A Very Green Gentleman: King Lear’s Resemblance to the Green Man
In the Explicator article written by Joy Kennedy, she describes the scene of King Lear running wild in the storm as one of the most memorable figures of a Shakespearean tragedy. She reveals that there are many interpretations of the play throughout the years. Scholars have acknowledged that there are alot of Christ like attributes to some of the characters in the play. But what Kennedy enlightens us the most with is that she explains how there is also pre-Christian imagery in the play. The strongest example of pre-Christian imagery used within the play is when King Lear has his head dressed in weeds and flowers in act 4, scene 6. In this scene the King portrays the image of the Pagan figure the Green Man.
The Green Man is physically described as a man that has his head crowned with leaves, weeds, and flowers. This pre-Christian figure is incredibly influential in British History, and is used as a symbol of fertility and rebirth. Aside from the symbolism used in the play, King Lear, the Green Man can also be seen in other British Literary works such as Robin Hood and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. To see the resemblance King Lear has to the Green Man , Kennedy directs us to King Lear’s words in act 4. The King enters wearing new garbs, draping a crown of weeds and flowers on his head. The King begins his soliloquy on copulation; another element that the Green Man symbolizes:
Let copulation thrive; for Gloucester’s bastard son
Was kinder to his father than my daughters
‘Got tween the lawful sheets.
To’t, luxury, pell-mell, for I lack soldiers.
Behold yon simple’ring dame,
Whose face between her fork presages snow;
That minces virtue, and does shake the head
To hear of pleasure’s name-
The fitchew nor the soiled horse goes to’t
With a more righteous appetite.
Down from the waist they are Centaurs,
Though women all above; But to the girdle do the gods inherit,
Beneath is all the fiends’; there’s hell, there’s darkness,
There is the sulphorous pit, burning, scalding,
Stench, consumption.Fie, fie, fie! Pah, pah!(4.6 114-29)2
According to Kennedy, Lear has learned not to be fooled by appearances. When he delivers his soliloquy we hear of a hypothetical woman who shakes her head “to hear of pleasure’s name” is a centaur below the waist. In other words, this woman gives into her sexual desires like a beast would. This attribute can also be a characteristic of the Green Man. Kennedy wishes us to acknowledge that there is irony in Lear’s speech while it is paired with his Green Man appearance.
Kennedy also points out Lear’s dementia in this scene. She mentions that critics and readers often have two possible meanings for the reason behind Lear’s madness.The first is that his madness is a representation of of a psychological regression of old age. Because of the harsh elements in front of him and stress, Lear reverts back to childish ways. The second is that his madness is an allusion to a crowned Christ Like figure. Kennedy speculates that the Elizabethan audience would have seen this as a Pagan image. She explains her reasoning by noting that the Renaissance was a time of exploration, which lead people to come back with tall tales of people being primitive and worshiping Pagan gods. Kennedy then proposes that the Elizabethan audience might see Lear’s madness as a religious regression. She then proposes that Lear’s half-nakedness and his speech make him an allusion of the Green Man.
We are then directed to analyze the weeds in King Lear’s crown. She reveals that the weeds support the Green Man hypothesis. To further support her claim, Kennedy mentions the ideas of another literary writer by the name of Butler. According to Butler, clothing and appearance are highly important in the play as Lear changes costumes with each stage entry. Butler claims that Shakespeare is preparing us verbally for the new image to appear in the next stage appearance. He directs us to look closely at how its done through Cordelia’s description of her mad father in lines 4.4 1-6.
From this line we learn that the Darnel in Lear’s crown of weeds prevents corn from growing;hemlock is poisonous;and cuckoo flowers mean madness. This points towards the parasitic nature of weeds which fully ties to the Green Man. In addition to his look, Lear’s words in lines 4.6 177-80 represent the life cycle coming to full circle. It is then revealed to us, by Kennedy, that the Green Man is also known to represent the life cycle. This confirms that the life and death of the King were symbolic of the Green Man’s characteristics. Kennedy concludes with stating that if Lear is the image of the Green Man in act 4, then both sides of the christian versus pagan debate are strengthened.
Overall the work of Joy Kennedy has been enlightening. There are some strong points that should be addressed. In the beginning of the text, Kennedy assumes that Shakespeare purposely chosen to use pre-Christian context once in an otherwise dominant Christian context play. Kennedy is jumping the gun at making this assumption, but we will never know the full intention of what Shakespeare had in mind. We cannot have an interview with him and pick his brain about why he chose to break the pattern and use a pre-christian character to model King Lear off of. All we can do is hypothesize but not make a conclusion.
But Kennedy provides excellent points in her argument about the King being the Green Man. First she had us observe the soliloquy that the King performs in act 4. The King speaks about copulation and how women are driven by lust, both of which the Green Man represents. Then she has us think about the irony of how King Lear is dressed while during his great speech. Lear Is half naked and has a crown of weeds on his head. With the King’s dress and his actions he resembles the Green Man in every way in this scene. Finally she points out the specific weeds that are in King Lear’s crown. He has Darnel, hemlock, and cuckoo flowers. All of which contain some form of poison or represent death, another attribute to the Green Man.
Because of Kennedy making us take a closer look at these scenes, she sparks us to think about Shakespeare’s intention of placing a Pagan God like characteristic in King Lear in a mostly Christian theme.
Essays
1 Likes
948 Views
Share: