• Discuss, as a class, what is meant by melody and spectacle as defined by Aristotle is Poetics. Brainstorm some instances where these elements are used to convey or support an idea in the script of King Lear.

The fool’s songs act as a voice of reason and are part of the melody, meaning that we can listen to it due to the rhythm. The storm is both melody and spectacle conveying nature and god’s will, Lear’s mental state and the chaos of the country. The violence of the storm is indicated by descriptive literal imagery and onomatopoeia. Clothes are another example of spectacle as it visually shows the status of the characters, particularly when Lear ‘tears off his garments’ to become a bare forked animal and sports a crown of various weeds and animals. Other more insignificant examples are the various horn sounds throughout the play which typically occur when royalty (Cordelia) is arriving.

• Students are to select two of the examples we have discussed from above and collate any notes they have already created in a new blog post.

Shakespeare uses melody and spectacle in a highly symbolic manner to communicate important ideas about the characters power in the play and their mental state.

The storm is both melody and spectacle and is highly symbolic as it represents the internal turmoil of Lear, as he is becoming more and more mad and unstable. In brackets, the script indicates the approaching of a storm which the audience would hear via makeshift sound effects such as shaking of copper. The arrival of the storm perfectly encaptures how Lear is feeling upon being rejected by his on flesh and blood, the old man proclaiming “I have full cause of weeping, but this heart shall break into a hundred thousand flaws or ere I’ll weep. O fool, I shall go mad!”. The storm is also indicative of the state of the world and how chaotic society has become as a result of the breaking of the great chain of being making the gods angry with the upsetting of order. Lear highlights the Storm’s violence visually, Shakespeare chose this storm because of how dramatic a storm presents itself to be and how much of a negative connotation a storm has in society, helping the audience understand, using their experiences with storms, just how chaotic the world has become.

The fools songs are an example of melody, the audience hearing him sing and the reader feeling the rhythm of each verse. The fool’s songs indicate wisdom and insight into what the occurrences within act 1 scene 4 means in terms of references to Lear’s hamartia. “That such a king should play bo-peep and go the fools among” is the fool singing about the downfall or hamartia of Lear being his blindness to the truth of his daughter’s intentions of uttering their false love and obtaining his kingdom and power. This voice of reason provided by a character who is supposed to be silly and humorous, essentially acting stupid for the king’s entertainment is ironic and not right, the fool, in the Elizabethan world being uneducated and of low class and not an advisor or influence to the King’ decisions, thus indicating the chaotic imbalance of the world. Later on, after the Fool is most certainly killed off via hanging, Edgar, who is portraying someone of the lowest possible social class, becomes the new voice of reason, offering similar rhymes and melodies and offering truthful insight into Lear. This may indicate that the world has become even more chaotic since the wisest of all has become someone perceived to be the lowest possible human form. Edgar states “He had no other deathsman. Let us see. Leave, gentle wax; and manners, blame us not:his To know our enemies’ minds, we rip their hearts; Their papers is more lawful”, meaning that they did not respect us so we shouldn’t have to open their letters respectfully and though we have this newfound information, the only way to really understand what the daughters are thinking would be to tear their hearts open and look inside.

Clothing is an important example of spectacle since through knowledge of what the characters are wearing the audience or reader gains an idea of their class or position within the great chain of being, clothes, therefore, being a symbol. The fool offering Kent his coxcomb is important in establishing the importance of clothes or accessories in how the characters are viewed, the fool insisting “for taking one’s part that’s out of favour. Nay, an thou canst not smile as the wind sits, thou’lt catch cold shortly. There, take mt coxcomb! The fool claims that Kent is the true fool for returning to Lear and deserves to dress as a fool does as opposed to the Fool himself (who is much more intelligent or sensical). Much later on in the play, Lear tears his garments stating that “is man no more than this?… thou owest no worm no silk, no beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the cat no perfume…. unaccommodated man is no more but such a poor, bare, forked animal… off, off you lendings! Come, unbutton here.” Not only is this a comment on the fact that humans are merely animals who chose to wear clothing (the animals listed wearing clothing but underneath all are just bare-skinned), but symbolic of Lear’s transition from commoner to an animal in terms of the great chain. This spectacle of Lear turning naked encaptures this transformation from a once King to a ‘beast’ as Lear puts it.