You wouldn’t call yourself a homophobe if you used faggot to describe Shakespeare’s time. You wouldn’t be considered a misogynist if you thought women were less capable than men. If you believed that the nation’s leader was God’s appointed hand on Earth, you wouldn’t even be considered crazy or unusual. King Lear, a timeless expression of the Jacobean age for which it was written, is undoubtedly an example of context. Shakespeare was able to capture the Jacobean world in which he and his readers lived and breathed by using dramatic techniques. Shakespeare connects the broad human experience with context-dependent notions. This allows us to understand King Lear’s context and challenges us as a modern audience to reflect on how our understanding of the text and of the world is influenced by our own contextual lenses.
Shakespeare, in King Lear, questions whether “the skies” are able to deliver justice and humanity to all or just “like desireon boys…kill us as their sport.” The plays tragedy is foreshadowed by Lear’s “darker” purpose, “to crawl unbeburdened toward his death.” This fundamental question is about the true nature or justice. Ironically, this expression of hubris refers to the “future struggle” that will come from trusting Goneril’s sister “of same metal”. It is little to Shakespeare’s eyes, but it was a serious offense against the heavens, and a careless mockery about the divine right to kings. Lear, in the God-fearing Jacobean mind, has already sealed his tragic fate by placing the world in order. This is further reinforced by the pathetic fallacy and the storm. Shakespeare isn’t restricted to exploring divine justice. Shakespeare uses conflict in order to demonstrate different views on justice. He uses characters such as “legitimate Edgar”, or “bastard Edmund”, as symbols for opposing ideologies. Edmund’s decision of acquiring “lands through wit” is a clear rejection to the Jacobean system and his disillusionmentment with natural justice. Edmund is a symbol of Renaissance thought. He seeks control and understanding of the natural world, while ignoring the supernatural. On the opposite side, Edmund’s younger brother, Edgar, is displayed to the audience. Edgar believes openly that “the Gods are Just” even in the face of great tragedy and horrific mutilation. Edgar is the Jacobean audience’s most common representation of justice. In one sense, divine judgment is delivered when most characters metaphorically “taste a cup of their merits”. However, when Cordelia dies, it leaves the audience with the question “Why should a horse, a dog, or a rat, live and have breath?” Shakespeare, in contrast to the more common view of justice, challenges the idea that absolute divine justice. Instead, the metaphor of “the circle is complete” shows that all characters are “made guilty of their [their] misfortunes the sun”. It effectively represents the superstitious context as well as making an attack on it with the words of Edmund. King Lear’s justice depicts it as a perpetual struggle between poetical and divine justice. Shakespeare is also attempting to attack the superstitious context through his conflicting justice modes. This conflict ultimately brings home the main point of King Lear, which is that justice is only a reflection in the context it’s being measured. In the Jacobean feudalistic, superstitious Jacobean era, the significance of identity in determining one’s destiny was unparalleled. To be “roughly lecherous” in life and “have lands with wit” was to have a certain star in the firmament “twinkle on [ones] bastonizing”.
“Not by birth” was intended to indicate a serious form and attack on God. Jacobean eyes also saw Lear’s early retirement as equal gravity. This contextual understanding of identity and fate is illustrated in Shakespeare’s juxtaposition of Edgar, an overly trusting brother, and Edmund, a cunning younger brother. They are in constant struggle between worldly ambition and faith in the divine. The audience is invited to both love or hate Edmund through his conflicted portrayal. Shakespeare uses Edmund’s soliloquys for insight into his prejudices. Shakespeare also uses bitter irony as a way to highlight the impact of identity on one’s fate through characters such the Fool, Kent, Albany’s servant and Kent. Each one offers sound, thoughtful counsel to the masters. But they are punished severely by people or by plot. Edmund is only able to see the truth of their context through characters like Kent, Albany’s servant, and the Fool. Contrary to modern viewers, who are drawn to the underdog, Shakespeare’s audience was determined to see the winner. If a character managed to transcend their caste, the Globe theatre would be sprayed with rotten fruit. Shakespeare uses deceitful characters and duplicity to criticize the Jacobean view on identity. Shakespeare is emulating Edmund’s philosophy, but still presenting it as incorrect in its context. Lear makes reference to this first by attempting to coerce Cordelia, who refused to “heave her hearts into her mouth” after accepting Goneril’s blatantly hyperbolic declarations about love. This is in contrast to Shakespeare’s usual contextual lens. He challenged his audience members to think about whether their superstitions are supernatural or self-fulfilling prophecies. Lear’s apparent blindness and willful wilfulness could also be considered a double entendre. This refers to William Allen’s scandalous division of his wealth between three daughters. It could also refer to Brian Annesley’s case, in which his daughter attempted to take his kingdom and make him insane. However, Cordell saved him.
After all the drama is over, the audience’s sentiments will be the most important indicator of context. Modern audiences see the world as chaotic and out of control. However, Jacobean viewers see justice and have restored order. Only the righteous have emerged unscathed from the maelstrom and can “grow” to “prosper.” This distinction not only reflects King Lear’s overwhelming influence on context, but also proves its true power by engaging audiences across vast gulfs of chronology, context, and time. The Jacobean context is immortalized in Shakespeare’s ability connect context and the larger human condition.
