Rice University

The Written and Oral Sources of King Lear and the Problem of Justice in the Play
Author(s): Alan R. Young
Source: Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, Vol. 15, No. 2, Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama
(Spring, 1975), pp. 309-319
Published by: Rice University
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/449674
Accessed: 07-01-2016 05:05 UTC

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 The Writtenand Oral Sources of King Lear
and the Problemof Justicein the Play

ALAN R. YOUNG

SourcestudiesofKing Lear haverevealed

that the story of Leir and his daughters was well-known to
Shakespeare'scontemporariesfroma numberof earlierwrittenver-
sions. ArdentLondon theater-goers, even if theycould not read,
would also have been familiarwith thestoryafterseeingKing Leir,
which was probablyperformed in theearly1590'sand, accordingto
its title-page,"diversand sundrytimeslatelyacted" just priorto its
publication in 1605.1This paper will also considera possible third
kind of source-that of oral tradition-and describecertainfolk-
storieswhich appear to parallel the plot-patternof the King Leir
story.It will be arguedthatShakespeare'splay distortsnot only the
plot-pattern of thestoryas itappearsin his writtensources,butofthat
found in oral traditionas well. By thisdeliberatethwartingof his
audience'sexpectations,Shakespearecreatedone ofthemajorcritical
problems of his play-that of the justice or otherwise of the
catastrophe.By consideringShakespeare'streatment ofhis sources,I
hope to suggesta new approach bywhichthisproblemmightbe ex-
plored.
In additionto theprobabledirectliterary sourcesforShakespeare's
play,2chroniclersand poetsprovidemanyversionsof theLeir story,3
extendingin timefromthefirstrecordedversionof thestoryin Geof-
freyof Monmouth'sHistoria Regum Britanniae(1135) to 1603,the

'The title-pagemayhave beendeliberatelymisleading,a matterdiscussedbyW. W.

Greg in "The Date of King Lear and Shakespeare'sUse of Earlier Versionsof the
Story,"Library,4th Ser., 20 (1939-1940),382-384.
2KennethMuir discussesthesein his introductionto theNew ArdeneditionofKing
Lear (London, 1957),pp. xxvi-xliii.All quotationsfromtheplay will be fromthisedi-
tion.
3Alist of printedand manuscriptaccountsis givenby Emile Bode in Die Learsage
vorShakespeare(Halle, 1904),pp. 139-142.Cf. WilfredPerrett,The StoryofKingLear
From Geoffrey ofMonmouth to Shakespeare(Berlin,1904). In all, some 50 to 60 ver-
sions of thestoryexisted(Muir,p. xliiin.). Its widespreadcurrencycan be judged from
thesurvivalofsome565manuscriptaccountsdatingfromthethreeand a halfcenturies
immediatelyprecedingtheinventionoftheprintingpress,and fromtheno lessthan32
printedaccounts(sevenofthemreprintsor translationsofmedievalchronicles)and the
total of some 115 editionsdating frombetween1470and 1605 (Bode, p. 36).

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310 KING LEAR

earliestdate at whichShakespeare'splay could have beenwritten.4 It

is now generallybelievedthatGeoffrey's own sourcewas some early
folktaleor legend,5possiblyof orientalorigin.6This is of especial
significancewhenone is madeawareoftheexistenceoftwogroupsof
folktaleswith patternsclosely analogous to thatof the King Leir
story,which also appear to originatein theorient.
The firstgroup is best representedby the Cinderella stories
folkloristsclassifyas Types 510Aand 51OB.7These talesare notonly
among theoldestknownbutare foundwidelydisseminatedin a vast
numberof versions.8A Chinese versiondates fromthe 9th century
A.D., while othersappear in many influentialliterarycollections
fromthesixteenthcenturyon, includingthoseof Straparola,Basile,
and Perrault.9 The othergroup,classifiedas Type 923,is relatedtothe
first,and existsall overWesternEurope, in Scandinavia,Malta, the
Balkans, South Africa,Turkeyand India.10I would argue herethat
thesetwo groups of tales representan oral traditionrelatedto the
original source of Geoffreyof Monmouth's tale of King Leir from
which derive the various written transmissionsleading up to
Shakespeare'splay." At thesame time,I would suggestthattheoral
source,in theformof the510 and 923 Types of folktale,almostcer-
tainlyexistedside by side with the legend of King Leir.
The talesof the510 Type closestin patternto theKing Leir story

4Greg,"The Date of King Lear," p. 377.

