A stick-figure Shakespeare comic by Mya Lixian Gosling
Today's comic is super-early, because I'm super-excited that it's Shakespeare's 450th birthday! Let's celebrate!
Let's give thanks to Shakespeare's plays being in the public domain and thus widely available for all of humanity to use, abuse, adapt, co-opt, explore, analyze, and generally perpetuate for eternity. Here's to another wonderful 450 years!
King Lear
Dramatis Personae | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
2.1 | 2.2, part 1 | 2.2, part 2
3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6
The Story So Far: Incensed by his daughter Goneril's insistence that he reduce the size of his entourage, Lear leaves to stay with his other daughter, Regan. He meets up with her and her husband, the Earl of Cornwall, at the Earl of Gloucester's castle, only to find that they have put his servant, the disguised Earl of Kent, into the stocks. This is not good.
The cracks in Lear's sanity have been showing up from time to time since the start of the play, but this is where things really start to crumble. He knows that he's losing control, but is utterly unable to prevent it from happening. Things are not helped by Regan, who, as we shall shortly see, is a really nasty piece of work.
Lear gets tag-teamed by his daughters here, and the full implications of his renouncing his powers of kingship are revealed. He thinks that resigning the crown means he gets to continue enjoying the status and privileges of being king without having to do any of the work, whereas his daughters think (rather more accurately) that it means he's now an old man relying on the charity of his family. Lear really didn't think through his whole retirement plan very well.
I love Lear's "I WILL DO SUCH THINGS.... what they are yet, I know not... BUT THEY SHALL BE THE TERRORS OF THE EARTH!" This is exactly like when someone insults you and you only think of the perfect comeback two hours later.
Anyways, Lear rushes off into the growing storm, followed by the Fool and Kent, and that's the end of Act 2. DRAMA.
Stop by again on Wednesday, when I will be posting a comic celebrating Shakespeare's 450th birthday! Also, if you happen to live in the Ann Arbor area, my library is hosting a mostly-all-day Shakespeare in India film festival, featuring Indian adaptations of Shakespeare's plays. I will be there all day (getting paid to watch Shakespeare movies - yay!) so stop by and say hello! Full details can be found here.
King Lear
Dramatis Personae | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
2.1 | 2.2, part 1 | 2.2, part 2
3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6
THE STORY SO FAR: Having fallen out spectacularly with his daughter Goneril, Lear sends the disguised Kent ahead to tell his other daughter Regan that he is coming to stay with her. Regan and her husband Cornwall, however, have gone to visit the Earl of Gloucester. Kent follows them there, where he is about to bump into Goneril's own messenger, Oswald.
Oswald gets beaten up again! If you're playing the Oswald Drinking Game, take a drink. In fact, take two drinks, as he gets beaten up while trying to deliver a letter.
In this scene Kent unleashes what is probably the most extensive insult in all of Shakespeare. Here it is in its entirety:
[Thou art] a knave; a rascal; an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy, worsted-stocking knave; a lily-livered, action-taking knave, a whoreson, glass-gazing, super-serviceable finical rogue; one-trunk-inheriting slave; one that wouldst be a bawd, in way of good service, and art nothing but the composition of a knave, beggar, coward, pandar, and the son and heir of a mongrel bitch: one whom I will beat into clamorous whining, if thou deniest the least syllable of thy addition.
Meanwhile Oswald, who doesn't recognize Kent as the fellow who beat him up back at Goneril's place, is just totally confused. Come on, you have to feel for Oswald.
Kent, meanwhile, acts like a complete idiot. Here is his thought process: "What the best thing to do in the midst of a volatile and fragile family disagreement? I know! I'll beat up some guy and then insult lots of people! Nothing will go wrong!"
He totally deserves those stocks.
Lear is a bit slow on the uptake.
This scene a bit oddly disjointed. In the text I'm working from (Modern Library's RSC edition, based exclusively on the Folio text), it is all one scene, but Edgar's sudden appearance while Kent is sleeping in the stocks is often spun off into its own scene.
Anyways, Edgar decides that the best way to avoid getting arrested by his father is to disguise himself as a lunatic madman. However, this isn't just a surface disguise. As we shall shortly see, Edgar gets really into it, to the point where you really start to worry about him.
