Comparing Jane Smileys A Thousand Acres and William Shakespeares King

Comparing Jane Smileys A Thousand Acres and William Shakespeares queen regnant LearJane Smileys refreshful A Thousand Acres is a modern version of William Shakespeares pouf Lear. The tragic ideas brought out by King Lear are revisited in A Thousand Acres both containing universal themes in which societies from past to stage can identify with. Tragedy is a form of drama that depicts the anguish of a heroic individual who is often overcome by the truly obstacles he is struggling to remove. The novel and play each contain perspicuous tragic elements that lead to the development of similar characters, plot, and images but both arrest distinct themes. A Thousand Acres provides a new rendition of Shakespeares classic tragedy allowing the reader to create a unique ferment to their opinions of the Lear family. William Shakespeares tragedy of King Lear begins with the Kings decision to divide his earth in the midst of his common chord daughters. He gathers them all together, and t ells them he will divide up the kingdom according to whoever has the most love for him. Goneril and Reagan, the two older daughters, make risky declarations of love in order to get the shares they want of the kingdom. The youngest daughter, Cordelia, tells Lear that she loves him, as a daughter should love a father. Lear becomes angry and disappointed with Cordelias response tint she has shown a lack of devotion so he takes action and banishes her. When Kent, a close friend of Lear, attempts to defend Cordelia, but as well he is banished by Lear. Cordelia marries the King of France and goes to live there. The kingdom is equally divided between Goneril and Regan. These two daughters are evil and decide if Lear becomes too much of a problem then they will take d... ... which would have prevented this tragedy. The blinding Gloucester becomes dry because when he is blinded he is able to see that he has judged his tidings Edgar wrongly and it is Edmund who is evil. Similarly, in A T housand Acres Loren the loyal countersign is the cause of his tragedy. Both Lear and Larry become mad after giving up their government agency too early. When Lear turns his kingdom over to his daughters he looses respect and power which cause him to go mad. When Larry signs his farm over to his daughters he looses control of the province and goes mad. Works Cited and Consulted Bradley, A.C. King Lear. 20Lh Century Interpretations of King Lear. Ed. Jane Adelman. New Jersev Prentice-Hall, 1978. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of King Lear. Ed. Russell Fraser. New York Penguin, 1998. Smiley, Jane. A Thousand Acres. New York Fawcett Columbine, 1991.