What is it about?
Readers of Shakespeare's King Lear know that the main character is an old man who does not get along with his young daughters, but why do their ages matter? This paper explores the expectations Shakespeare's first readers would have had for characters who are very young and very old so that modern readers can understand more about these characters' motivations.
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Why is it important?
Other scholars typically talk only about the old or the young characters or about the family conflicts in the play. By looking at all of the characters' ages, as well as by explaining how Shakespeare's culture viewed young and old people, this paper helps readers understand the social structure of King Lear.
Perspectives
It's very difficult to say something new about Shakespeare, so I was very pleased that the Ben Jonson Journal found my ideas to be interesting. King Lear is one of my favorite plays to read and teach, and I'm happy to think that I've contributed to the conversation around this great work of art.
Rachel Roberts
North Greenville University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: “We that are young”: Youth and Age in King Lear, Ben Jonson Journal, May 2017, Edinburgh University Press,
DOI: 10.3366/bjj.2017.0181.
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