Will
the real king lear please stand up?
William
Shakespeare’s King Lear is a story that has been interpreted in
many different ages through the lens of many different cultures. As a part of this class, you have watched a
very traditional stage production of the play starring James Earl Jones as the
ill-fated English king (left), a made-for-television version of the play
transported to the American old west starring Patrick Stewart as ranch owner
John Lear (center) and an Academy Award winning Japanese film directed by Akira
Kurasowa which sets the King Lear story in the waning days of the
Samurai.
It
is now your job to compare and contrast
the three versions of the story and analyze what changes have been made in
setting, character and plot but, more importantly, what happens to the play’s
central themes when these changes occur.
Use
the information in the chart below to help guide your own analysis.
|
|
King Lear |
King of Texas |
Ran |
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Setting:
time and place |
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|
|
|
Description
of Lear |
|
|
|
|
Description
of daughters (in Ran, sons |
|
|
|
|
Description
of “Gloucester” character |
|
|
|
|
List of
the dead; fate of the kingdom |
|
|
|
|
Final
screen image; including content, composition, angle and lighting |
|
|
|
After filling the
chart above, use the information to answer the following questions:
1. What
are the most significant “physical changes” among the three stories? Identify
the most dramatic changes in setting, character and plot.
2. What
themes are established in the most traditional production of the play and how
are those themes altered in the play’s translation in King of Texas
and Ran?
- Do the three versions of the King Lear story agree clearly or sharply disagree on ideas of basic human nature and human behavior; are the three versions ultimately optimistic, pessimistic or ambivalent portrayals of the human condition?
Lookin’
For A Little Insight?
If you’re looking for a way to jumpstart your own ideas, you might want to visit one or more of the following websites:
Information on the Films
Check the Internet Movie Database @ www.imdb.com
Information on the Play
Check out TheatreHistory.com/british/kinglear001.html
Try www.sparknotes.com/Shakespeare/lear/
Refresh your memory of the
text @ http://Shakespeare.com/FirstFolio/King_Lear
Pick up helpful thoughts at www.allShakespeare.com/kl.php