King Lear - Freud and A. C. Bradley help? (1 Viewer)

[allyteaded]

Is anyone using either of the two criticts of King Lear above?

I just wanted to verify the info I got from the internet -

Sigmund Freud or the freudian reading of King Lear:

* the 'phallus' is valued (I find this very - strange btw...) and a woman's awareness of the phallus envokes her desire for one as she does not own one and feels a sense of loss. Freud explains that the sight of woman's genitalia horrifies the young boy because he does not see what is there but sees an absence of a phallus. Phallus has a unique subconscious value; without a penis, one is worthless, one is deprived. The men in "Lear" have possession and substance, thus power; women have nothing. Cordelia's rejection of Lear's 'phallus' - his power, leads her to become degraded in value as a person.

(quite subjective - however arguable I think... *shivers*)

* Cordelia as the goddess of Death. She represents death in which human nature instinctively evades, thus Lear's reaction to Cordelia's "nothing." ("Nothing" is a symbol of death.)

* Theatre as a dream - like dreams, plays do not have to make sense. It does not matter that the portrayal of Cordelia in opening scene contradicts her actions further on in the play. The fool normally speaks in riddles - in a dream. The darkness

*absence of a maternal figure leads Gonerill and Regan to take on masculine roles, leaving their husbands to take on the feminine, mother role as Lear's power is transfered to them.

As I said, I'm just checking whether what I have read was actually true to Freud's interpretation or whether it was bogus. However, the essay was well written and it did make valid arguments. Also if anyone has any sites they can refer me to Freud - most welcome! Please? (I can't find any other decent ones.)

as for A. C. Bradley - I'm still going through his very long lectures. I'll be back to post up notes. If anyone has any - or even any sites, could you let me know please? thanks!

 

[allyteaded]

please please someone help... The notes above are pretty much in my own words too so yeah.

 

[~TeLEpAtHeTiC~]

thats stuff bout freud seems really bs...
no offence
did u really get that of the net and is it in relation to king lear

as far as i understand it and i havn't studied eng yet so this is just generalisation
but from what i hav read on net and also my teachers..
freuds critique stated that several instances in king lear are not becuase of the females desire for a 'phallus'
but due to the lack of the female 'mother figure' in he play...
for this reason you observe characters such as
g and r take a dominent role as female figures
as well as cordelia who can be argued is the 'replacement' mother figure in the play

fruedian critique also goes as far as to say lear poccesses insentual feelings to ward his daughter..
hold on.i'll get my analysis of fruedian critique on king lear..its on my computer somewhere.....

 

[allyteaded]

Oooh. thanks. I'll look for the site where I got the essay from.

It did sound a bit far fetched to me.

If I can't find it I'll upload it here. See what people think. If tis bs - or if it's a valid argument.

 

[~TeLEpAtHeTiC~]

ok here is what i hav ..it isn't very refiend cause like i said i havn't studied eng yet..but anyways

Freudian Interpretation:
A Freudian analysis lays great emphasis on the unconscious and irrational and in doing so argues that actions and motives are not manifestations from conscious, rational sources, but from another locality.
The notion that dreams are the conscious minds window to an individuals thoughts is stressed by Freudian analysts and in the case of King Lear, it is argued that his situation is caused by a lack of a maternal presence in his life. Due to this void, it is disputed that Lear seeks to rectify himself by seeking conciliation through his daughters. Lear recognised his daughters motives after a complex self-realisation journey and by participating in this process, was able to fill his void without his reliance on his daughters as manifestations of a matriarchal presence.
Although more extreme, Freudians also explore the idea of King Lear possessing incestual connotations for his children. This is so due to the lack of any female presence other than his daughters within the play. It is his incestual desires that hinder any rational thought, causing him to fall victim and leave himself vulnerable to Goneril's and Regans manipulations. In the end it is these unworldly desires that bring about chaos and ultimately the Kings death.


there we go

 

[allyteaded]

Here it is...

"Symbolism of Nothing in King Lear and Freud"

 

[allyteaded]

Thanks so much ~TeLEpAtHeTiC~ !!

Rough notes are cool - just so I can get an idea of what's bull and what's actually right - just can't trust the internet always...

We didn't actually go through any interpretations in class. Which is why I'm totally lost with criticts. It's only recently that I found out that it's recommended to use a critict - and Freud was closest to my psychoanalytic approach.

Seriously - did other schools go through interpretations in class? we didn't... argh... we just picked certain scenes and said how we could interpret them. We never studied marxist or feminist in depth - I'm so lost...

Originally posted by ~TeLEpAtHeTiC~
causing him to fall victim and leave himself vulnerable to Goneril's and Regans manipulations.

as a token of my gratitude - it might not be much - I thought I'd share an example since you haven't studied yet - (neither have I really!!)

In the first scene, Lear's "love test" obligates Gonerill and Regan to provide narcissistic pleasure for Lear in order to gain power and possession, their portion of the kingdom, however by Act 2, Scene 4, an inversion of power which has transfered from Lear to his daughters is denoted; Emotive language is used in attempts to gain Regan's sympathy in order to fullfil his desire for her care.

LEAR: No, Regan, thou shalt never have my curse.
Thy tender-hefted nature shall not give
Thee o'er to harshness. Her eyes are fierce, but thine
Do comfort and not burn.


It's very rough. You could probably put it into better words.

Ciao.

Everyone else - any good sites on A. C. Bradley? Short notes?

 

[~TeLEpAtHeTiC~]

as a token of my gratitude - it might not be much - I thought I'd share an example since you haven't studied yet - (neither have I really!!)

In the first scene, Lear's "love test" obligates Gonerill and Regan to provide narcissistic pleasure for Lear however by Act 2, Scene 4, an inversion of power which has transfered from Lear to his daughters is denoted; Emotive language is used in attempts to gain Regan's sympathy.

LEAR: No, Regan, thou shalt never have my curse.
Thy tender-hefted nature shall not give
Thee o'er to harshness. Her eyes are fierce, but thine
Do comfort and not burn.




WE STUDIED THAT..lol

 

[allyteaded]

really? Oh hehe... I kind of made that up on my own... aighoo - this is me trying to be original.

 

[~TeLEpAtHeTiC~]

heh good work...anyways good luck wit king lear.. its a good topic
hav fun

 

[arn_e]

a note if ur doing Freud its best to mention the theme of the "three caskets/3 fates" as they are the most important freudian analysis, ie."no man ever choose death etc etc" pm me if u want those notes and with Bradly is a great one to do... cbf typing