20. Act 4, Scene 6: The Return of Lear

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we read through the middle third of Act 4, Scene 6, from the point that Lear appears dressed in flowers to the point where he runs off again. In particular, we think about: (i) Lear’s journey from ignorance to self-awareness; (ii) the relationship between art and nature (“Nature’s above art in that respect”, 85); (iii) the relationship between Lear and Gloucester; and (iv) the themes of ‘patients’ and ‘patience’ (“Thou must be patient”, 173).

Course

In this twenty-five part course, Professor John McRae (University of Nottingham) explores Shakespeare’s King Lear. We begin with a broad introduction to the historical, political and intellectual context of early 17th-century England. After that, we go through the play scene by scene, providing close reading and detailed analysis, with commentary on character, plot, themes and motifs, language, symbolism – and more.

We use the Arden (Third Series) edition of the play. Students using a different edition of the play may encounter slight differences in both the text and line numbers.

Lecturer

John McRae is Special Professor of Language in Literature Studies and Teaching Associate in the School of English at Nottingham University, and holds Visiting Professorships in China, Malaysia, Spain and the USA. He is co-author of The Routledge History of Literature in English with Ron Carter, and also wrote The Language of Poetry, Literature with a Small 'l' and the first critical edition of Teleny by Oscar Wilde and others.