5J.S. P. Tatlock,The LegendaryHistoryofBritain(Berkeleyand Los Angeles,1950),
p. 381.
6EdmundFaral,LaLe'gendeArthurienne: EtudesetDocuments(Paris,1929),II, 112.
All quotations fromGeoffrey will be fromthisedition.
7AnttiAarne and StithThompson, The Types of the Folktale,2nd rev.,FFC, 75
(1961), 175-178,322.
8The two basic studiesof the 510 Type are Marian R. Cox's Cinderella (London,
1892),and Anna B. Rooth's The CinderellaCycle(Lund, 1951).The disseminationof
versionsis describedby JohannesBolte and Georg Polivka in Anmerkungenzu den
Kinder und Hausmarchen der BrfiderGrimm(1913-1932;rpt.Hildesheim, 1963), I,
165-188,and II, 45-56 (cf.Cox, pp. xxvii-xxxi).
9StithThompson, The Folktale(New York,1946),pp. 126and 128.It is referred toas
"the tail of pure tynt"in The ComplayntofScotland (1549),ed. JamesA. H. Murray
(London, 1872),p. 63 (see also p. lxxviii). Cf. the allusion in Noe du Fail's Propos
Rustiques (1547) to the tale of "cuir d'Asnette"(ed. Louis-RaymondLefevre[Paris:
Garnier,1928],p. 36). Furtherevidencethatthetalewas knownin Europe before1600
is given by Bolte and Polivka, I, 185-188.
'?Bolte and Polivka, III, 305-308.
"This was recognizedbyPerrett,pp. 15 and 19. Cf. F. D. Hoeniger's discussionof
thispoint in "The ArtistExploringthePrimitive:King Lear," in Some Facetsof'King
Lear': Essaysin PrismaticCriticism,ed. Rosalie L. Colie and F.T. Flahiff(Torontoand
Buffalo,1974),p.91. Hoeniger'sessayis ofparticularinterest hereon accountofhisdis-
cussion (pp. 99-100)of threefolktaleanalogues of theKing Lear storyfromCorsica,
Cosenza,and Calabria originallyrecordedin Giuseppe Cocchiara's La Leggenda di re
Lear (Torino, 1932).

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 ALAN R. YOUNG 311

are thoseof the51OBcategory,knownin England underthegeneral

titleof "Cap O'Rushes." A Suffolkversionof thistalebegins:"Well,
therewas once a veryrichgentleman,and he'd threedaughters,and
he thoughtto see how fondtheywas of him." He asks each in turn
how much she loves him and receivessuitablyflattering repliesfrom
thefirsttwo,but thethirdsays: "Why,I love you as freshmeatloves
salt."'2 The fathertotallymisinterprets thisanswerand angrilysends
the girl fromhome. The centralportionof thetale thendepictsthe
banishedgirl's menial job at a greathouse wheretheyoungmaster
falls in love with her aftershe has appeared threetimesin herfine
clothes at a ball. The young man later discoverswho she is and
marriesher. Her fathercomes to the wedding feastbut does not
recognizehis daughter.Having beenservedunsaltedmeat,he realizes
the truthhiddenin his youngestdaughter'swordsforwhich he un-
justlyhad banishedher.His daughterthenrevealshertrueidentityto
him,and thetwoarereconciled.Otherversionsofthisstoryhavebeen
recordedin theBritishIsles,thetaleis knownthroughoutEurope and
Scandinavia,and thereare also a numberofArabianand Indian ver-
sions.13
Tales of the second group (Type 923) are even more closely
analogous to the King Leir story.In these the centralmotifis the
"love-like-salt"idea whichplayedonly a subsidiaryrole in the510B
tale. Indeed,so closelyanalogous to the Leir storyis this typethat
many folkloristsoftenreferto it as the"King Lear Judgment."'4In
thesestoriesan old rulerbanisheshis thirdand youngestdaughter
because she seems less affectionatethan her sisters. On being
questioned,theyoungestdaughterstatesthatshe loves herfatheras
muchas meatlovessalt. In otherversionstheflattering protestations
of thesistersare replacedbyflattering courtierswho telltheold man
thattheirgood fortuneis entirelydependentupon him alone. The
youngestdaughter'sresponseis an enigmaticlaugh. Underpressure
she explains thatthecourtiersare untruthful sinceeach individual's
destiny is theinevitable
product ofhis own acts. In bothvariationsthe
fatherultimatelydiscoversthe hidden truthof the girl's words.
A versioninvolvingtheheroine'slaugh is givenin Somadeva's The
Ocean ofStory,while CarrieA. Harperhas describedanotherIndian
taleentitled"The HirelingHusband," whichdeals witha son rather

