Silence in King Lear
Silence is a key motif in William Shakespeare's 'King Lear'. While normally it is words and actions that drive a play, here silence and inaction are what begin this drama and lead to it's ultimate end. Character's silence and withholding of information, "Have more than thou showest, / Speak less than thou knowest" are what drives the play forward and what drives King Lear mad.
Cordelia's apparent silence to the king in Act i:i opens the play and lays the foundation for all the drama to follow. Lear asks each of his three daughters (Goneril, Regan and Cordelia) to quantify their love for him in words so that he may reward him accordingly. Two of his daughters hold no genuine love for him "Those pelican daughters" and thus have no trouble fabricating love-filled phrases to please their father, "I love you more than words can wield the matter"-Goneril, "I am alone felicitate / In your dear Highness' love"-Regan. Cordelia on the other hand truly loves her father and so finds she cannot express it in words. "I'm sure my love's / More ponderous than my tongue." She decides to stay silent and when asked what she can say to outdo her sisters she says "Nothing" and that she "cannot heave / [Her] heart into [her] mouth". It is this silence and refusal to submit to his game-of-flattery that enrages Lear and causes him to banish Cordelia.
There is a stark contrast here between Cordelia who decides to "Love, and be silent" and gets grievously punished and her two sisters who spew forth false love and get praised. The silence verses speaking here is very important as it sets up an important idea for the play; those who are honest or silent (Cordelia, Kent, The Fool) are punished and ignored while those who lie and speak up (Goneril, Regan, Edmund) make much greater progress towards their goals.
Language and the sound of words are so important in King Lear. Shakespeare uses words and descriptions to set the stage. Consider the storm scenes on the heath; the cacophony of the words and the distress of the content make these some of the loudest scenes in the play simply through the use of language "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!". However it is also in this scene that we start to see Lear, our great protagonist, turn in towards himself and become more like his silent Cordelia. When Kent arrives in the scene Lear says "I will say nothing" and refuses to respond when Kent and The Fool ask him to retreat inside the hovel.
This is another contrast between silence and sound only this time it is within one individual. The two sides of Lear are at war here, "this tempest in my mind". Part of him believes he is still the king while the other sees himself as "A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man". Should he stay silent and "crawl toward death" or speak up and defend his honor? It is this inability to choose which version of himself he is that cements Lear's demise, "Who is it that can tell me who I am?".
'King Lear' shows how effective silence is. The character who could be deemed the most silent, Cordelia (refuses to speak and then is absent for all but four scenes), is the one who progresses the play and also who contributes most to the fall and rise of Lear. The gods, also, are silent entities present throughout the play. They are called on countless times "By Jupiter, I swear..", "By..The mysteries of Hectate.." and yet there is never any "divine interference". The characters are superstitious, religious and blame the king's ill-temper on "these late eclipses" but there is never any apparent godly intervention (as we see in 'Romeo and Juliette' for example). They stay silent and let the characters run their course. Shakespeare also dramatizes how society wants some people to be silenced. Throughout the play people try to quieten Lear and Edgar (as Poor Tom). Edgar is told by Gloucester "No words, no words: hush." and people actually plot to kill Lear - thus the ultimate silence. These two characters epitomize age and madness in the play and they are constantly hushed by those who perceive themselves as being above them.
Silence is used to great dramatic effect in 'King Lear'. It is what gives the play it's acoustic ups-and-downs as well as being a focal plot point and message throughout. Are deceits and pleasing falsehoods the way to victory or should we be honest no matter what the consequences? Edgar, in the final scene gives us our answer; "Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say."
Cordelia's apparent silence to the king in Act i:i opens the play and lays the foundation for all the drama to follow. Lear asks each of his three daughters (Goneril, Regan and Cordelia) to quantify their love for him in words so that he may reward him accordingly. Two of his daughters hold no genuine love for him "Those pelican daughters" and thus have no trouble fabricating love-filled phrases to please their father, "I love you more than words can wield the matter"-Goneril, "I am alone felicitate / In your dear Highness' love"-Regan. Cordelia on the other hand truly loves her father and so finds she cannot express it in words. "I'm sure my love's / More ponderous than my tongue." She decides to stay silent and when asked what she can say to outdo her sisters she says "Nothing" and that she "cannot heave / [Her] heart into [her] mouth". It is this silence and refusal to submit to his game-of-flattery that enrages Lear and causes him to banish Cordelia.
There is a stark contrast here between Cordelia who decides to "Love, and be silent" and gets grievously punished and her two sisters who spew forth false love and get praised. The silence verses speaking here is very important as it sets up an important idea for the play; those who are honest or silent (Cordelia, Kent, The Fool) are punished and ignored while those who lie and speak up (Goneril, Regan, Edmund) make much greater progress towards their goals.