Tune in again on Monday, when Lear throws another HUGE tantrum! Plus I plan to have something special on Wednesday to celebrate Shakespeare's 450th birthday. FUN TIMES!
King Lear
Dramatis Personae | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
2.1 | 2.2, part 1 | 2.2, part 2
3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6
King Lear
Dramatis Personae | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
2.1 | 2.2 (part 1) | 2.2, part 2
3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6
THE STORY SO FAR: In a fit of righteous indignation and massive overreaction, King Lear has stormed out of his daughter Goneril's castle and is on his way to meet his other daughter, Regan. Meanwhile, Edmund, the bastard son of the Earl of Gloucester, is carrying out Phase 2 of his diabolical plan to discredit his older, legitimate brother Edgar and seize his inheritance.
Many of Shakespeare's greatest villains are fantastic actors, and Edmund is no exception. He's able to play the loyal son/loyal brother role so well that both Gloucester and Edgar are completely taken in by his ruse. The alternative explanation is, of course, that both Gloucester and Edgar are gullible idiots who are collectively as dumb as a post.
You will note, of course, the obvious parallels between Lear and Gloucester. Both are willfully short-sighted when it comes to their children, with Lear being irrationally angered by Cordelia's honesty and Gloucester all-too-ready to believe the worst of Edgar.
What I'm trying to get at is that they're both terrible parents and just about deserve what's coming to them.
Edmund is moving rapidly up in the world. He's gone from "bastard with no inheritance" to "bastard with inheritance serving one of the two most powerful men in the country". He's still a complete bastard, though.
Tune in again on Friday, when we'll see what happens when the lit match that is King Lear is dropped into this already-smoldering powder keg! I'm guessing it's not going to be pretty.
King Lear
Dramatis Personae | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
2.1 | 2.2 (part 1) | 2.2, part 2
3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6
I am, however, willing to accept that I might be a partial idiot for not immediately changing it to "avenge" so as to avoid upsetting people. But "revenge" sounds cooler.
I'd like to thank those people who e-mailed me early on about this for being wonderful and polite. One of them also wonderfully and politely pointed out that I had spelled "Hamlet" as "Halmet" in one of the panels, an error that no amount of textual research could excuse. If anyone catches any typos or grammatical errors in my comics, please let me know, either in the comments or through the form on my About page. I really do appreciate it.
That's all for today's grammar lesson! Join me again on Wednesday, when we'll start to tackle the second act of King Lear. And what an act it is! Act Two, Scene Two in particular is a doozy.
King Lear
Dramatis Personae | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
2.1 | 2.2 (part 1) | 2.2, part 2
3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6
THE STORY SO FAR: Having given up his powers as king, Lear goes to stay with his eldest daughter, Goneril. Unfortunately she takes issue with the large number of knights accompanying Lear, and asks him to reduce his entourage. Infuriated by this perceived slight to his dignity and position, Lear curses Goneril and storms off to stay with Regan.
This is probably the first scene where we see that Lear's irrational and angry behavior is, perhaps, the sign of something more serious lurking beneath the surface. He speaks in fits and starts, not completing his sentences and rambling. Of course, the fact that the Fool is bombarding him with a series of nonsensical jokes doesn't help matters.
Speaking of jokes, I am really fond of the "Why are the seven stars no more than seven?" joke. I don't know why, but it always makes me laugh. This is probably indicative of my underdeveloped sense of humor.
That's the end of Act 1! I'll have something a bit different upon Monday, as a palate cleanser, and then we'll plunge into the high drama of Act 2 on Wednesday. Have a good weekend!
Oh, before I forget, I ignored my better judgment and signed up on Tumblr, so if you're bored with following me on Facebook and Twitter, come join me over there!
King Lear
Dramatis Personae | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
2.1 | 2.2 (part 1) | 2.2, part 2
3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6
King Lear
Dramatis Personae | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
2.1 | 2.2 (part 1) | 2.2, part 2
3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6
THE STORY SO FAR: The Earl of Kent, banished by King Lear for opposing the disinheritance of Lear's daughter, Cordelia, has returned in disguise, determined to continue serving his king. Having renounced his powers, Lear is staying with his eldest daughter, Goneril, and everything is going to be JUST FINE. Isn't it?
