King Lear: Storm Seminar

1.Storm parallels the disorder in Britain

2.Storm is the result of disrupting the Natural Order

3. Chaos in the Kingdom:

The Chain of Being and God's Punishment

Mirror of the Whole of Nature, and the Image of Art

illustrated by Robert Fludd

1579 drawing of the Great Chain of Being from Didacus Valades, Rhetorica Christiana.

"The sixteenth century viewed the universe as a harmonious whole, operating under God and ruled by natural law."

The Great Chain of Being - image from Shakespeare's Life and Times

"The Natural Order... was believed to operate in three spheres;

the cosmic, the social, and the individual. In the cosmos it was seen as

the Great Chain of Being. In the social order, it appeared as the social hierarchy and the family hierarchy. In the individual, it was the rule of

reason over the passions."

God = king = father = reason = light = law

Chaos = abdication = disowning = insanity = darkness = civil disorder

Conclusion

Discussion:

Why do you think this type of theory existed during Shakespeare's time?

What other examples of this belief can be found in King Lear or any other plays?

Destruction of Kingdom

• The storm is a significant scene in the play
• not only is it the climax in the play
• it also emphasizes the Elizabethan belief of the “Great Chain of Being”
• and how disrupting this order will bring divine and natural disasters
• is the pathetic fallacy that mirrors the consequences of upsetting the natural order
• Hence, the storm is psychological and symbolically significant as it creates an inner turmoil in Lear’s mind and external chaos and disorder in the kingdom

Introduction to Main Points

- Lear = Kingdom

Prof. A.R.Somroo states, Lear is a society in him, and when a king dies, he does not die alone, but a whole of society dies with him.”

- Lear's Inner Turmoil = Kindom's Turmoil

A C Bradley writes, "The storm in King Lear coincides with the storm in the human affairs…”

• The purpose of the storm is not confined to marking of emotional climax
• It is one of the agencies which assist in carrying it to its height.
• A mirror of Lear's inner turmoil
• Destruction of the kingdom
• The Chain of Being and God's punishment

Professor A.R. Somroo summaries, “In short, the storm signifies the universal disorder. It symbolizes disturbance in hell, in heaven, in earth, ‘in Lear’s external and internal kingdom, -- it is a symbol of chaos.”

Naural Order

Disrupted

Kingdom in

Chaos

Lear

Abdicates

Discussion:

Janet W. Wall states, “The role of Natural Order in the state furnishes further light on the situation in King Lear. The key to all the problems of the state is Lear's abdication and division of the kingdom.”

The storm symbolizes chaos and disorder in Lear's kingdom. Based on what we have learned in class, what are some examples that foreshadows inevitable destruction of the kingdom in the play?

Wall “civil strife is the Inevitable result of Lear's partition of the kingdom…”

Thanks for listening!

A. Moral Corruption

As A.C. Bradley states, “Every thing pertaining to morality is symbolized by the storm.”

- society lack morals

Ex: Goneril and Regan leaving their

father out in the storm to die

Prof. A.R.Somroo writes, “The storm symbolizes the wrath of God and is a warning for the ingratitude and disobedient children and of approaching doom.”

Wall writes, “In Lear's madness, this is one of the reactions: a world of corruption and decay.”

Discussion:

In the play, the "good" characters suffered from injustice. At the end, do you think that justice is restored?

B. Injustice

Natural Order = Justice

= Injustice

Disruption

of Natural Order

- Lear cries out to heavens for

divine justice

Wall believes that “in the system of Natural Order, justice was the primate among the virtues just as the king was primate among men.”

Prof.A.R. states, "The storm is also a summoner for the suffering of sinful people. The idea of poetic justice is there. Sinners or wrong doers must be punished by law of nature."

Chaos in the Kingdom

C. Struggles of the Poor

Discussion:

- storm is symbol of hardships the poor faces

Lear sees the storm as the representation of the chaos and disorder in the kingdom.

