For Thursday/Friday: King Lear, Acts 2-3

NOTE: You can answer these any time Thursday or Friday, since we don't really have class on Thursday anymore. E-mail them to me as usual, and I'll post another video to respond to as a 'comment' tomorrow. 

Answer two of the following: 

Q1: In Act 2, Scene 4, when Regan and Goneril decide to openly defy their father’s demands, Lear exclaims “I gave you all” (52).  This echoes his later line in the storm when he proclaims, “I am a man/More sinned against than sinning” (58).  Do we agree with Lear here; has he been a good and selfless father?  Or is this line simply meant to be read, “whatever I did in the past, I finally gave you all my land, so what more do you want?”  Do we have any sympathy for the daughters here?  Is this a betrayal—or an ironic reversal of the events of Act 1, Scene 1?  

Q2: How do you account for the extreme cruelty of Act 3, Scene 7, where both sisters and Regan’s husband, Cornwall, gang up on Gloucester?  Though the sisters may have seemed cruel earlier in the play, here they are truly sadistic, taking glee in plucking Gloucester’s beard and removing his eyes.  Why do they do this, and how might earlier scenes have prepared us for this (or explained their motivation)? 

Q3: Act 3, Scene 6, the so-called “trial scene” only appears in the early quarto version of the play (Q1).  The authentic version of Lear was published in the complete version of Shakespeare’s works, the Folio version, in 1623, and this entire scene is missing.  Either Shakespeare thought the better of it and cut it or it simply got lost in translation.  The editors of this version, though following the Folio, decided to reinstate it.  What do we gain from having this scene in the play?  Does it underline or foreshadow important themes or events in the play?  Or is it too much of the same, including a lot of “nothing”?  

Q4: What do you think Edgar’s role in the play is as “Poor Tom”?  Though he has some of the craziest lines in the play, he is clearly acting, as he pops out of character at the End of 3.6 to talk to the audience.  Is he a foil to Lear?  A rival to the Fool?  Or a mirror to Cordelia (especially if she is the Fool)?  

For Tuesday: King Lear, Opening Lecture

The shortish lecture below (20 minutes) is basically what I would have shown  you in class when we started King Lear (sob). However, I basically narrated some big ideas over the powerpoint, and if you watch this first, it might help you answer the questions below (see previous post). However, the lecture is simply designed to give you the feel of being in class and to help pass on some of the information we would have discussed in class. I promise I'll get better at doing them, and as I get better, they'll get shorter. I just had a lot to introduce this first time! I know it might be boring to just sit down and watch the whole thing, so watch some of it, then take a break, or just keep it on in the background. It might prove useful as we get into the play and start writing another paper. 

After you watch it, respond to the following question as a COMMENT below this post (you should able to post anonymously, or you can create a free Blogspot account--it takes just a minute): If you were staging a new performance of King Lear, would you defer more to the Folio (which is the collected version of all of Shakespeare's plays) or one of the Quartos, which was published during his lifetime and while the plays were freshly performed? Which one do you feel is more insightful to the actual play and its author's intentions? 

ALSO--Don't forget to answer two of the four questions in the previous post for Tuesday's class! Life continues, even with the Covid scare hanging over our heads...remember that Shakespeare had to endure many outbreaks of play, and hid away in Stratford for a year while the plague shut down the theaters in London. Social distancing was a way of life even in the 1590's! 

For Tuesday: King Lear, Act 1

Welcome back! Answer two of the following and e-mail them to me sometime by Tuesday (or you can e-mail me both sets of questions by Thursday—since there will be another set posted on Tuesday.)

Q1: Why does Cordelia refuse to play the “how do I love thee?” game with her father? Is she being a petulant brat by saying “nothing,” or is there more method in her madness? Consider also her comment, “for I want that glib and oily art,/To speak and purpose not” (23).

Q2: This play uses prose much more than any of his plays so far, and in some very unusual ways. Discuss a scene where prose is used extensively and explain why you think these characters are using it. What does it help to say about the characters and the scene?

Q3: In scene 2, Edmund proclaims, “Thou, Nature, art my goddess. To thy law/My services are bound” (29). What does he seem to mean by “nature” in this passage, and how might it relate to his role in society as a ‘bastard’?

Q4: Lear is obsessed with labeling people in this play: they are either true or false, loving or spiteful, friends or foes, strangers or daughters. When he thinks Goneril is betraying his love, he asks repeatedly, “Your name, fair gentlewoman?” What makes Lear so paranoid? Are we sympathetic with his suspicions—or is he meant to appear like a madman? (you might also compare him to Macbeth and Titus by the end of their respective plays).

Welcome Back Announcement

Welcome Back (Almost)! I know the class won't be the same as it was, but I do intend to keep reading along with you guys, and giving you questions, a few videos (see below), and one more paper assignment late in the semester. However, here are the changes I propose for the class going forward:

1. I'll try to stick to the TR format, though with a little latitude. I'll post questions for the next class on Tuesday/Thursday, but I won't count you off if you don't e-mail me the questions by next class. You can do that, or you can turn in both sets of questions together (in case you want/need more time). The only thing I won't allow is turning in three sets of questions together, since that would mean you're really far behind. I'll post the first questions for King Lear this Thursday, but you don't have to e-mail them back to me until the following Tuesday, OR on Thursday along with Thursday's questions (which will be posted next Tuesday, as usual). 

2. Once a week, I'll also post a short lecture (10-15 minutes, approx) along with a Powerpoint to highlight aspects of the reading. These are versions of what I would have otherwise done in class, just minus the great discussion.  I think it would be difficult to get everyone in class together to do a live chat, but at least this way, you can still hear me ramble about each work and say the word "interesting" a dozen times.

3. Each lecture will have its own post, and on the post, I'll ask you a short question based on the lecture. Respond to this question as a "comment" on the blog post (you shouldn't need to create an account to do this). Just click on "comments" on the bottom of the post and write your own. This will replace your Participation grade since you obviously won't be able to come to class and talk in any other way. 

4. I've almost finished grading all the Shakespeare #2 papers, and I e-mailed them back to everyone except for 3 or 4 of you. I should be finished by tomorrow (Tuesday). Check your ECU e-mail and make sure you have it. If not, let me know and I'll resend it. You can revise these for a higher grade any time this semester as usual. 

PLEASE write me with any questions or concerns, and I'll be happy to help. The recorded lectures will be in Zoom, so if you want to chat, I can also open up a Zoom chat at any time, in lieu of coming to my office. I'll post the lecture on King Lear, Acts One-Two in a day or two, so be sure to watch it and respond with your comment. 

Hope everyone is doing okay and I look forward to reading your work again! I miss our class and hope that we can all have a face-to-face class together again soon, if only in the Fall semester.

--Joshua Grasso

Thursday's class--the same as Tuesday (see below)

No new work for Thursday: I want to cover Chapter 7 from both books, so if you haven't read them, you get one more chance! Be careful about missing responses, since you get two without penalty, but some of you are going beyond that. The questions are in the post below this one.

See you tomorrow--unless the lights go out again! :)