CHRISTIAN PARABLE (1900-1960)
Until the 1960s, criticism of King Lear was mostly overtly or implicitly Christian accounts. These readings seemed to ignore the
play’s pagan setting and Shakespeare’s removal of many of the Christian allusions of its chief dramatic source
Bradley and the neo-Christians claim that the play asserts the redemptive value of suffering
The suffering in the play is meaningful because it brings about a greater good
THE TRAGEDY OF KING LEAR: REDEEMING CHRIST? - NATHAN LEFLER (2010)
Considered under the aspect of Christian tragedy, the narratives of Shakespeare’s play and of Christ’s life as recorded in the
canonical Gospels mirror each other in their incarnational shape and with respect to the extraordinary suffering of the central
figures
If what characterises Christ as the tragic hero is his partial responsibility and necessary suffering, then not only can we
reasonably consider King Lear a Christian tragedy, but the basic similarities between the pre–Christian King and the Christian
Messiah must be given serious attention
When Lear is paralleled with Christ, there is a suggestion that Lear’s suffering in the play was not entirely meaningless. Jesus
suffered to save the world from sin, thus meaning that his pain was for a greater good. Therefore, if Lear is like Christ, then his
suffering too is for a greater good
GRACE, CONSEQUENCES, AND CHRISTIANITY IN KING LEAR – JESSICA VANDEN BERG
Because Cordelia’s death casts such a dark shadow or irreversible doom on the play’s ending, critics refuse to accept her death
as having any final redemptive purpose. Yet, by tracing Cordelia’s role as a Christ like figure and the important part it plays
within the theme of satisfaction, King Lear reveals itself to be a fundamentally Christian play
Cordelia, the only character worthy enough to live, chose to die. She returned to England knowing she might die, in order to
find and save her father. She was innocent, but her unconditional love prompted her to pay the cost of her father’s sin. (‘For
thee oppressed king, I am cast down’)
- The parallels of her character with Christ makes it clear why her death was a necessary element of the tragedy. It was
not until Lear accepts her mercy that he receives his salvation (‘I’ll kneel down and ask thee forgiveness’)
It is the Christian concept of grace that brings the true element of tragedy to Cordelia’s death. The idea that an innocent person
should die for a guilty person is fundamentally unfair. Yet, this is the foundation of the Christian belief system. However, Christ
came to find us and save us, just as Cordelia came to find and save Lear
- This idea of grace, as unjust as it may seem, beings new meaning and appreciation to the intense sorrow surrounding
Cordelia’s death
On the symbolic or allegorical level, King Lear is forgiven by Cordelia as she represents Christ. He is redeemed and saved in the
eternal sense by her sacrifice. However, on the literal level, Cordelia’s death is simply a consequence of his sin. Despite his
salvation and forgiveness from the eternal effects of sin, Lear still suffers from the earthly consequence of sin
SUSAN SNYDER - ‘KING LEAR AND THE PRODIGAL SON’
The parable of the Prodigal Son tells the story of forgiveness and mercy between a father and his two sons. The youngest
prematurely begs his father for his inheritance, leaves home to carelessly spend the money, and is forced to reflect on what he
has done after a famine reaches him. Instead of disowning him for carelessly spending his inheritance, the father forgives all his
wrongdoings and celebrates his return with a feast
Clearly, the son has acted in a way that is seemingly unworthy of any mercy, grace, or forgiveness. His act of willingly begging his
father to be a servant introduces the concept of an amendment of life in which the son recognises his wrongdoings and is striving
to do better. This is where the father then meets him with grace and welcomes him with open arms
Shakespeare subverts the Parable of the Prodigal Son in the relationship between King Lear and his youngest daughter Cordelia
At the start of the play, Cordelia could be considered the prodigal son in the eyes of her father. She does not love him enough for
his standards, and in his eyes, she must amend her thoughts on daughterly love in order for her to inherit his kingdom. Her refusal
to admit any love greater than her bond to Lear characterises her as selfish in the eyes of her father
King Lear is a prodigal father to Cordelia’s forgiving character. He falls for the lies of his eldest daughters and rebukes the one
child who loved him unconditionally. Characteristic of a prodigal, Lear expects each of his selfish desires to be accommodated as
he travels between Goneril and Regan’s respective kingdoms. He then goes on a physical journey which leads him back to Cordelia,
ending in a plea for her forgiveness
, Lear realises that the amendment of life he was expecting from Cordelia did not exist because he was the one that needed to
make a change. He misused the love he received and comes to an understanding that he morally must ask for her forgiveness.
