THE TRAGEDY OF GOOD FRIDAY: SACRIFICIAL VIOLENCE IN "KING LEAR"

In this article I claim that the presentation of sacrificial or persecutory violence in William Shakespeare's King Lear is heavily influenced by ambivalence in Reformation England towards acts of religious violence. I begin by arguing that the crowds attending the execution of martyrs manifeste...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inELH Vol. 78; no. 2; pp. 259 - 286
Main Author ANDERSON, DAVID K.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 01.07.2011
Subjects
Christianity
Cruelty
Drama
Martyrdom
Persecution
Pity
Protestantism
Religion
Religious terrorism
Theater
Theology
Violence
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Summary:In this article I claim that the presentation of sacrificial or persecutory violence in William Shakespeare's King Lear is heavily influenced by ambivalence in Reformation England towards acts of religious violence. I begin by arguing that the crowds attending the execution of martyrs manifested what can be understood as a Girardian sacrificial crisis, where the unifying force of the deaths was undercut by an ethical dilemma over the justice of physical coercion, and contend that the Acts and Monuments of John Foxe exemplified this dilemma and contributed to it. I then examine passages from the Acts and Monuments alongside the blinding of Gloucester and the death of Cordelia arguing that, like Foxe, Shakespeare demystifies sacrificial violence, exposing it as something ugly, unjust, and alienating.
ISSN:0013-8304
1080-6547
1080-6547
DOI:10.1353/elh.2011.0018