The past week in AP Lit. we have been continuing to explore our critical theories in relation to the Shakespearean dramas, King Lear and MacBeth. My group is focusing our critical lens on mythological and analytic archetypes and properties evident in the play, King Lear. We changed our critical theory from a psychological approach to analyzing the play to a mythological approach for a better opportunity to expand our knowledge and to challenge ourselves seeing as our new approach is more difficult to extract.
At first, it was very challenging to figure out what aspect of mythology was present in the play. And, I think, this kind of came from us not thinking of "mythological evidence" in a more broad way. When you think about mythology and famous myths, you tend to think about fantasy and Gods/Goddesses. After further exploration of the topic of mythology, we discovered that mythology does not necessarily mean some make believe characters and super human journeys/actions.
We have decided to focus our paper on the archetypal hero found in almost any story since all stories are essentially the same story (How to Read Literature Like a Professor). There are certain aspects of mythological writing that are usually recurring and evoke human reaction, hence the reason for their creation. In King Lear, we have found unconventional heroism within Cordelia due to her bravery and loyalty.
The topic of exile is extremely prevalent through out the play and in almost every case of banishment or disinheritance, the "ultimate betrayal" takes place. The presence of power and the play's characters' desires for it are so immense they decide to perform unspeakable betrayals. Most of the betrayals happen between; father and son, father and daughter, half-brother and half-brother, and husband and wife; the people who you are supposed to love unconditionally.
Cordelia displays heroic bravery when she refuses to "play the game" like her sisters and resists the temptations of power and overcomes the evil power can cause with unconditional love. Though she does not elicit the typical heroic tendencies like great strength, the ability to fight, and saving a large body of people who respect her, Cordelia does have a "fatal flaw" (her love and loyalty; her humanity) that all heroes have and she fights for what she believes and loves despite that.
At first, it was very challenging to figure out what aspect of mythology was present in the play. And, I think, this kind of came from us not thinking of "mythological evidence" in a more broad way. When you think about mythology and famous myths, you tend to think about fantasy and Gods/Goddesses. After further exploration of the topic of mythology, we discovered that mythology does not necessarily mean some make believe characters and super human journeys/actions.
We have decided to focus our paper on the archetypal hero found in almost any story since all stories are essentially the same story (How to Read Literature Like a Professor). There are certain aspects of mythological writing that are usually recurring and evoke human reaction, hence the reason for their creation. In King Lear, we have found unconventional heroism within Cordelia due to her bravery and loyalty.
The topic of exile is extremely prevalent through out the play and in almost every case of banishment or disinheritance, the "ultimate betrayal" takes place. The presence of power and the play's characters' desires for it are so immense they decide to perform unspeakable betrayals. Most of the betrayals happen between; father and son, father and daughter, half-brother and half-brother, and husband and wife; the people who you are supposed to love unconditionally.
Cordelia displays heroic bravery when she refuses to "play the game" like her sisters and resists the temptations of power and overcomes the evil power can cause with unconditional love. Though she does not elicit the typical heroic tendencies like great strength, the ability to fight, and saving a large body of people who respect her, Cordelia does have a "fatal flaw" (her love and loyalty; her humanity) that all heroes have and she fights for what she believes and loves despite that.