawn deeper into it. Indeed, in Sonnet 7, she compares the struggle of love to a shipwreck: "The more she strives, more deep in sand is presses/Till she be lost" (lines 7-8). The weakness she feels against love is heartbreaking in itself. She is not happy to be in love, but rather feels she has merely surrendered--she is simply "servile" (Sont 14, line 10).

Even when Worth can address the joys of love, she describes them as embodied in "some happy fire" (Sonnet 15, line 7). Thus, even the pleasures she can accept from love are ultimately scarring. Further, because "Desire shall quench love's flames" it can be said that Worth feels guilt from the pleasures of love (Sonnet 14, line 12). The parallels in these lines draws the conclusion that the only joys of love are lustful and earthly. To Worth, love imprisons man to satisfy only his earthly, sinful desires; it serves to  blind him from "liberty" to pursuit higher truth.

Lear Losing Touch

Act 4 Scene 6 portrays a mentally decrepit and feeble Lear. Cordelia, whose honesty--or as Lear may claim, insolence--seems to have ignited his cognitive downfall, ultimately becomes the one to pull him back to a sort of reality. Aging is a difficult process, and in this scene, Cordelia becomes a sort of caretaker for her delusional father. Thus, the traditional roles of father and daughter are switched. Lear seeks reassurance in Cordelia, despite his inability to recognize her. Also, while Cordelia seeks forgiveness, Lear maintains a grudge.
Yet, this is a more gentle Lear. Rather than showing manic wrath, he seems regretful of the actions he may have taken to cause his daughters to have "done [him] wrong" (IV.vii.79). As the gentleman explains, "the great rage, you see, is killed in him" (IV.vii.85-86). The calmness in Lear is somewhat haunting; this seems to be the final stages of his insanity. As his mental capacity slips, his rage may have departed, but his reason remains in question.

Questions Regarding Literary Style

Going through King Lear, I am mainly drawn to questions regarding the literary style of the play. Earlier in the course, we defined humanism as the influence of classical pieces on Elizabethan Renaissance literature. In this sense, the "pagan" references of King Lear are expected, and understandably familiar to Shakespeare's audience. I, however, was surprised to note the influence of Geoffery of Monmouth's Historia regum Britanniae. In a time when playwrights and authors were attempting to move away from the medieval literature, Shakespeare called upon it for inspiration for what would be one of his most successful plays. I am interested in what his audience's response must have been to this source--were they familiar with Geoffery's work? I also would like to see a translation of the piece by which Shakespeare was inspired for comparison. While Shakespeare widdled and reinvented the English language, it seems counter-intuitive for him to rely on the language's past. This sort of inspiration draws a whole new definition of humanism.

The idea of the folio versus the quarto is also intriguing to me, and also raises questions to the authenticity of a number of Shakespeare's plays. It is reassuring to think that the influence of his actors is minimal, but what sorts of historical references do scholars have when deciding which version is more "accurate." It also seems counterproductive to consider both at the same time. Perhaps it's my generation's obsession with a perfect and instant answer, but I would be more comfortable if a more "authentic" version could be specifically identified.