Every time Shakespeare’s repertoire rearrange, or remake, will lead to numerous concerns, hot discussion, and even criticism, one of its four major tragedies, "King Lear" is also the case. What I have watched is Drama version of "King Lear" which has light up life of countless people, especially over the years. This opus describes vicious world full of ambition and greed, fight between the sisters，plot between servant and master，scramble between the children and the father. This world is Filled with betrayal, lust and murder……I think it's only in this drama of the scene modes that actors are able to highlight the features of Shakespeare’s drama, in particular, appreciate the beauty of language and performance, and tension. (Cause at first I could hardly understand the dialogue in the play so I only observe actors eye contact, expression, actions and mien and later when I came back home, I searched on the internet and find the script for a further study.)
King Lear was the ruler of Britain. He made a misjudgment of his daughters, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia, and this later brought about his downfall. As Cordelia refused to outdo the flattery of her elder sisters, and as she could not be compelled to describe her love with dishonest hyperbole. Lear became agitated and divided her share of the kingdom between Goneril and Regan, and Cordelia was disowned. However, Soon after Lear had abdicated the throne, he found out that Goneril and Regan's feelings for him had turned cold and offended him many times. Though Cordelia had been disinherited by her father, she still married with the king of France who really loved her. And later she led an army of France to fight a battle with her sisters trying to restore Lear to his throne. Lear and Cordelia were briefly reunited and reconciled before the battle. The French lost the battle, Lear together with Cordelia were imprisoned and were to be put to death. However, Goneril poisoned Regan out of jealousy because of a man, and later killed herself after knowing her lover died. Orders were then given for Lear and Cordelia to be reprieved. Unfortunately, the reprieve came too late. Cordelia was hanged by her servant. Lear killed the servant who hanged her, then died beside cordelia’s body.
It seems obvious that In Shakespeare’s play, each of the words is exquisite and heartwarming. In this play, there are two obvious clues, one is around the three daughters of King Lear, and the other one relates to Earl of Gloucester and his two sons. In the possession of all, the King Lear and earl of Gloucester all made the mistake which is the result of their supreme leadership, easy to listen to libel, and cannot identify the truth and the lie and made the wrong decision. When King Lear was mad and Earl of Gloucester was betrayed by his younger son for maintenance stick up for King Lear and was poke out his eyes by Regan, they actually see the truth. However, their outcome seems to be a payoff for their fatal mistake, and loyal Earl of Kent’s commit suicide, the clown who is suffer the disasters, the youngest daughter Cordelia’s death is the additional costs of the payoff, expensive and painful. Shakespeare models an opinionated, confused, fatuous and old king at the beginning, but in the end, the old man was shaped by the cruel reality and Betray of his two daughters, he became a grief stricken and insane man, lost himself in the madness and sobriety. When he was Living on the wilderness，Suffering the pains of storm，being indignant and imprecate on Goneril and Regan and imprecate on Britain. The actor accurately revealed the character of King Lear's old age and tragedy, coupled with the extraordinary skill of Shakespeare's lines. With the addition of actor’s deep meaning of drama, the tragedy of King Lear seems to be the nature of the role of the actor himself. Finally, when King Lear held his youngest daughter who had fought for him and already been strangled, I can clearly felt the lament from the bottom of the bone marrow and the pain deep in the old soul. At the end of the play, in the scene, all the people in this tragedy has died，the damned and the virtuous. There’s no poetic justice.
On the other hand, the scene, language, action and expression are also worth prize. The play's scenes are mostly theatrical style with deep dark colors, such as corners of the great hall of palace, deserted wilderness, steep Dover cape, cold weather, haze, rainstorm night and so on. All of these reflect the excellent performances in this famous tragedy, everything seems nature and proper. Drama, by its very nature, is a mobile art. In the process of theatrical performances, by contacting the perception and the aesthetic appearance actors shaped a new aesthetic perception and aesthetic imagination of the characters, and that such imagination is not groundless, but on the base of existing
