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Every text can be viewed from a range of perspectives. The ways in which a text is represented (perspectives) & viewed, influences the reader’s or audiences understanding, valuing of and response to a text. ‘King Lear’ is an example of one such text, and it may be viewed from a range of perspectives, including that of Psychoanalytic and Marxist. Furthermore, Pico Iyer’s article ‘What Pop Lear needs is a good men’s group’ places ‘King Lear’ and its related issues in a contemporary context, and examples of the issues raised can be supported through various productions of ‘King Lear’. ‘King Lear’ deals with a range of issues, which can be placed in a modern context. Iyer’s article is told through the eyes of Goneril, and focuses on the conflict between Lear and his daughters. One may it find interesting to note the examples applied by Iyer in this article. The constant referral to the characters requiring “shrinks” or psychological help, adds a humorous side to the article, providing a simple and easy to understand application of Lear to contemporary society. Furthermore, it is of relevance if viewing the article from a psychoanalytic perspective. One could also focus on the way in which Iyer expresses himself throughout the article. The fact that Goneril uses rhetorical questioning in her asking of “Ever heard of Mrs Lear?” enables the responder to engage in thought in regards to ‘King Lear’. It works to Iyer’s benefit that he portrays Goneril as an angry woman, and this is evident through the use of words with negative connotations such as “power-tripping”, “freak” and “tyrant”. One would find this of interest due to the fact that it allows Goneril to express her feelings, and her thoughts on many of the key issues in the play – and thus, her perspective is of interest. Furthermore, an individual may view Goneril’s labelling of her husband as “totally judgemental” as hypocritical and narrow-minded, as she herself is not only placing judgement on her husband, but also on all others. One can view ‘King Lear’ from a psychoanalytic perspective, where the focus is on the conflict between the conscious and unconscious. This is represented in Lear’s madness (neurosis), which is the result of his repressed sexual desires for his daughters. Barry Kosky’s Bell Shakespeare 1998 production of ‘King Lear’ at Sydney, expresses this repression through the staging of a giant caged penis in the centre of the stage and this influences the audiences understanding of Lear’s inner conflict and the overall play. In Iyer’s article, the use of words with negative connotations, such as “freak” and “crazy” in relation to Lear, further portray him as a neurotic character. As mentioned earlier, this is further reinforced through the constant referral of the characters requiring “shrinks” (psychological help), contributing to the perspective of psychoanalysis. The opening scene of ‘King Lear’ is of great importance, due to the offering of Cordelia’s “nothing” (I, i: 84) (which during the Renaissance, was a slang term for vagina) towards her father. Iyer recognises the importance of Cordelia “going around saying nothing” in the opening paragraph of the article, as it is as though she is offering herself to her father.
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