News
After Court Restores Research Funding, Trump Still Has Paths to Target Harvard
News
‘Honestly, I’m Fine with It’: Eliot Residents Settle In to the Inn as Renovations Begin
News
He Represented Paul Toner. Now, He’s the Fundraising Frontrunner in Cambridge’s Municipal Elections.
News
Harvard College Laundry Prices Increase by 25 Cents
News
DOJ Sues Boston and Mayor Michelle Wu ’07 Over Sanctuary City Policy
Mr. Clapp last night delivered the fifth of his lectures on Shakspere, his topic being "King Lear." He said in part:
Mr. White, a well-known Shaksperean critic, describes "King Lear" as of all Shakspere's plays the largest in conception, the noblest in design, and the highest in art. Although almost universally associated with the three other great tragedies of Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth, it differs from all three in its essential purpose. Hamlet is a play of inaction and indecision; Othello is the story of the down fall of a great soul through jealousy, Macbeth that of a man overcome by ambition. The distinction of "King Lear" lies in the fact that it displays the tragic power of retribution over characters whose faults are commonly regarded as superficial. The stern fate of the king is the result of vanity, which, by being fostered, became the prevailing power in his life. Indeed, the play may be termed a tragedy of retribution, not of death.
In arranging his characters Shakspere placed one set of virtues against a corresponding set of vices. Lear's two older daughters, Goneril and Regan, are contrasted to their younger sister Cordelia, and in the same way the character of Edgar, the Duke's lawful son, is contrasted with that of Edmund the bastard.
Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter.