King Lear. Within the script Shakespeare presents characters of great greed and ambition in the effort to gain power. Their struggle towards power is followed,

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  1. “Drama is essentially about the struggle for power and the impact of this struggle on individuals.” How does Shakespeare use a range of literary conventions and writing techniques to explore this concept?

Within Shakespeare’s productions the struggle for power within individuals is represented; not only in script but stage directions and writing techniques. ‘King Lear’ is a tragedy, considered to be a literary masterpiece. Throughout the coinciding plots, conflicts between tragic heroes and their ‘loyal’ followers develop the major ideas of the play. The nature of the world, betrayal and loyalty are all themes that form the basis of these conflicts. Inevitably these themes provoke the audience to side with certain characters and create modern day analogies towards specific themes in the text; good battling evil is the cornerstone of the script and the inevitable struggle to regain power.

Within the script Shakespeare presents characters of great greed and ambition in the effort to gain power. Their struggle towards power is followed, Edmund seeking Gloucester’s title and Gonerill and Regan in the hunt for Lear’s land and power. Initially, the audience is presented with the ‘love test’ in which Lear’s daughters have to flatter their father into dividing the Kingdom. Consequently, Shakespeare foreshadows the repercussions of Lear’s actions through metaphor ‘We have seen the best of our time...all ruinous disorders follow us disquietly to our graves...we make guilty of our disasters... by and influenced obedience of planetary influence’. Through Gloucester’s words the direction of the play becomes increasingly obvious. From Act I we are presented with a struggle of power and more is foreshadowed.

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Manipulation is also a tool used by Shakespeare to create strong emotion within the battle of good vs. evil. The storm brewing outside the Kingdom is metaphorically what is going on inside Lear’s head. At this present time Lear is full of conflict, anger and disorder much like the environment ‘one minded like the weather, most unquietly’. Shakespeare is manipulating the audience, changing their emotions in accordance to the tone of the act.

Shakespeare has allowed the audience to form their own views on characters, only after providing strong persuasive symbols and intentions of their power. Symbolism is the ...

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