12Thisversionappeared in Longman's Magazine, 13 (1889), 441-445.

'3The StandardDictionaryof Folklore, ed. Maria Leach and JeromeFried (New
York, 1949-1950),I, 191.
'4Leach and Fried,Dictionary,II, 579-580(cf. Cox, p. 510).

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312 KING LEAR

thana daughter.'5Like thestoryof King Leir, thistale,it should be

noted,containsthemotifof thedivisionofthekingdomas wellas the
keymotifof theyoungestchild's misunderstoodreplyto thefather's
love-test.'6In "The Hireling Husband" a king hopes to entrustthe
government ofhis dominionsto his sevensons,who, he decides,will
"governsuch of his possessionsas theirgratitudesand affectionfor
him should seem to deserve."Accordinglyhe says to each in turn:
"My dear son, who feedstheeand caresforthee?"The six oldestall
reply,"Who but thou?"The kingthenconfessesthathis purposewas
toknowfromthemwhichofthemlovedhimbestand whichwas most
gratefulto him. He then makes each of them the governorof a
province. However,when the question is put to the youngest,he
replies:"What a queer question to put! Father,who else can feedme
butmyown destiny?What'slottedcan'tbe blotted."For thistheking
exileshim and saysthathe is no longerany son ofhis.The exiledson
then marries a princess who later invades her father-in-law's
kingdomand takestheold king as a hostage.The king thenrealizes
thetruthofhis youngestson's statement and says:"Mydearson,thou
didstspeak thetruth,'What is lottedcan't be blotted.'Thy bridehas
won mykingdomforthee,and it is no longermine to giveaway."
In a Greek versionof this 923 Type, a king sends forhis three
daughtersand asks them how much theylove him.'7 The eldest
repliesthatshe loves him like honey,thesecondlike sugar,and the
thirdlike salt. Angrywiththeyoungest,theking goes and standsat
thegateof thepalace, seesan old man passing byand declaresthathe
will make him a son-in-law. The heroine's husband eventually
becomesveryrich,and a feastis givenat whichherfatheris present.
He is servedunsaltedmeat,which he findsinedible,whereuponhis
daughterrevealsherselfand thekingadmitshe was wrong.Otherver-
sions of this 923 Type are to be found throughoutEurope, Scan-
dinavia, theBalkans, Malta, Turkey,and Russia,'8among themone
fromYorkshirecalled "Sugar and Salt."19

'5Somadeva,The Ocean ofStory,trans.C. H. Tawney and ed. N. M. Penzer(Delhi,

1926),VII, 254-255;CarrieA. Harper,"A King Lear Analogue," The Nation (Feb. 10,
1916),p. 17.
'6The motifof the division of the kingdomcombinedwith the "King Lear Judg-
ment"or the"Love-like-Salt"motifis notpeculiarto the923 Type. A Gascon version
of the 510B Type, entitled"La Gardeusede Dindons," tellsof a kingwho decidesto
dividehis kingdombetweenhis threedaughters,butgivestheyoungestnothingwhen
she saysshe loves him like salt (J. F. Blade, ContesPopulaires de la Gascogne[Paris,
1886],pp. 251-266).
'7R. M. Dawkins, trans.,Modern GreekFolktales (Oxford,1953),pp. 454-456.
'8Bolteand Polivka, III, 305-306.
'9CountyFolk-Lore,VI, 166-167.

