In her essay about “King Lear” by William Shakespeare, “Is This the Promised End” Joyce Carol Oates discusses the almost reformation of King Lear after coming to terms with his goddess-like exiled daughter as a result of her grace. His transformation after this moment is a rare moment in Shakespearian literature and one that embodies some of the most complex themes in literature, history, or life in general. By juxtaposing the idea of “self” presented in the text through both Cordelia and her father, the author seeks to expose how grace, self-recognition, and the self all interact and produce certain inevitable ends.
In “Is This the Promised End?” Joyce Carol Oates suggests that within all of the violence of the play, the moments of beauty and truth stand out, despite the fact that this is all unstoppable history. In other words, all of the horrible events that occur within the play are necessary for the transcendence to occur and this is part of what true tragedy (as well as history itself) is made of. There are elements of the play King Lear, such as the representation of women, which define this concept of the tragic and transcendent as women are presented as both goddesses and of a “terrifying nature.” Men, women, kings, and commoners are all obligated to their assigned roles in nature and society and this creates part of the framework for tragedy, especially for Cordelia and her father.
In this summary of “Is This the Promised Land” by Joyce Carol Oates, there are a number of important statements about characters as defined by Oates. As a character, Cordelia is in some ways tragic and magical because she refuses the roles assigned to her and instead acts an individual and her father, although it takes harsh measures, eventually does the same. The concept of the “self” in this work then is in question constantly as betrayal and dishonest force particular characters to come to terms with who they are. Furthermore, it is only when one is removed from one’s roles in society (as Lear is placed into nature) that the true self can emerge.
In “Is This the Promised End?” Joyce Carol Oates also discusses the concept of grace within the play and suggests that it is only through suffering and reaching out that the King is able to learn of himself and accept the grace of his daughter. Also, since there is no opposing force to Lear at the beginning of the text, it is almost natural that his daughter opposes him and keeps his “masculine traits” in check. In sum, the author is telling us that by using these different concepts and oppositions within the play, Shakespeare is addressing some of the highest themes in tragedy or elsewhere.
In “Is This the Promised End?” Joyce Carol Oates suggests that “Lear is experimental in its dramatizing of the soul’s yearning for infinity, the desire of man to reach out to a higher form of himself…” What does she mean by this in terms of the character of King Lear? By this statement, Oates is suggesting that despite Lear’s early ignorance of himself as a complete person, the tragic events of the play naturally force him to reconsider himself and his role. Although she puts it rather prosaically, Oates is merely telling readers that it is inevitable, especially after such great suffering, for the soul of the king to look to higher things. It is not until his entire concept of himself is shattered that he beings to understand himself within context of humanity and as a result of his awful condition, he begins to understand the plights of others as well as come to terms with the fact that even though he is a King, it is merely the clothes on his back that make him so. This kind of catharsis is what Oates means when she states that he is seeking something higher than himself and while it is agreed that she does not mean he is looking for a classic notion of “God” it is rather that he is transformed and can now look for his true nature since he is able to finally see through the trappings of role, rank, and kingship.
In “Is This the Promised End” what does Joyce Carol Oates mean when she says, “The world of Lear is one in which the particularized, personalized human being finds himself in some contention with his role” and how is this idea important to the fact that King Lear is a tragedy? Oates means that nearly all of the main characters in the play are out of place somehow. While each is an individual with distinct needs and desires, these needs are not always paralleled with where one finds oneself. There are a number of characters who, as a result of treachery or deceit, are placed outside of where they belong and as a tragedy, “King Lear” must attempt to set the world back to order again and put everyone back where he or she belongs. The tragic aspect of this play is that so many characters are displaced within their society somehow that violence and strife is an inevitable part of the eventual “setting straight” or restoration of order. Oates suggests that although there is a cycle of violence throughout the text, this is something that is not there for gratuitous purposes, but rather serves to place the play within the context of a tragedy. Without great violence there cannot be the possibility for great punishment and by proxy, there can be deeper self-understanding. In this play, it takes an awful set of violent and terrible circumstances for the king to gain an understanding of himself and open himself up to grace.
For this summary of “Is This the Promised End” by Joyce Carol Oates within the context of “King Lear” by Shakespeare, I went through the Oates essay three times. During my first reading, I simply tried to glean the thesis and understand the points the author was making. During the second reading, I paid attention to the finer details and examples that supported each of her main ideas. The third reading was devoted to exploring the language she used to convey her points which led me to consider my feelings about the essay as a whole, which in turn allowed me to write the questions. I did not encounter any problems coming up with the questions themselves, but even though they were my own I found they were all slightly difficult to answer because they relied on both my own and the essay author’s interpretation of the work. In writing and answering these questions, I tried to synthesize these two readings and in the end, this led to a better comprehension of some of the deeper themes and meanings of the play.
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