Year 12 IB Extended Essays 2017

on the human nature of suffering and kinship. Based on the ancient Celtic legend of Leir of

Britain, the play is set in Ancient Britain. The play is regarded as one of Shakespeare’s supreme

literary achievements, despite the dark, macabre tone which repelled conservative audiences in

the Victorian era (Taylor & Warren, 1983). During Shakespeare’s writing of King Lear,

England was emerging from decades of turmoil, on religious, political and monarchical

grounds. The upheaval of Parliament following the death of King Henry VIII and his daughter

Mary I’s rule exposed England to mass civil and religious dissent, and conflict between

Catholicism and the Church of England rose exponentially – eventually resulting in Mary’s

death and the ascension of Elizabeth I to the throne. Despite the bloodshed, this ensued a period

of peace and stability for England. After an extended period of ambiguous tension, Elizabethan

audiences would have been horrified at Shakespeare’s presentation of Lear dividing his

kingdom, in effect creating discord and generating interest in the play itself (Bengsston, 2013).

King Lear focuses on the duality of human nature, and the contrast between stability and

instability. Though King Lear vacillates between the two given the tenacity of his mental state;

the remaining characters are wedged apart – a clear distinction between stable good (Cordelia,

Gloucester, Kent), and the dangers of instability (Edmund, Goneril, Regan) (Danby, 1949).

Extended Essay

ENGLISH A1

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