Best of Week: Revolutions

One of the best ideas we discussed in class this week was Shakespeare's use of revolutions in King Lear. It's a very prominent theme and adds levels of meaning to the play. One important element of this was the idea of Fortune's wheel. Fortune (or fate) is personified to have a wheel that, when turned, changes the destiny and luck of humans. In Act 2, scene 3, Kent almost prays to it and says, "Fortune, good night. Smile once more; turn thy wheel." He was currently in a pretty rotten positon: locked in the stocks.

Three important revolutions we've noticed are the switch between Lear and his daughters, Edgar and Edmund, and Gloucester and his houseguests. The revolution between Lear and his daughters began with his official bestowment of his lands to them, and it continued as they stripped all of his power, his men, and eventally his sanity. Edmund was the bastard son of Gloucester, and Edgar was his legitamate son, who would eventually inherit his lands. However, Edmund tricked both this father and his brother so his brother was forced to flee and go into hiding as a madman and his father is thought to be guilty of treason. The 180 degree revolution was complete when in Act three, scene 5, the Earl of Cornwall gives Edmund the official title of the Earl of Gloucester.

One more revolution we have noticed so far in the play is between Gloucester and his houseguests. Contrarily to the social norm, his guests Cornwall and Regan, thinking he was helping the king and conspiring against England, tied him up, tortured him and poked out his eyes. This showed a part of the revolutions from respect/order to madness and chaos. Gloucester showed his surprise in Act 3, scene 7, when Regan and Cornwall start yelling at him, "What means your Graces? Good my friends, consider you are my guests; do me no foul play, friends." Revolutions are a key part of King Lear, as many things in the play, including the politics, the relationship and even the sanity of characters switch around drastically.