- Shakespeare creates a sense of morality through the implementation of the Parable of the Prodigal Son
Like the prodigal, Lear is ashamed to seek the one he has wronged, but, like the Biblical father, Cordelia is so ready to forgive that
she anticipates him, commanding a ‘century’ to ‘search every acre in the high grown field / And bring him to our eye’
THE BOOK OF JOB
This story concerns Job, a prosperous man of outstanding piety. Satan acts as an agent provocateur to test whether or not Job’s
piety is rooted merely in his prosperity. But faces with the appalling loss of his possessions his children, and finally his own health,
Job still refuses to curse God. During a conversation with friends, job disputes with them. He proclaims his innocence and the
injustice of his suffering, while his friends argue that Job is being punished for his sins. Eventually, Job trusts in the purposeful
activity of God in the affairs of the world, even though God’s ways with man remain mysterious and inscrutable
- Lear is a subversion of Job, for he never reaches the point of accepting God’s ways
- Lear is somewhat deserving of his suffering, and he is not completely innocent, whereas job did not do anything to
provoke his suffering
As evident in Job, God created a world inclusive of suffering by giving us free will. King Lear explored the eruption of this will: the
lust, desire, and drive for power that blinds us to our relation to the world by illustrating the destructive consequences of rejecting
relationships in favour of a focus on the self
As Job struggles to form a faithful relationship with the divine in a suffering world, Lear works to develop a loving relationship
with his perfectly selfless daughter
An overarching theme of Christianity is the acceptance of suffering despite innocence or lack of sin. This can be seen clearly in
the Book of Job
- Edgar echoes this belief when he states ‘Me must endure’
The Book of Job was supposed to be an actual historical account designed by God to facilitate the acceptance of suffering as a
necessary means for a later reward with God
At the end of both stories, each protagonist experiences an encounter with the one whose presence he most longs for: Job with
an angry God who causes him both regret and comfort, and Lear with the selfless daughter who loved him the most.
- Afte the divine encounter, Job is said to have been restored to the prosperous life he led before. King Lear, however,
ends with the death of Cordelia, plunging him back into agony as he dies, tortured and alone
Until the 1960s, criticism of King Lear was mostly overtly or implicitly Christian accounts. These readings seemed to ignore the
play’s pagan setting and Shakespeare’s removal of many of the Christian allusions of its chief dramatic source
Bradley and the neo-Christians claim that the play asserts the redemptive value of suffering
The suffering in the play is meaningful because it brings about a greater good
THE TRAGEDY OF KING LEAR: REDEEMING CHRIST? - NATHAN LEFLER (2010)
Considered under the aspect of Christian tragedy, the narratives of Shakespeare’s play and of Christ’s life as recorded in the
canonical Gospels mirror each other in their incarnational shape and with respect to the extraordinary suffering of the central
figures
If what characterises Christ as the tragic hero is his partial responsibility and necessary suffering, then not only can we
reasonably consider King Lear a Christian tragedy, but the basic similarities between the pre–Christian King and the Christian
Messiah must be given serious attention
When Lear is paralleled with Christ, there is a suggestion that Lear’s suffering in the play was not entirely meaningless. Jesus
suffered to save the world from sin, thus meaning that his pain was for a greater good. Therefore, if Lear is like Christ, then his
suffering too is for a greater good
GRACE, CONSEQUENCES, AND CHRISTIANITY IN KING LEAR – JESSICA VANDEN BERG
Because Cordelia’s death casts such a dark shadow or irreversible doom on the play’s ending, critics refuse to accept her death
as having any final redemptive purpose. Yet, by tracing Cordelia’s role as a Christ like figure and the important part it plays
within the theme of satisfaction, King Lear reveals itself to be a fundamentally Christian play
Cordelia, the only character worthy enough to live, chose to die. She returned to England knowing she might die, in order to
find and save her father. She was innocent, but her unconditional love prompted her to pay the cost of her father’s sin. (‘For
thee oppressed king, I am cast down’)
- The parallels of her character with Christ makes it clear why her death was a necessary element of the tragedy. It was
not until Lear accepts her mercy that he receives his salvation (‘I’ll kneel down and ask thee forgiveness’)
It is the Christian concept of grace that brings the true element of tragedy to Cordelia’s death. The idea that an innocent person
should die for a guilty person is fundamentally unfair. Yet, this is the foundation of the Christian belief system. However, Christ
