• Congratulations to the Class of 2024 on your results!
    Let us know how you went here
    Got a question about your uni preferences? Ask us here

Chaos and Order in KING lear (1 Viewer)

ducs

New Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2003
Messages
1
HI
i was wondering if some1 can tell me wat chaos and order is..
and is it an interepretation?
also would be appreciated if any1 can answer this question(just structure of essay not full essay) " How might different productions dramatise the struggle between chaos and order in king Lear?"
 

ballerinabarbie

bundy for me
Joined
Mar 21, 2003
Messages
719
Location
Somewhere in NSW... who knows?
Gender
Female
HSC
2003
firstly chaos/order is not really an interpretation however you can kind relate this to an arestotelian reading (which emphasises the importance of nature and fate through a progression from order to disorder)

here are just a few examples that may help with that essay question

*traditional interpretations of this play would emphasise lear's fall from power (ie. he goes from an ordered world to a chaotic world) and this is emphasised by nature (ie. he is outside in the storm as his world is falling)

*Peter Brook's production (1962) - the stage is bare and simple, suggesting a world of constant decay/decomposition... also, as the play goes on, the stage itself seems to 'erode'

i hope this kinda helped... maybe someone else could shed some light on the essay question?
 

chip

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2003
Messages
477
Location
sydney
Gender
Female
HSC
2003
last years question was discuss chaos and order in several productions and how it is depicted so i doubt that a question like this will be given again this year

its a theme not an interpretation
 

iambored

dum-di-dum
Joined
Apr 27, 2003
Messages
10,862
Location
here
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2003
you show how chaose and order come across in the interpretations. maybe how feminst production shows chaos, when chaos begins, when order is restored
 

Gregor Samsa

That Guy
Joined
Aug 18, 2003
Messages
1,350
Location
Permanent Daylight
Gender
Male
HSC
2003
Thematically, the tension between chaos and order in King Lear is effectively that of anarchy and monarchy. It is when Lear abdicates the thone that a state of chaos begins to develop within his kingdom. This may be represented in a production through a variety of means, ranging from symbolism to costuming to trundicated dialogue.

The Brook adaption is good for 'chaos', for almost the entirety of the film revolves around a chaotic, absurdist depiction of the play's events. This can be clearly seen in the battle scenes, where the camera is tinted, limiting light and conveying confusion. Additionally, order deteriorates in terms of relationships, as seen by Act III, Scene VII, where the alteration of dialogue presents the servant as not acting heroically, but instead participating in betrayal, I have served you since I was a child, also seen in the boorish behaviour of Lear's knights.. This sense of chaos pervades the film, and is an important part of Brook's interpretation.

Apparently, it's good to use hypothetical productions for a question of that order, basing them upon real ones but adding other elements to strengthen your argument, like say. In the author's production, chaos is a central aspect of the text, and is thus a vital aspect of the depiction.. This is seen in.. (But more eloquently written.)
 

jpk

Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2003
Messages
154
so u think in any KIng Lear question u have to tlk about chaos and order???
 

s2ophie

**********
Joined
May 20, 2003
Messages
1,204
Location
.
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2003
Originally posted by jpk
so u think in any KIng Lear question u have to tlk about chaos and order???
quite easily because its one of the main thematic concerns of the play however i doubt they will have a question on it speifically because it was the 2001 question.
 

braindrainedAsh

Journalist
Joined
Feb 20, 2003
Messages
4,268
Location
Sydney
Gender
Female
HSC
2003
Also, in Elizabethan thought there is a natural order to life. Lear disturbs this order by adbicating his kingdom, dividing it, and disowning Cordelia. You will notice in the play that things are cursed as being "unnatural", this means they do not adhere to what is seen as the natural social order e.g. Edmund (he is a bastard)... Lear's disturbing of this natural order is seen from an Elizabethan world view to be the catalyst for all of the sufferings that result.

Also, if you research the definition of an Aristotelian tragedy you will see that a descent from order to chaos is part of the definition.

Think of this, what is "chaotic" in the play?

-Lear's daughters having power over him (reverse of the patriarchy which was part of the Elizabethan order)
-Lear's madness (which he claims to be a result of "filial ingratitude")
-The subplot, where Gloucester thinks his son is plotting against him, due to the "unnatural" Edmund
-and so on....

Hope this helps...
 

Gregor Samsa

That Guy
Joined
Aug 18, 2003
Messages
1,350
Location
Permanent Daylight
Gender
Male
HSC
2003
Originally posted by braindrainedAsh
Also, in Elizabethan thought there is a natural order to life. Lear disturbs this order by adbicating his kingdom, dividing it, and disowning Cordelia. You will notice in the play that things are cursed as being "unnatural", this means they do not adhere to what is seen as the natural social order e.g. Edmund (he is a bastard)... Lear's disturbing of this natural order is seen from an Elizabethan world view to be the catalyst for all of the sufferings that result.

Also, if you research the definition of an Aristotelian tragedy you will see that a descent from order to chaos is part of the definition.

Think of this, what is "chaotic" in the play?

-Lear's daughters having power over him (reverse of the patriarchy which was part of the Elizabethan order)
-Lear's madness (which he claims to be a result of "filial ingratitude")
-The subplot, where Gloucester thinks his son is plotting against him, due to the "unnatural" Edmund
-and so on....

Hope this helps...
Agreed. I think an important quote in supporting this concept is one uttered by the gentleman...
Thou hast a daughter who redeems nature from the chaos which twain have brought her to (IV, vi)
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top