Point of Grace

In Shakespeare's King Lear, Edmund at the end chooses to do something good with his life and hints to the impending massacre of Cordelia and Lear. I thought it was very human of somebody who has not been recognized as a legitimate son to be jealous and wonder why not him, and somewhere along those contemplations he grew tired of being ignored that just wanted his life to mean something or prove self-worth. Granted that he was caught as a conspirator, Edmund found no worth in his endeavors and at the end he chose to do something good. Maybe I'm interpolating too much but Edmund was human and even though he was bad but he had reasons; however in the end, he chose to do something good when he could have simply died with his damaged pride.

P.s. I commented on Susan's

In Defense of Cordelia

So, once again I will talk about Cordelia. I still don’t agree with Abernathy. Cordelia wasn’t stupid when she refused to say anything to her father. Her father came up with the competition and forced his daughters to come up with answers on the spot. She was placed in a position where she had to come up with a private answer in an embarrassing situation. But, of all three of the girls, her answer was the most honest. If you love someone enough, you can’t express it.

Congratulations to our new Honors Council, Tinsley, Brian, Molly, Rebekah, and Gary, you guys deserve it and I am incredibly proud of all of you!

Tantum e tenebris receptum constabit

Meghan

PS I commented on Skylar's "The Wise Fool"

PPS My title is a play on Morris' "The Defense of Guinevere" and is in honor of my wonderful friend Bethany who talked about Arthur tonight!!

Long Live the King

While I know that many people believe that it is terrible to have a monarchy, or some form of government where one person rule, I for one do not think that it would be such a bad thing.  This is why I disagree with the writings of Milton to turn people against the king, and Brutus to turn people against Caesar.  I also believe that if citizens of a nation want something bad enough, they will fight as long as they have to until they get it.  In England, the commoners wanted to have a king, even though they were told that democracy would be better.  In Rome, Brutus and the Senate tried to keep the old government when the people wanted to change. I think that if people want a monarchy, it is not so bad to give it to them.

p.s. I commented on Mallory's

-Susan

The Wise Fool

         I must say one of the parts that truly intrigued me, when discussing King Lear the other day in class, was the prophecy of the Fool in Act III scene two. His prophecy is about when the kingdom of England will come to ruin and he lists different things that will occur. I was able to sort the things that will happen into three categories.
         At a first they all seem like things that will never happen but probably should such as whores building churches, no one slandering, the thief  not stealing, or the nobleman teaching his tailor how to sew. Secondly, they seem to describe things that are already happening but probably shouldn't such as when the  priests are not practicing what they preach, when brewers dilute their beer with water, or when moneylenders count their money out in the open. Thirdly, in my opinion he is almost saying that whenever everyone is true to themselves or their stereotypes whether they are good or bad, for example if your a gentleman you shouldn't be in debt or if your a lawyer your should judge every case fairly, then the kingdom will fall. While some of the things he mentions can fit into two or more categories there are some that only fit into one
         So what exactly the Fool is saying I'm not sure, but it is slightly ironic to me that though he is characterized as the Fool he seems more wise than others in the play.  In a way I think the Fool is simply pointing out that the ruin of the kingdom of England might already be occurring and that the characters need to be very careful with their next actions.


p.s. commented on Mallory Searcy's I love Lear

I love lear.

For anyone wondering where in the world I've been, I have mono:(. however, i've been keeping up with all the honors reading and it was probably the worst thing I could have done. Taking cold medicine and reading King Lear was extremely upsetting. King Lear is so TRAGIC. I love him. I don't know why I love king lear but I do.
I've thought a lot about shakespeare's life and if he put any of himself into lear. he wrote it ten years before he died and it is one of his later plays. I was really fascinated by the fact that it is Lear's old age that gets him mistreated. I thought of so many people who are cast aside because of their age. It seems a terribly consistent part of human nature. I wonder if our modern Love story blocks us from writing and creating great stories about different aspects of life. The genius of this is that it isn't Romeo and Juliet. Yet it is equally part of the human experience.

Kent

One of the characters I admired for their loyalty was Kent. He is one honest man who has the best interest of the king at hand. I think it is interesting that the portion that we have so far read it seems Kent has been betrayed by his good honest nature. The reason the king banished him and the reason he was punished was because of his inability to tolerate dishonest people and it seems that these strength is as well his weakness.

P.s. I commented on becca's

What a Guy

While reading King Lear, one character who really stood out to me was Kent. As the story went on I really began to admire him for his loyalty and honesty. Even though it gets him into trouble, Kent remains an honest and outspoken character while remaining extremely loyal to King Lear the whole time. One of the most amazing things to me was how he disguised himself after being banished by King Lear so that he could go on serving him. This made me think of Psalm 84:10- "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked." Although not quite the same, Kent's mindset was something like this. That is what I found to be so admirable about him, that he was so loyal to King Lear that he would rather be a servant to him than go on living anywhere else.

PS I commented on Molly's "Bad Rulers"