King Lear Essay | Critical Essay #2

King Lear Critical Essay #2

William R. Elton claims that the double plot in King Lear serves a variety of purposes. The Gloucester subplot, he suggests, serves as a frame for the main story, offering a more prosaic version of Lear's tragedy. It also heightens and enriches the central narrative, Elton argues, intensifying the portrayal of the king's mental anguish through the depiction of Gloucester's physical suffering. He also notes that the contrapuntal movement back and forth between the two plots maintains our interest by featuring diverse characters and events that reflect the central issues in the play. Ian W. O. House also remarks on this switching back and forth between the two stories. Whichever way we turn, he points out, we are confronted by the same underlying premise: evil is a permanent element in human existence. House also calls attention to the way that the subplot alternately disturbs and clarifies our comprehension of the...
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