Due Monday morning, 8 a.m. (F and G period): Digging into Lear
You really didn’t think we’d leave this steak un-digested, did you?
Choose one of these topics for a formal essay on King Lear:
- Justice and socio-economic class as mirrored in King Lear
- The nature of women as mirrored in King Lear
- The existence of a cosmic moral force (god(s), fate, etc) in King Lear
- Lear as tragic hero: his hamartia and “suffering into truth”
- “Reunions of the good” motif in King Lear
- Parents and Children motif in King Lear
- Madness in King Lear
- Role reversals in King Lear
- Rage in King Lear
You will write a 5-page, formal essay on your topic that focuses on how Shakespeare’s artistry works to give it impact. This means you are free to develop your own “angle of analysis” and interpretation: if you want to focus on the aesthetics of the language and drama, do so; if you want to do a political and social reading, do so. Just make sure you’re interested in exploring it, sharing good ideas about it, and able to identify how Shakespeare creates impact in his language. (Remember that ideas only live in words. Focus on those words.)
Due Monday (notice, F Period! You don’t have class, but it’s due Monday morning 0800): Gathering Evidence on Ning
You’ll have two weeks to write the essay, so right now you are in the “gathering evidence” stage. To help you do this, I’ve made a Ning discussion forum for each topic. Add the evidence (sections, parts, lines) from the tragedy that apply to your topic there. Also add your ideas there.
Since all of you were responsible for translating a section of the play, I want you to add anything from your section to each topic section. You’ll help each other that way.