Language and the sound of words are so important in King Lear. Shakespeare uses words and descriptions to set the stage. Consider the storm scenes on the heath; the cacophony of the words and the distress of the content make these some of the loudest scenes in the play simply through the use of language "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!". However it is also in this scene that we start to see Lear, our great protagonist, turn in towards himself and become more like his silent Cordelia. When Kent arrives in the scene Lear says "I will say nothing" and refuses to respond when Kent and The Fool ask him to retreat inside the hovel.
This is another contrast between silence and sound only this time it is within one individual. The two sides of Lear are at war here, "this tempest in my mind". Part of him believes he is still the king while the other sees himself as "A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man". Should he stay silent and "crawl toward death" or speak up and defend his honor? It is this inability to choose which version of himself he is that cements Lear's demise, "Who is it that can tell me who I am?".
'King Lear' shows how effective silence is. The character who could be deemed the most silent, Cordelia (refuses to speak and then is absent for all but four scenes), is the one who progresses the play and also who contributes most to the fall and rise of Lear. The gods, also, are silent entities present throughout the play. They are called on countless times "By Jupiter, I swear..", "By..The mysteries of Hectate.." and yet there is never any "divine interference". The characters are superstitious, religious and blame the king's ill-temper on "these late eclipses" but there is never any apparent godly intervention (as we see in 'Romeo and Juliette' for example). They stay silent and let the characters run their course. Shakespeare also dramatizes how society wants some people to be silenced. Throughout the play people try to quieten Lear and Edgar (as Poor Tom). Edgar is told by Gloucester "No words, no words: hush." and people actually plot to kill Lear - thus the ultimate silence. These two characters epitomize age and madness in the play and they are constantly hushed by those who perceive themselves as being above them.
Silence is used to great dramatic effect in 'King Lear'. It is what gives the play it's acoustic ups-and-downs as well as being a focal plot point and message throughout. Are deceits and pleasing falsehoods the way to victory or should we be honest no matter what the consequences? Edgar, in the final scene gives us our answer; "Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say."
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ReplyDeleteWith a quarter of Pride and Prejudice being dialogue, one would imagine that it would be a book almost without silence, contrasting strongly to the overt silence in King Lear. However, silence is an integral part of both the book and the play.
ReplyDeleteDarcy’s silence leaves him a blank canvas onto which others sketch his character. His pride, in this case, most certainly leaves him vulnerable – to attack from Wickham among others. His refusal to show his character, hinders him also, how could Lizzy of all people accept a man that she had had but a sparse few conversations with. Lear’s affliction is quite the opposite; it is when he speaks that he exposes his true vulnerability of mind and spirit. It is this weakness that turns him from king to beggar, far more than the divestment of his powers.
On the other hand, Caroline’s 3-week-long silence to Jane in London leaves us in no doubt of her character. This, somewhat tragically, mirrors Jane’s circumstance in reverse, while Jane unwittingly lets her feelings be dismissed by lack of expression, Caroline pointedly uses silence to dissolve any connection between her family and Jane. Jane’s actions are reminiscent of Cordelia’s at the beginning of the King Lear, Cordelia is unwilling to publish her emotions, which leads them to be most grievously misinterpreted.
Also, Lizzy’s silence during Mr Collins’ proposal allows us to see his true character as his speech develops. Lizzy fails to stop Mr Collins at the beginning of his sermon, as she is attempting to conceal her laughter. Her laughter soon turns to indignation as his proposal is condescending in almost every sentence. Without this second part of the proposal, we may have felt more pity for Collins, of which he is entirely unworthy. Mr Collins’ false declaration contrasts deeply with France’s heartfelt proposal, rehearsal and pride clashing with spontaneity and sincerity. Mr Collins’ may have known Lizzy for far longer than France knew Cordelia, however the latter knew his prospective bride infinitely better.
Silence in "The King's Speech"
ReplyDeleteSilence and the inability to speak are major themes in "The King's Speech". The principle character of Prince Albert suffers with a stammer and so when he tries to speak he often finds himself silenced by his own body. As a result of this he struggles to express his fears and emotions and so is silent and withdrawn.
Through the course of the film we learn about Bertie's childhood and what is implied lead to his speech impediment. When Bertie was young he was left-handed and had knock-knees. His strict family tried to eradicate these traits in him and, while they succeeded, this lead Bertie to believe that he needed to be improved upon and therefore that what he had to say was invalid. His silence throughout his childhood meant he was constantly overshadowed by his brother and was abused for many years before anyone knew about it.
In contrast to this intimate family silence, radio silence seems infinitely louder, “Is the nation ready for two... minutes of radio silence?". To Bertie radios and microphones are terrifying almost vice-like contraptions. Rather than projecting his voice to the masses they take it away and lock it inside him. Radio silence is extremely daunting for Bertie as broadcasts are the only way that his subjects can know him. He already thinks that they prefer David to him and the idea that all he can give these people in a time of war is a few words and some static crackles is one that torments Bertie into silence.
Silence is used to great affect in "The King's Speech". Without Berties stammering silence he would never have married his wife, never have met Logue and we would simply have no story. Silence is also used very well in the score/soundtrack of the film to heighten tension and emphasize dialogue.