In your opinion, do you believe these problems would be resolved if Lear is restored to the throne?

Would the moral corruption, injustice, and the suffering of the poor have occured if Lear was the one ruling?

Wall puts it, the “nakedness is particularly inadequate to the cold and stormy night ...becomes a symbol of the defenselessness in the world.”

- Lear sees the suffering of the homeless as he undergoes them as well

A. Moral Corruption

B. Injustice

C. The Suffering of the Poor

& Homeless

Professor A.R.Somroo notes that, “It is in the storm that he thinks...of the dreadful fate of the world…”

Wall states, “The final result of the breakdown of Natural Order is formlessness, or chaos….At the social level, the breakdown becomes nakedness, injustice, civil war, rebellion, treason, and marital discord.”

References

• Wall, Janet W. "Natural Order in King Lear." Texas Digital Library. N.p., May 1961. Web. 17 July 2015.

• Somroo, A.R. "Storm Scene in King Lear." Scribd. N.p., 11 Sept. 2009. Web. 17 July 2015.

• Maclean, Norman. "Episode, Scene, Speech, and Word." Norman Maclean. University of Chicago Press, n.d. Web. 17 July 2015.

• Viguers, Susan. "The Storm in King Lear." Pembrokeshire Archives and Local Studies. N.p., Mar. 2000. Web. 19 July 2015.

The Storm

In King Lear, the storm is tied to the titular character's displacement in the natural order of being. The storm’s psychological and symbolic significance is its reflection of the inner turmoil in Lear’s mind as he descends into madness, and of the chaos within the kingdom and the heavens.

Discussion

What does the violent storm represent?

Pathetic Fallacy

A Mirror of Lear's Inner Turmoil

• Human emotions and traits are attributed to aspects of the natural world and inanimate objects

• A.R. Somroo states the storm reflects Lear’s sufferings and the lessons he learns through these sufferings
• The storm is significant for Lear, but he does not care for it, because the storm in his mind is greater than the physical storm
• Wind, thunder, rain and lightning are the fitting elements for Lear’s passion

Revealing Storm Imagery

• The storm is evoked through the words and actions of Lear
• Four elements are established through Lear's passage: "Rain, wind, thunder, fire" (3.2.15)
• Each element reflects an aspect of the nature of the storm
• The language "evokes rather than describes" (Viguers 2)the storm

• Lear has many different perceptions of the storm
• by the end of the passage he has a completely different view of it
• A.R. Somroo states it is the rage of storm that awakens in him a great change
• In his first stage or perception of the storm, he is encouraging it so that it can destroy him and rid him of his misery.

Analysis by Susan Vigeurs

• the storm is a mirror of the inner turmoil and madness in Lear’s mind
• the raging disturbance inside his mind has been transferred to the setting of the story

• Nature reflects the emotions and traits of characters

• in Janet Wall’s literary analysis it agrees that as Lear begins to lose his hold on sanity, his evaluation of the storm shifts rapidly from one point to another
• first he defies the thunder, challenging it to destroy him and the world

• Janet Wall also states: In his next perception he regards the storm as his enemy, the ally of his cruel daughters
• seems that nature at this time joins hands with cruelty that has already been shown to Lear by his daughters

Act 3: Scene 2

• in last perception, Lear sees the storm as a sort of redemption
• he is commanding the storm to destroy the world and rebuild it.
• Janet Wall states: In his next speech, Lear believes that the storm is the herald of justice and judgment

Discussion

Which Act and Scene does the storm make its most significant appearance?

Why does it occur?

• Climax of the story
• It's most relevant occurrence happening when Lear bursts out of Regan's Castle in a mad rage.
• The storm scene constitutes the mechanical center in “King Lear”
• It is recognized as the dramatic background to the tempest of human emotion.

• State of the world is revealed through this reflection

The Symbolic and Psychological Significance of The Storm