Our method for the monthly meditations on a particular play will include going through an act or two every week, in addition to other items of Shakespearean interest. In this way, we’ll make it through the 5 acts of the play while having fun with other Shakespearean insights every few days.
As the 12th day of Christmas comes upon us, and I return to work, my plan will be to post 2-3 times per week, every few days.
Before we dive deeper into King Lear, I want to take a step back and offer these 5 Principles for Interpreting Shakespeare. Just like strings need to be tuned before playing, we need to tune our minds before reading or hearing Shakespeare. The 5 Principles are -
What is the genre of the play?
When was the play staged?
When was the play published?
Characters have names, what do those names mean?
What is the story? And how is it crafted / told?
To know the genre helps us know how to approach the play. We're looking for hints of how to interpret the literal play in a spiritual way. To do that, we need to know the genre. A history play has limitations, e.g., the names are not chosen by the author, they are based on historical folks. So if Richard is a combination of ancient words that mean "powerful and brave" it's not as powerful for us to know that for a historical character in Richard III as it would be in a fictional character. But if The Tempest's Sycorax sounds like "Pyscho Rex" so it could be "pyscho royalty," that’s an interesting insight to pay attention to.
To know how to unlock codes correctly, we start by understanding if the play was a comedy, tragedy, or history. That's how his friends categorized them in the first folio. That's how we'll do it. Problem plays aren't problems for Catholics.
To know when the play was staged is helpful to understand the historical climate. Was it under Queen Elizabeth or King James? What were the events in England and the Globe at the time? So, when Macbeth's enemies shout "Hail King of Scotland," there is meaning pregnant in that simple phrase, it's helpful to know this was shouted in the Globe at the same time the English were welcoming the Scottish King James VI as the new ruler of England, the famous King James I of England.
To know when the play was published helps us understand the measure of catholicity in the play. Under totalitarian regimes, like Elizabethan and Jacobean England, there are severe Censorship laws. It’s no wonder Shakespeare didn’t concern himself with publishing plays, Catholic works were banned from being published. So, Shakespeare's more overtly Catholic works like Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Twelfth Night had to wait until the author's death when there was a brief break in Censorship laws that allowed Catholics to freely publish for a time. Hence the First Folio, published in 1623, was able to include these more Catholic works of art, Catholic works which were unable to be legally published under the totalitarian State Shakespeare suffered under.
To know the meaning of the Character's names matters in properly unlocking how to interpret the spiritual messages hidden from censors for Christians. Because King Lear is both a Tragedy that was loosely based on British history, we have to be careful how and when we apply the name meanings. Especially if we don't know the source stories, we tread lightly. The more we know Shakespeare's artistic choices in building or changing the source stories, the more we can understand the impact of the hidden meanings of the names of certain characters. These hidden meanings are especially pronounced in other plays.
To know the story, it's flow, plot twists, symbolic choices, artistic choices, to know Shakespeare choices in storytelling, this is the final piece that helps us truly get to know Shakespeare. Starting a play like King Lear with an oath on love, this is an important set up scene to help us understand what to look for in the rest of the play.
Storytelling is an art, and Shakespeare had a message to share with the masses. He used art to share truth. He used lies to hide from censors while still getting truth to the people. Half the story has never been told, and we're here to tell the other half.
To know or not to know these things will affect how well we know Shakespeare.
As Americans, by seeing Shakespeare we'll see the separation of Church and State in new ways and appreciate our First Amendment rights even more. As Christians, we'll see the roots of the separation of Christendom and hopefully have more love and respect for one another by understanding the roots of our differences and also what we have in common. And as Catholics, we'll gain an appreciation and love for one of our greatest poets and playwrights and learn more stories about how saints and artists dealt with totalitarian royals and rulers.
So, to know or not to know, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of Shakespearean ignorance, or to take Shakespearean insight amidst a sea of plays, and in doing so have eyes to see and ears to hear, that is the question for us here today.
Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth!I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
Things that we have heard and known,
That our fathers have told us.We will not hide them from their children,
But tell to the coming generations
The glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
And the wonders which he has wrought.