ENG208.001 -- Survey of British Literature: Beginnings to 1789

Prof. Eileen Joy

Fall 2007

DISCUSSION QUESTION #3 (King Lear)

There is just ONE writing prompt this time:

Set aside for the moment the classical definition of a "tragic hero," with which definition the "hero" of King Lear would be King Lear himself, whom we would have to assume is a "great man" who falls from a great height into a deep abyss (even, a hell) through the fault of his own self-involved pride, or a too-great faith in his own powers and abilities as a "fixer." As Ian Johnston tells us in his comments on the dramatic structure of comedy and tragedy,

"Tragic heroes always lose because the demands they make on life are excessive. Setting themselves up as the only authority for their actions and refusing to compromise or learn (except too late), they inevitably help to create a situation where there is no way out other than to see the action through to its increasingly grim conclusion. Hence, for most of us tragic heroes are often not particularly sympathetic characters (not at least in the way that comic protagonists are). There is something passionately uncompromising about their obsessive egoism which will only accept life on their own terms--in a sense they are radically unsociable beings."

So, thinking of another definition of heroism, say, "A person who exhibits extraordinary bravery, firmness, fortitude, or greatness of soul, in any course of action" (Oxford English Dictionary), who would you say is the real hero of King Lear, and why?

Please respond to the questions with full, complete sentences. You should write at least one typed, double-spaced page in response to each prompt (but let's not get distracted by these fine points of detail--what matters to me is that you respond to the prompts with thoughtfulness and care and show me that you have something of substance to say in relation to the reading and discussions we have had in class, and what that ultimately means is: MORE is always better than less, but one page is the minimum for each prompt). The questions are always interpretive in nature, and therefore there are NO right or wrong answers, only your interpretive opinion (an opinion, nevertheless, that's hopefully grounded in a close reading of the text as well as a close attention to background material presented in class). Be sure to always quote specific passages from the text, as well as paraphrase specific scenes, in order to support your observations and ideas (that will help you practice a skill that will become an absolute necessity when you are writing your critical essays). Furthermore, be sure to demonstrate that you have read the entire text in question; for example, do not respond to the question by only referring to events that occur in only one place in the text, or I will assume you have not done the entire reading. While one page per prompt does not give you enough room to point out everything in the text that you think is pertinent to the question, I expect to see you highlight enough aspects of the text that it is clear to me that you have read the beginning, middle, and end. And finally, NO SUMMARIES OF PLOT!!!