At the beginning of the scene the audience will hear and visualize with Kent and Gloucester gesturing towards the map calling attention to the boundary lines as they talk the actors need to express clear attitudes towards the audience. The events will suggest that both characters are deeply concerned, even out raged. The actor playing Gloucester prevents his expression of his feelings by having to refer to “the division of the kingdoms”. I want the atmosphere at this point to be tense anxious in order to emphasize that the audience is not aware of what is going to happen.
When the play was performed at court on 26th December 1606 James I would have been interested in the portrayal of a King on the stage. I would instruct the actor playing King Lear to have a violent and wrenching action in order to show his power and intensity over others. I think that the King should a red costume; this red costume will contain the kingdoms map this will relate to the division, to show that he is cutting up his life. The red costume will also have gold and diamond accessories to lighten up the costume and give it a different taste. When the King says give me the map there should be the map rising to the ceiling drawing the audiences attention. As the King is speaking the all the lights will be on the map and the King.
When he inserts the love test, the Kings servant will give a green costume to each daughter, each costumer will contain one part of the divided kingdoms. This means that throughout the scene each daughter will be wearing a green costume containing one part of the kingdom. The reason for this is because the scene is on the division of the kingdoms and that the King intents to give each daughter one part of the kingdom. When Lear that Cordelia gets nothing makes the decision, the Kings servant will tare Cordelia’s costume into half and give one half to Goneril the other half to Regan.
When Goneril says:
‘Sir, I love you more than word can
wield the matter’
I will ask the actress to act like she is begging for one part of the kingdom, I will instruct her to go on the floor and speak in a tone of voice that will persuade Lear to give her part of the kingdom. I will also ask the actress to scream out the word love to her father to show him the amount that Goneril loves her father the actor will also repeat the word love three times to place into Lears head that Goneril really and truly loves her father. The reason why I will instruct the actress to do this is to show how much she loves her father and to also persuade him to keep the costume (Goneril’s division costume) on.
In contrast, when Cordelia says:
‘Nothing my Lord’
I will tell the actress playing Cordelia to say the word nothing in a soft toned voice. I will also instruct Cordelia to stand up and state her love; the reason for this is too show that she is not begging like her over daughters and that she is speaking the truth. The reason why she is going to say “nothing” in a soft toned voice so that she shows that she really does love her father.
A very important line in this scene is:
"Great rivals in our youngest daughter's love, long in our court have made their amorous sojourn, and here are to be answered. Tell me, my daughters (Since now we will divest us both of rule, Interest of territory, cares of state), Which of you shall we say doth love us most? That we our largest bounty may extend where nature doth with merit challenge."
The reason why this speech is very important is because this is the first and most significant of the many sins that he makes in this play. By abdicating his throne he disrupts the great chain of being, which states that the King must not challenge the position that God, has given him. This undermining of God's authority results in chaos that tears apart Lear's world. Leaving him, in the end, with nothing. Following this Lear begins to banish those around him that genuinely care for him, as at this stage he cannot see beyond the mask that the evil wear. He banishes Kent, a loyal servant to Lear, and his youngest and previously most loved daughter Cordelia. This results in Lear surrounding himself with people who only wish to use him which leaves him in danger. At this stage in the play Shakespeare is showing that he has constructed a puzzling story. This means that things that the audience thought that was going to happen fails. At the end of the scene the audience feels confused they were thinking that Cordelia will get part of the kingdom, banishing her and the Kings servant and most of all leaving Lear with the people that wants to use him and doesn’t like him.
BIRKAN AKIN 11SXL
ENGLISH
