A Close Inquiry Into The Power Issues In Shakespeare's King Lear

Re-examining the issues of power and its relationship in Shakespeare's classic tragedy King Lear is one of the important ways of breaking through the rigid and traditional "social-historical reading" mode in the academia. Reproducing the issues of power in the text takes an important role in the understanding and reflecting on the Shakespeare's historical dramas and tragedies, as well as the theatrical history.Deep in the text of King Lear there implicates the undercurrent of power, and in the descriptions of characters, the circumstances, the discourses and the plots, there displays the profound complexity of power in all of them. Around such a center of power, they together form a storm of power in the drama. Through the extremely hidden structure and subtle arrangements of the content, it fully shows the thoughtful micro-issues of power, and perfectly demonstrates the great wisdom of Shakespeare.While analyzing the complex issues of power in King Lear, to some extent, we may find the effectiveness of delineating the issues of power from three perspectives of Foucault's theory---knowledge-discourse, discipline-punishment, and body-desire which also shows the lack of its theoretical validity. In such a premise, we need to re-value the effectiveness of Foucault's theory in explaining the text. And this is one of the footholds in our reflecting and also an end point of our work of deconstructing the power within the text.Critically reproducing the structure and relationships of power in King Lear, means that we initiate a beginning of critical reflection, while not an end to both the text and the theory. On the one hand, in the aspects of the richness of content, the real creativity, the transcendence across time and space, and the infinite readability, it entails a further understanding of the "canonicity" of the text. On the other hand, with the highlights of the resistance to the power, it also means a critical reflection on the theory of power on a broader stage.And meanwhile, it also supplies an extraordinarily effective way for the reflections on the re-understanding of Shakespeare, the constructive elements of his tragedies and historical dramas, and as well as the theatrical history. Comments on Shakespeare's King Lear in the theatrical history, intentionally or inadvertently, have obviously ignored the inquiry into the living condition of the whole human nature which lies deep under the surface of the aspects of characters, morality and esthetics. Undoubtedly, the tragedy of power with its change is a deeper category of theme for Shakespeare. And reflections on such a theme can surely make great senses in our understandings for both Shakespeare and his classic drama King Lear.