came to find us and save us, just as Cordelia came to find and save Lear
- This idea of grace, as unjust as it may seem, beings new meaning and appreciation to the intense sorrow surrounding
Cordelia’s death
On the symbolic or allegorical level, King Lear is forgiven by Cordelia as she represents Christ. He is redeemed and saved in the
eternal sense by her sacrifice. However, on the literal level, Cordelia’s death is simply a consequence of his sin. Despite his
salvation and forgiveness from the eternal effects of sin, Lear still suffers from the earthly consequence of sin
SUSAN SNYDER - ‘KING LEAR AND THE PRODIGAL SON’
The parable of the Prodigal Son tells the story of forgiveness and mercy between a father and his two sons. The youngest
prematurely begs his father for his inheritance, leaves home to carelessly spend the money, and is forced to reflect on what he
has done after a famine reaches him. Instead of disowning him for carelessly spending his inheritance, the father forgives all his
wrongdoings and celebrates his return with a feast
Clearly, the son has acted in a way that is seemingly unworthy of any mercy, grace, or forgiveness. His act of willingly begging his
father to be a servant introduces the concept of an amendment of life in which the son recognises his wrongdoings and is striving
to do better. This is where the father then meets him with grace and welcomes him with open arms
Shakespeare subverts the Parable of the Prodigal Son in the relationship between King Lear and his youngest daughter Cordelia
At the start of the play, Cordelia could be considered the prodigal son in the eyes of her father. She does not love him enough for
his standards, and in his eyes, she must amend her thoughts on daughterly love in order for her to inherit his kingdom. Her refusal
to admit any love greater than her bond to Lear characterises her as selfish in the eyes of her father
King Lear is a prodigal father to Cordelia’s forgiving character. He falls for the lies of his eldest daughters and rebukes the one
child who loved him unconditionally. Characteristic of a prodigal, Lear expects each of his selfish desires to be accommodated as
he travels between Goneril and Regan’s respective kingdoms. He then goes on a physical journey which leads him back to Cordelia,
ending in a plea for her forgiveness
, Lear realises that the amendment of life he was expecting from Cordelia did not exist because he was the one that needed to
make a change. He misused the love he received and comes to an understanding that he morally must ask for her forgiveness.
- Shakespeare creates a sense of morality through the implementation of the Parable of the Prodigal Son
Like the prodigal, Lear is ashamed to seek the one he has wronged, but, like the Biblical father, Cordelia is so ready to forgive that
she anticipates him, commanding a ‘century’ to ‘search every acre in the high grown field / And bring him to our eye’
THE BOOK OF JOB
This story concerns Job, a prosperous man of outstanding piety. Satan acts as an agent provocateur to test whether or not Job’s
piety is rooted merely in his prosperity. But faces with the appalling loss of his possessions his children, and finally his own health,
Job still refuses to curse God. During a conversation with friends, job disputes with them. He proclaims his innocence and the
injustice of his suffering, while his friends argue that Job is being punished for his sins. Eventually, Job trusts in the purposeful
activity of God in the affairs of the world, even though God’s ways with man remain mysterious and inscrutable
- Lear is a subversion of Job, for he never reaches the point of accepting God’s ways
- Lear is somewhat deserving of his suffering, and he is not completely innocent, whereas job did not do anything to
provoke his suffering
As evident in Job, God created a world inclusive of suffering by giving us free will. King Lear explored the eruption of this will: the
lust, desire, and drive for power that blinds us to our relation to the world by illustrating the destructive consequences of rejecting
relationships in favour of a focus on the self
As Job struggles to form a faithful relationship with the divine in a suffering world, Lear works to develop a loving relationship
with his perfectly selfless daughter
An overarching theme of Christianity is the acceptance of suffering despite innocence or lack of sin. This can be seen clearly in
the Book of Job
- Edgar echoes this belief when he states ‘Me must endure’
The Book of Job was supposed to be an actual historical account designed by God to facilitate the acceptance of suffering as a
necessary means for a later reward with God
At the end of both stories, each protagonist experiences an encounter with the one whose presence he most longs for: Job with
an angry God who causes him both regret and comfort, and Lear with the selfless daughter who loved him the most.
- Afte the divine encounter, Job is said to have been restored to the prosperous life he led before. King Lear, however,
ends with the death of Cordelia, plunging him back into agony as he dies, tortured and alone