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 ALAN R. YOUNG 313

It can be seen thatall the versionsof the 510 and 923 Types of
folktaleI havedescribedpossesscertainfeaturesofa commonpattern.
All beginwitha father'squestion to his childrenwhichin everycase
demandsthatthechildrenputa value on theirlovefortheirfather.In-
variablytheyoungestchild refusesto flatterthefatherlike theother
children.The answergivenbythischild is usually thecryptic"Love
like salt," thoughin some Scandinavian and Russian versionsit is
"Love likewind in thehot sun,"20and in Indian versions,as we have
seen,theyoungestchild (usually a male) insiststhatdestinyis in his
own hands,notthoseofhis father.In all cases thefathermisinterprets
the child's reply("The King Lear Judgment")and expels thechild
fromhis house. The child marries,oftena seeminglyunpromising
man, thoughsometimesa prince.Prosperityand good fortunethen
attendthechild and eventuallythereis a meetingwith thefatherin
whichtheirformerpositionsarereversed.Whenthechild'sidentity is
revealed,the fatherrecognizesthe falsityof his original judgment
when the cryptictruthof the child's misunderstoodanswerto the
love-testis made clear.
It is obvious that Shakespeare'splay has a plot-patternclosely
relatedto thefolklorepatternjustdescribed,as does Geoffrey ofMon-
mouth'sversion.In Geoffrey, as in so manylegendswhichhaveclose
analogies in folktales,certaindetailsofplotexistwhicharenotfound
in thefolktale.In Geoffrey's version,forexample,thereare personal
and place nameswhichpurporttobe authentic,andCordeilla's reply
to her father'scrucial question is not "Love like salt" but "You are
worthjust as muchas you possess,and thatis themeasureofmylove
for you" ("Etenim, quantum habes, tantum vales tantumque te
diligo"-III, 100, 1. 32).21 This ambiguous statement,which is not
foundin Shakespeare,is precededbyCordeilla'ssayingthatsheloves
her fatheraccordingto the dutyof a child to its father,an idea that
does appear in Shakespeare,when, afterpronouncing the word
"Nothing," Cordelia statesthatshe lovesherfatheraccordingto her
bond. The ending of Geoffrey'stale presentsanother difference.
When Leir has been restoredto the throne,bothhe and Cordeilla's
husbanddie. Cordeilla'snephewsthenattackand defeather,and this
causes her to despair and commitsuicide (III, 105,11.12-13).Most
writtenversionsfollowGeoffrey in this,butin one importantrespect
Geoffrey's versionis muchcloserto thefolktalepatternthansomeof
thelaterversionsof thelegend.WhatGeoffrey does is to makea par-

20Bolteand Polivka, III, 306n.

2IThis crypticformulais found in almost all subsequent writtenversionsof the
legend (Bode, p. 50).

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314 KING LEAR

ticularpointofLeir's recognitionofhis unjustinterpretation ofCor-

deilla's answer to the "love-test":"O Cordeilla, mydaughter,how
truewerethosewordswhichyou spokewhenyourepliedtomewhen
I askedyou how muchyou lovedmeI" ("O Cordeillafilia,quam vera
sunt dicta illa quae mihi respondisti,quando quaesivi a te quem
amoremadversumme haberesl"-III, 103,11.106-108).
In spiteofsuchdifferences it is surelyclearthatin thebackground
ofShakespeare's play thereis on theone hand a wholebodyofwritten
legendaryhistory,itselfderivedfromsome distantmyth,legend or
folktale,and on theothertwoof thebest-known and mostwidelydis-
seminatedfolktaleswhich exist in a parallel formand are in all
likelihooddirectlyrelatedin some way to thewrittentraditionof the
story.Shakespeare'saudiencewould almostcertainlyhaveknownthe
storyin its folktaleformfromoral sources,thoughpositiveproofof
this is admittedlynot possible. The learned sectorof his audience
would also have known the storyfrom the writtensources,and
regulartheater-goers would in any case have seen theearlierplay of
King Leir.22
With this in mind, let us now considerKing Lear itselfand the
elementsin it whichrelateit to thebasic patternfoundin bothoral
and writtentradition.The play, like both the oral and writtenver-
sions,beginswith thefather'srequestforan affirmation and pledge
of love fromeach of his threedaughtersin turn.As in the Indian
folktales,in the versionfromGascony,and in some of the written
sources derivedfromGeoffrey,this request is connectedwith the
father'sdecision to abdicate and divide his kingdom among his
children (Historia, III, 99, 11. 7-10; III, 100, 11. 44-48). This all-
importantincidentin King Lear is dividedintofourparts,involving,
as one critichas pointed out, challenge, response,comment,and
award.23The father'squestionis repeatedthreetimes,beginningwith
thetwoolderdaughters.The thirdtimeitis addressedto theyoungest
daughter,who respondswiththecrypticanswerwhichpreparesthe
way forher formaldisinheritanceand exile.24Shakespeareenforces
our awarenessof the ritualisticpatternof the "love-test"when he
parallelsit withan exchangebetweentheking and a subject(Kent).

22Thatthelegendhad proliferated and had been toldofquite differentpersonagesis

clear fromCamden's Remaines(1605) wherehe attachesthestoryto Ina, King of West
Saxony, and his threedaughters(pp. 182-183),and fromthe Gesta Romanorum in
which the Leir storyis attachedto the EmperorTheodosius and his threedaughters.
23William Frost,"Shakespeare'sRituals and the Opening of King Lear," Hudson
Review, 10 (1957-1958),581.
241nGeoffrey, Cordeilla is not exiled butis toldthatshe will nothave an honorable
marriageand will be marriedto a foreigner.

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 ALAN R. YOUNG 315

Additional enforcement of this effectis achieved in Shakespeare's

sub-plotin which a fatheralso disinheritsthatchild who in reality
loves him most.The public rejectionofCordelia byBurgundyis yet
anothervariationon the same recurringmotif.
In the folktalesof the 510 Type theinitial "love-test"and unjust
treatment of theheroineare followedfirstby theadventuresshe ex-
periences in her menial disguise and then by her marriage.
Significantlyin the earlierKing Leir, Cordella, aftershe has been
ejectedfromherfather'shouse, is courtedby a wayfarer dressedas a
palmer. She acceptshis offerof marriageand he turnsout to be the
King of France.The patternhereis notthatofthewrittensources,but
that of the folktales,a point which leads me to conclude that the
authorof King Leir hereallowed himselfto be drawntowardsoral
traditioneven thoughhis principal sourcewas thechronicles.
In Geoffrey and subsequentchroniclerstheKing of Franceseeksto
marryCordeilla,but is toldthatshe will be dowerless(III, 100-101,11.
48-59).In marryingher theKing of Franceactslike thePrincein the
510 Type of folktalesin thathe marriesan unpromisingheroine.25
Shakespeare'sKing ofFrancedoes thesame thingin a mannerwhich
evensuggeststhathe is self-consciously awareofhis own rolein folk-
ritualand conscioustoooftherelationshipofthisto themeaningand
patternof the folktale:"Fairest Cordelia, thatart mostrich,being
poor;/ Mostchoice,forsaken;and mostlov'd,despis'd!" (I.i.250-251).
In theGascon versionof thefolktaleand in thewrittenchronicles,
thenextstagein thestoryconcernstheolderdaughters'revoltagainst
their father.Both King Leir and Shakespeare's play follow this
patternand depictthehomelessKing'ssubsequentwanderings.Some
criticsconcernedwith folk-ritualand mythhave likened Lear's
banishmentto the ritual expulsion of a scapegoat, the sacrificeof
whom cleansesthecommunityof sin.26If thisconceptdoes apply to
Shakespeare'splay, one is broughtface to facewith a fundamental
differencebetweentheplay and thefolktalepatternofthe510and 923
Types, since in theselatter,as in all the writtenversionspreceding
Shakespeare's,thefather-figure Insteadhe comesto
is notsacrificed.27

251n the 923 Type the youngestdaughter'sfathermarriesher to someone of un-

desirablesocial status.Shakespeare'sLear thinkshe has succeededin preventingCor-
delia fromobtainingan honorablemarriagewhenhe getsBurgundytorejectCordelia.
26Douglas Hewitt, "The verypompes of the Divell," RES, 25 (1949), 19; Maud
Bodkin, ArchetypalPatternsin Poetry(1934; rpt.Oxford,1963),p. 284. Cf. the dis-
cussions of the sacrificialelementsin King Lear by John Holloway in The Storyof
Night (London, 1961),and byCliffordLeech in Tragedy,CriticalIdiom Series(Lon-
don, 1969).
271nGeoffrey, Leir recognizeshis error,returnsto Cordeillaand is reinstatedon his
thronewherehe reignsforthreeyearsbeforehe dies (III, 104,11.145-146).Only in the

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316 KING LEAR

self-knowledge (symbolizedin his understandingof themeaningof

his youngestdaughter'sanswerto the"love-test")whichpreparesfor
his reconciliationand returnto thestatusof thejust parent.The con-
clusion of the father'sstoryin bothoral and writtensourcesis thus
"comic" ratherthan tragic,forthereis no final sacrifice.
However,to Shakespeare'sfirstaudienceas itwatchedtheprogress
of the play, this distinctionwould not have been apparent. The
ritualisticturningfromthe door of Lear firstby one daughterand
thenbyanotherwould have satisfiedtheexpectationsofan audience
who had come to watchthere-enactment ofa familiartale.A similar
responsewould have greetedCordelia's riseto thepositionof Queen
of France,since her change of fortunedoes not conflicteitherwith
what happens in the chroniclesor with the reversalof roles of the
fatherand youngestdaughterin the folktaleswheretheformeris a
guestat the latter'stable.
Similarly,thereconciliationin Shakespeare'splay (IV.vii) between
Lear and Cordelia,paralleledby thatbetweenGloucesterand Edgar
and recountedbyEdgarin V.iii, does notconflictwiththepatternof
either the direct writtensources or the folktale.The extremely
ritualisticnature of this meetingof fatherand daughterwith its
music,itsclose associationwiththeChristianconceptofresurrection
("You do me wrongto takeme out o' th' grave;/Thou arta soul in
bliss"-II. 45-46),Cordelia's plea forbenediction(1. 58), and Lear's
act in kneelingbeforeher, must all have seemed to Shakespeare's
audiencelike thefulfilment of thefamiliarpatternbegunwhen Lear
firstquestionedhis threedaughters.Those ofShakespeare'saudience
who knew theirchroniclesat firsthand or had seen King Leir in
previousyearswould knowthatwhatremainedafterIV.vii,was a bat-
tle in which victorywould go to Cordelia, enabling Lear to be
restoredto his throne.They would know thatLear died a peaceful
death of old age afterthreeyears,and thatCordelia's nephewslater
successfullyrebelledagainst her aftershe had come to thethrone,a
factwhich led to her suicide.28For thoseaware of this,all thatre-
mained in Lear's storywas his restorationto thethrone.This would
be theexpectedfinalefora play describedon the1608title-pageas a
"True ChronicleHistorieof thelifeand death of King Lear and his

ballad, A Lamentable Song, which in any case was probably written after
Shakespeare'splay,does Lear die tragically.The ballad is reprintedin theVariorum
King Lear, ed. Horace H. Furness(1880; rpt. New York, 1963),p. 407.
28ThoseElizabethanswhose knowledgeof thestorycame principallyfromtheplay
King Leir would expectneitherKing Lear's deathnorhis daughter'ssuicidesince the
ultimatefatesof thesetwoare not mentionedin theearlierdrama whereone is leftto
assume thatLeir lives happily everafterfollowinghis restoration.

