King Lear: genre

Genre Overview

King Lear is predominantly categorised as a Tragedy, one of the four primary genres of Renaissance drama.
The narrative encompasses elements of dramatic tragedy, in which the tragic hero, King Lear, through a series of unfortunate events driven by his own errors in judgement, reaches a point of utter despair.
The play’s tragic elements are highlighted through its central theme, the illustration of human suffering.

One key characteristic of Shakespearean tragedy exhibited in King Lear is the exploration of human experiences and emotions such as love, betrayal, suffering, and death.
The tragic model based on Aristotle’s Poetics can be seen in King Lear’s fatal flaw, or hamartia, is demonstrated in his inability to see his daughters’ true natures as he splits his kingdom based on their flattery.
The presence of peripeteia, the reversal of fortune, is marked by Lear’s downfall from a powerful king to an old, mad outcast.
Instances of anagnorisis, the moment of tragic recognition or enlightenment, occur when Lear finally recognizes Cordelia’s love and later when he understands the vanity of power.
The element of catharsis, eliciting feelings of fear and pity among the audiences, is evidenced by Lear’s ultimate tragic end which evokes these emotions.

King Lear is also recognisable as a History play, a dramatic form that emphasizes the thematic representation of historical figures and events.
The narrative draws from the myths and records of ancient British history. In particular, the historical record of Leir of Britain, a legendary king of the Britons, as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his pseudohistorical 12th-century History of the Kings of Britain, might have influenced the creation of Lear’s character.
There’s also the presence of absurdist elements in the depiction of the senselessness of the universe and the human condition, resonant in the portrayal of Lear’s madness.

The subplot of Gloucester, involving his illegitimate son Edmund’s treachery, assimilates elements of the morality play, a sub-genre of Medieval theatre.
Elements of the senecan tragedy, usually characterized by bloody and violent action, are evident in scenes such as Gloucester’s blinding.

King Lear blends elements of tragedy, history, and morality play to form a deeply complex narrative, providing diverse interpretative possibilities for performers and directors.
This genre blending, characteristic of Shakespearean works, invites multiple lens of analysis and therefore forms an important point of consideration in the study of King Lear.