The Analysis of the Ambivalence in the Relationship Between Goneril and Regan, and Cordelia and Lear in King Lear, the Tragedy Play by William Shakespeare

The paper aims to analyze the quality and nature of the ambivalence in the relationship between Regan and Goneril and, on the other hand, between Cordelia and Lear in the tragedy King Lear by William Shakespeare. Our major focus in on the first relationship. In this paper, we use graphs in accordance with the concept of presenting drama structures based on the idea of Franco Moretti. Since our intention is to point out the emotional nuances in the characters' relationships, in addition to the graphs that are in line with Moretti's distant reading, we also apply close reading and the psychoanalytic approach accompanied by the affective turn. The analysis confirmes the importance of the emotional nature and motivation in relationships between characters and the fact that we can and sometimes have to look for the causes for certain affective and emotional states in ahistorical situations. Also, the analysis shows that the visual presentation of the characters' relationships through nodes and edges can contribute to the recognition of emotional and verbal nuances in relationships, and sometimes nuances themselves opens the door for some new research, questions and discussions

Aesthetics · Ambivalence · Art · Drama · Linguistics · Literature · Psychoanalysis · Psychoanalytic theory · Cultural Studies and Interdisciplinary Research · Philosophy · Psychology · Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism · Theatre and Performance Studies

• Nomen omen. Lear's Three Daughters

  Howard Jacobson•Revue belge de philologie et d…•1980

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