| “O heavens, If you do love old men, if your sweet sway show obedience, if you yourselves are old, make it your cause. Send down, and take my part.” (2.4.217-220) Lear | Justice in the form of praying to the pagan gods.He asks for a punishing storm, but he himself also gets punished (loses his mind)Wants to punish the young |
| “As flies to wanton boys are we to th’ gods; They kill us for their sport.”(4.1.41-42) Gloucester | The injustice of the world Gods do not treat humans well…All bad things are the faults of the gods. |
| “I have received a hurt. Follow me, lady.— Turn out that eyeless villain.” (3.7.116-119) Cornwall | Justice has been established with the torture of Gloucester ‘eyeless villain’.’eyeless’ = blind + castration (balls)Gloucester supports the King and therefore the old order (feudal) Represents the hate of the old for keeping the power to themselves… |
| “Th’ hast spoken right. ‘Tis true. The wheel is come full circle; I am here.”(5.3.208-209) Edmund | He will be punished for his crimes, retribution full circle – Wheel of fortune After he has been stabbed, he is at the bottom of fortunes wheel… as he was in the beginning He suggests he has gotten exactly what was coming to him… |
| “All friends shall taste the wages of their virtue, and all foes the cup of their deservings.” (5.3.366-368) Albany | Kent and Edgar get to rule they are ‘virtuous’ and good- this quote seems ok and logicalBUT Cordelia’s death, the innocent of the play, was just witnessed by Albany, her body still on stage (props)… She was not ‘deserving’ of that, in fact it was an unjust death… “cup of their deservings” – fate… religious imagery? cup = container… unavoidable? what goes around, comes around … |
| “The gods defend her [Cordelia]!—Bear him hence awhile.” [Edmund is carried off.][Enter Lear with Cordelia in his arms, followed by a Gentleman.] (5.3.307) Albany | Just as Albany prays for the gods to defend and protect her, Cordelia is brought in, dead… Fallen angel There is no such thing as divine justice? |
| “And my poor fool is hanged. No, no, no life? Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, and thou no breath at all? Thou ‘lt come no more, never, never, never, never, never.—” (5.3.369-372) Lear | There is no explanation nor good reason that Cordelia died… There was no justice served, no reward or retribution – Cordelia was good…Her death is not fair and an injustice |
King Lear – Justice
July 5, 2019