| King Lear | Winter’s Tale |
| Starts out with King Lear going about business, nothing unusual | Starts out with King Leontes going about business, nothing unusual |
| Other characters come in, King Lear makes rash decision about his daughter | After some interaction, King Leontes makes rash decision about his wife |
| Kent tries to be the voice of reason and is cast out | Leontes confides in Camillo, who eventually flees with Polixenes |
In both plays, the stage is set for a King to recognize his faults, change, and seek forgiveness. I'm curious to see what role "accepting someone back into society" will play in King Lear versus the Winter's Tale.
Nice parallel there. I thought of that too. It will be interesting to see at what point King Lear departs from the plotline of The Winters Tale, or if it departs at all. If it doesn't depart, why write two plays that are so similar? And if they are different, what does that difference mean?
ReplyDeleteWe'll have to find out.
Nice Matt; it seems that they foundation is the same for these two plays. I think it would be interesting to compare transformations. I've noticed that some of the transformations characters have made are a bit harder to believe than others; Prospero for example was a less believable transformation to me than the transformation Macbeth made (though they were transforming in different directions).
ReplyDeleteGood quick analysis, and good comments. What predictions could you make on the differences, based on your knowledge that the first play was a romance, and the second a tragedy?
ReplyDeleteEveryone dies! :D
ReplyDeleteYou forgot the focus on lips at the end. Lear dies, possibly believing he's seen a breath of life on Cordelia's lips: "look there, look there". In the Winter's Tale, that glimpse of life is made true: "the very life seems warm upon her lips," Leontes says, and this time the tragedy is averted as the wronged woman returns to life.
ReplyDelete