I love Kent in disguise. In some productions he grows a beard. In some productions he shaves his beard. In some productions he wears a hat. He's always recognizable.
This is the first time Oswald gets beaten up. If you're playing the "Oswald Drinking Game", take a drink.
And here is our introduction to the Fool! Fools in Shakespeare are often much wiser and insightful than the other characters around them, and Lear's Fool is no exception. He basically spends most of this scene haranguing Lear about how stupid it was for him to banish Cordelia and split his kingdom between Goneril and Regan. Because he's the Fool, he gets away with it.
He also, miraculously, gets away with not being very funny.
When you deconstruct it, Goneril has a pretty valid complaint. Lear is no longer king, so why should he get to bring a hundred of his closest drinking buddies over to his daughter's house to party every night? The problem is... Lear doesn't understand that he's not king anymore. He split up his kingdom and gave away his power, sure, but that doesn't mean he's not still king, right? RIGHT?
The Fool doesn't help things in this bit, what with his constant interruptions and seemingly nonsensical singing.
"Who is it that can tell me who I am?" is one of the hot-button lines in Lear. While he's deliberately overplaying the moment to shame his daughter here, it is a dire foreshadowing of when his mental state and sense of self begin to crumble in a very real manner. Also of interest is the Fool's reply: "Lear's shadow."
Thwarted by Goneril, Lear proceeds to unleash an unparalleled stream of parental invective. Seriously, what parent curses their daughter with sterility or a monstrous offspring just for being asked to stop being such a nuisance? Way to go, Lear. You're not winning the "Father of the Year" award anytime soon.
I've drawn Goneril as being taken aback by Lear's curse, but of course that depends on the production. Some productions have a hard-as-nails Goneril who couldn't be bothered less by her father's curses. Others have a Goneril who is totally devastated by the torrent of emotional abuse. Your Goneril may vary.
This is the first time Oswald gets to deliver a message. If you're playing the "Oswald Drinking Game", take another drink.
That's all for today! On Friday we'll be wrapping up Act 1. Time flies when you're having fun! Also, thanks to all my new readers who found me on io9, Buzzfeed, and various other sites over the last few days. The response has been quite overwhelming. I've likened it to having a bar of gold bullion dropped on my head - I feel very lucky, and also somewhat concussed, with possible brain damage.
King Lear
Dramatis Personae | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
2.1 | 2.2 (part 1) | 2.2, part 2
3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6
King Lear
Dramatis Personae | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
2.1 | 2.2 (part 1) | 2.2, part 2
3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6
THE STORY SO FAR: King Lear retires from politics and divides his kingdom up between his three daughters. However, when his youngest daughter Cordelia refuses to play a game of "Let's Flatter Dad Outrageously", Lear banishes her and splits her territory up between her two sisters. He then goes to stay with his eldest daughter, Goneril.
So, this is a really short and boring scene. Don't blame me. Blame Shakespeare.
We get the first inklings here that Lear is not exactly the best house guest. He smacks around Goneril's servants and his entourage of knights are rowdy and presumably not wiping their boots on the mat when they come indoors. So naturally Goneril devises a strategy to "encourage" him to leave.
This is also the first time we meet Oswald, Goneril's steward. He's a self-important toady who will spend the rest of the play getting beaten up and delivering messages to people. I like him. Don't ask me why.
That would normally be all for today, but yesterday my Three-Panel Plays were featured on io9.com. I have to admit - not being a particularly savvy web denizen - I had never been to io9.com before, but this is what happened once the post featuring my work "went live" over there:
I hasten to add that my computer didn't really explode, but I have been overwhelmed by the response (especially all my friends who told me "You're on io9? That's, like, huge!" and made me feel like an uncultured savage for not knowing what that meant.)
So, many thanks to Robert Gonzalez over at io9 for giving my little webcomic a major airing! It's been surreal.
Tune in on Wednesday to see just how bad a houseguest Lear can be!
King Lear
Dramatis Personae | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
2.1 | 2.2 (part 1) | 2.2, part 2
3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6
