Exploring Shakespeare’s Tragedies: King Lear

King Lear is the tale of an aging king who foolishly exiles his only loving daughter and divides his kingdom between her cruel elder sisters. Realising his mistake drives him mad. Meanwhile, his loyal subject Gloucester is manipulated by one of his sons into disowning the other. The play builds on and expands themes and motifs touched on by Shakespeare in earlier works.

King Lear is now generally regarded as Shakespeare’s most powerful and most moving tragedy. It is certainly his most significant in his use of sources, structure and storytelling, in his deployment of verbal and visual imagery, and in the extent to which he re-wrote the work.

As such, we will be devoting a full day to discussion of this play. The sessions run from 10-1 and from 2-5. There will be a break for coffee and cake midway through each, but lunch will not be provided. As always, this event consists of a mix of lectures, group discussions and video clips showing a variety of interpretations. 

These events are suitable for those aged 18 and over. 

Clare Smout is a locally-based Shakespeare specialist. She spent 20 years in professional theatre, before moving sideways into academic research and teaching. Clare has taught Shakespeare to students of all ages, including lecturing at the University of Birmingham and as a guest tutor at the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education. 

This is part of a series of five sessions on Exploring Shakespeare’s Tragedies. These are stand-alone sessions. Come to as many or as few as you wish. 

• Sat 26 October 2pm-5pm Introducing Elizabethan Tragedy + Titus Andronicus 
• Sat 2 November 2pm-5pm Introducing Elizabethan Tragedy + Titus Andronicus (repeat) 
• Sat 16 November 2pm-5pm Shakespeare’s Early Language + Romeo and Juliet 
• Sat 23 November 2pm-5pm Shakespeare’s Early Language + Romeo and Juliet (repeat) 
• Sat 11 January 2pm-5pm Exploring Othello 
• Ist or 2nd of February(tbc)2pm-5pm Exploring Othello (repeat)
• Sat 8 February 2pm-5pm Exploring Macbeth
• Sun 16 February 2pm-5pm Exploring Macbeth (repeat)
• Sat 8 March 10am-5pm Exploring King Lear
• 29th or 30th March(tbc)10am-5pm Exploring King Lear (repeat) 

Any questions, please contact Clare Smout via shakespeare.courses@smout.org