Well written. I remember studying King Lear as part of our English syllabus in my final year of high school. A thematically complex but interesting story. Looking upon most stories now from a more biblical perspective, I can't help but spot minor similarities between Lear trajectory and Nebuchadnezzar to a certain degree, among others as well.
Thank you! I read King Lear and Hamlet as two of the plays for my Drama course and actually preferred Lear, though Hamlet is of course more famous. Could you elaborate on the similarities you see between Lear and Nebuchadnezzar? I'd be interested to know what connections you can draw; Shakespeare may have even had them in mind, too!
It's been a long time but I see the main comparison being that both Lear and Nebuchadnezzar are struck with madness, lose their grip on reality and also lose their kingship. Both were pushed to the brink of despair and reduced to nothing. We know that Nebuchadnezzar was reduced to his state by God who stripped him of everything because of pride and idolatry, while Lear being stripped of everything blames God for both the physical tempest and the metaphorical tempest in his own mind. Not sure if Shakespeare drew inspiration from the Bible for King Lear but he was apparently Catholic, so maybe he did.
Very interesting! Shakespeare was certainly a devout Catholic so your insights may be an explanation for one of his sources of inspiration. It's also intriguing to contrast the two narratives as you did. I will have to study Nebuchadnezzar more to see how they match up and differ from one another.
Well written. I remember studying King Lear as part of our English syllabus in my final year of high school. A thematically complex but interesting story. Looking upon most stories now from a more biblical perspective, I can't help but spot minor similarities between Lear trajectory and Nebuchadnezzar to a certain degree, among others as well.
Thank you! I read King Lear and Hamlet as two of the plays for my Drama course and actually preferred Lear, though Hamlet is of course more famous. Could you elaborate on the similarities you see between Lear and Nebuchadnezzar? I'd be interested to know what connections you can draw; Shakespeare may have even had them in mind, too!
It's been a long time but I see the main comparison being that both Lear and Nebuchadnezzar are struck with madness, lose their grip on reality and also lose their kingship. Both were pushed to the brink of despair and reduced to nothing. We know that Nebuchadnezzar was reduced to his state by God who stripped him of everything because of pride and idolatry, while Lear being stripped of everything blames God for both the physical tempest and the metaphorical tempest in his own mind. Not sure if Shakespeare drew inspiration from the Bible for King Lear but he was apparently Catholic, so maybe he did.
Very interesting! Shakespeare was certainly a devout Catholic so your insights may be an explanation for one of his sources of inspiration. It's also intriguing to contrast the two narratives as you did. I will have to study Nebuchadnezzar more to see how they match up and differ from one another.