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 ALAN R. YOUNG 317

threeDaughters." Afterall, the chroniclesportrayCordelia's fate,

whichhistoricallyconcernedquite anotherreign,as no morethanan
appendage to thecentralstoryofLeir,while theauthorofKing Leir
leftthe matterout of his accountcompletely,therebyproducingan
ending veryclose to the folktalepattern.
At thisstagewe reachthemainpointofmyargument,whichis that
whatShakespearedoes in thefinalact ofhis play,whenhe telescopes
theCordelia episode into theLeir story,is to cause a deliberatebreak
in theexpectationsthathavebeenevokedin themindsofhis audience
bytheirfamiliarity withbothliterary and oral sources.The firstsign
thatall was not as expectedmustconsequentlyhave been a highly
dramaticand disturbingone: "Away, old man! give me thyhand:
away!/ King Lear hath lost, he and his daughterta'en" (V.ii.5-6).
Only now does it emergethatLear is to be a sacrificalvictimin the
mannerof thetragichero.The scenewhich followsshows Cordelia
and Lear beingled offto prison,and Shakespearebeginsbystressing
the reversalof fortuneinvolved (V.iii.3-6), as unexpected to the
audience as it was to Lear.
Such disruptionof what was expectedby the audience and its
replacementby somethingquite different lies at therootofmuchof
the dramaticintensityof Act V. Indeed, as the final act unfolds,
Shakespeareengineersa seriesof such moments.As soon as Cordelia
and Lear have been led off,forexample, Lear's vision of prison as
some kind of inviolable paradise is thenshatteredby Edmund's in-
structionsto theOfficer.The triumphof theforcesofevil thenseems
inevitable,sucha triumphbeingcompletelyalien to thealmostfixed
law of genreof thefolktalewhich holds thatthetone should be op-
timisticand thattheend should consistof thetriumphofvirtue.Not
only is Shakespearedistortingthe basic patternof his sourcestory,
but he is also distortingits inherentpatternof justice.
Of course,thesituationis farmorecomplexthanthis.The forcesof
evil in factdestroythemselves,a processwhich has been going on
throughouttheplay,butwhichacceleratesrapidlytowardsitsclimax
in thisact. It beginswiththequarrelbetweenRegan and Goneriland
thedefianceof Albanyby Edmund which followsimmediatelyafter
Edmund has given instructionsfor Lear's and Cordelia's deaths.
Then, afterRegan has left,havingbeenovercomebytheeffects ofthe
poison givenherbyhersister,thereoccursthecombatbetweenEdgar
and Edmund.This is one ofthemostritualisticscenesin theplay,and
it maybe arguedthatin thedefeatofEdmundbytheforcesofvirtue
theaudience would feelthat,afterall, the truepatternwas about to
reassertitself.

