Sources for King Lear

 The story of Lear had circulated for a very long time before Shakespeare’s time and was a popular story that anyone during his time would have been familiar with. I found it interesting to learn which sources Shakespeare chose to use and how and what he chose to change in them. Most scholars agree that The True Chronicle History of King Leir and his three daughters Gonorill, Ragan, and Cordella was the main source from which Shakespeare was influenced by. Leir was published anonymously about 12 years before the first performance of King Lear. Shakespeare took the main points from the play and basically added or changed characters and sub-plots. One of the major changes was the ending, which was originally a happy one and, as we all know, Shakespeare’s King Lear is perhaps the greatest tragedy ever written. Leir has been criticized by many scholars to be a failure and not worth studying, while others believe that it is worth merit, although the poetry is  not on par with that of Shakespeare’s.

Some small changes that I came across I found to be critical to the development of Shakespeare’s characters and plot are the following:

King Lear

Cordelia: {Aside} Love and be silent

Leir

Cordella: Oh how I do abhor this flattery!

King Lear

Cordelia: {aside} And yet not so; since, I am sure, my love's
More richer than my tongue

Leir

Cordella: Did never a flatterer tell so false a tale.

 I think these were key changes that Shakespeare made in the development of Cordelia’s character. The Cordella in Leir is far clearer in her intentions for not professing to the king her love. Her intentions/motivations are clear because she bluntly states how she is against the flattery.  Shakespeare leaves Cordelia’s intentions far more ambiguous. First of all, Cordelia’s statements are asides and are in and of themselves not revealing of her reasons.  Shakespeare also adds something which is critical to his King Lear, which is the notion that “nothing can come of nothing”. In the Leir version, Cordella answers right away that she cannot put her love into words, where as in Shakespeare’s version, Cordelia first responds with “nothing”. The notion of nothing comes up many times in King Lear and is rejected by the king who is convinced that “nothing can come of nothing”.

Works Cited

Shakespeare’s Sources for King Lear - Holinshed’s Chronicles and The Faerie Queen. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2012, from http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sources/kinglearsources.html

The True Chronicle History of King Leir. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2012, from http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/kinglear/kingleir.html

On Sources of William Shakespeare’s King Lear. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2012, from http://www.poetsforum.com/papers/444_1.html