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318 KING LEAR

However,thedyingEdmund'ssuggestionthat"The wheelis come

full circle," with its implication thatevil has had its day, is then
radicallyqualifiedwhen Edgar announces thatGloucesterhas died.
In the fate of Gloucester we are led to anticipate that of the
protagonistof themainplot,sincetheparallelsbetweenthetwoplots
have hithertobeen so strong.The revelationof Gloucester'sdeath
thus shattersthe passing hope which Shakespearehad offeredhis
audiencewithEdgar'svictoryand whichhad suggestedmomentarily
thatthe folktalepatternwas about to reassertitself.
Even so, Edmund's apparentpenitencethen extendshope once
morethatthefinalsacrificecan be avoided(V.iii.199-200).The deaths
ofGoneriland Regan (thewickedsistersoffolk-narrative) and Kent's
steppingout ofdisguisebolsterthishope ofjustice,and thefeelingis
thatall maybe well when theOfficeris dispatchedto preventtheex-
ecutionof Edmund's orders.At thisverypoint,however,Lear enters
with the dead Cordelia. This moment,farmore than the death of
Lear,whichas a consequencethendoes seeminevitable,acutelyposes
thequestion of justice.
The profoundshockwhich Shakespeare'saudiencemusthave felt
at thisstageof theplay has, of course,been sharedbyall succeeding
generationsof readersand theater-goers. In searchofan explanation
forthe sense of injusticethatthisshock induces,some criticshave
argued that Cordelia's death is a punishment for her original
obstinacy,while othershave takenup theidea (referred to above) of
sacrificialritual,Cordelia thenbeing thevictim.29 Both approaches
seemtome tobe quite alien toone's responsetotheplay.Her fatedoes
not strikeus as a portrayalof pridepunished,nordoes it strikeus as
beingdeliberateand predictablein themannerofritual,foritsshock
is theproductofitsessentialfortuitousness and unexpectedness. The
responseof Shakespeare'saudiencemusthave beenan evenmorein-
tenseawarenessofthis,sinceShakespeare,byhis apparentattemptto
introducea tragicpattem,has deliberatelydistorted,and ultimately
destroyed,the folk-pattern upon which the storyof King Lear is
based.30
That we have been somehow cheated is a feelingwhich grows

29RobertB. Heilman providesan example of the formerapproach in This Great

Stage (1948;rpt.Seattle,1963),p. 36,while thelatterapproach is adapted toCordelia's
situationby Muir, p. lviii.
30Althougha modernaudience would probablynot be aware of the relationship
betweentheLeir storyand thefolktale,Coleridgeapparentlywas, forhe twicerefers to
the "nurserytale" when speaking of the opening scene of King Lear (Samuel T.
Coleridge,ShakespeareanCriticism,ed. Thomas M. Raysor,2nded. [London, 1960],I,
50n., 54. Cf. I, 53; II, 14; II, 217).

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 ALAN R. YOUNG 319

througha rapidsuccessionofevents:Lear is unable torecognizeKent,

thevital elementof identificationin the folk-pattern therebybeing
distorted,Edmund's death seems "but a triflehere" ratherthan the
fulfilment of justice,and no soonerdoes AlbanyrestoreLear to the
throne than the latterdies, symbolicallyseeking to undressonce
more.Then, insteadoforderreasserting itself,Albanyofferstodivide
the kingdombetweenEdgar and Kent,therebyprovidingone final
grotesqueparodyof the opening scene,remindingthe Elizabethan
audience of thepremiseoriginallyprovidedby the folktalepattern
whichhad so stronglyasserteditselfwhen theplay began and which
now has been so deliberatelyshatteredby theplaywright.
If I have heremanaged to offersome explanationofwhythefinal
scenesof thetragedyshould seem to manycriticsto depictan unjust
resolution,I am still veryfarfromexplaining Shakespeare'sinten-
tions. His deliberatedistortionof thebasic patternof bothoral and
writtentraditionsis clear,butwhathe meantbyit is not. Is he saying
thattheexperienceof lifeembodiedin thefolktalepatternis only a
wishfuldreambut not trueof reality?Is he sayingthatthegods are
likewantonboyswho kill men forsport,implyingtherebythatthere
is no orderin theuniverseexceptconsistentinconsistency? Or is he
sayingthatwhathe has presentedis realityand thatman'sresponseto
lifemustbe to obey "the weightof this sad time?"
It seemsto me thatto insiston any one of thesepossibilities(and
one could evolvecountlessmore) would be to limitour responseto
the play, the experience of which is very much the conscious
awarenessof a multitudeof such paradoxes. The deliberateshock
whichShakespearedeliversbydisruptingtheritualisticinvolvement
ofhisaudienceis themeansbywhichthisawarenessis created.This is
perhapswhat Shakespearechieflyintended.

Acadia University
Wolfville,Nova Scotia

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