1. Which currently famous actors and actresses would you cast in the following roles, and why?
• Cordelia: Scarlett Johansson- She is beautiful with a good british accent. She is also a very good at expressing emotion and her characters in other movies in some way represent Cordelia.
• Regan: Angelina Jolie- Her prominent facial structures and overall mischievous attitude in movies would represent Regan very well.
• Edmund: Brad Pitt- His overall dominent acting ability would work really well as an devilish villain in the story of king lear.
• Albany: Keanu Reeves- His demeanor would work really well with albany as they both hunt for the right thing, but are also reserved and strong.
• The Fool: Robert De Niro- He always likes to point out the faults in people and has great insight and wisdom to give to his peers.
2. Which character (out of all of them) do you most admire and why? I mostly admire Kent. Kent is a very thoughtful character that is very sane and true to his beliefs at the same time. He loves Lear, but will not allow his insanity to drive him as he stands up for Cordelia during the flattery of love that he witnesses. His honesty and loyalty is unquestionable and quite frankly the most a character has exhibited in play for me personally. Kent is a character that in some ways I aspire to be and in that he is my most admired character.
3. Aristotle believes a proper tragedy will evoke a catharsis in its audience. Which scene induces catharsis? Can you explain why? (It will help to review the long definition of catharsis.) For me the scene where Goneril and Regan perish due to their own jealousy and treachery along with Edmund’s death a little bit after theirs induces catharsis. Edmunds death evokes catharsis as his treachery and sickening acts of power thirst drive hatred and disgust into the audience throughout the play. As he dies and Edgar, one of the few truly noble characters, gets his land back it leaves the audience with an immense feeling of deserved justice.
4. When Lear and the Fool are leaving Regan's and headed into the storm, Lear is concerned about going "mad" (crazy or senile). The storm is a symbol of the brewing madness in Lear's mind. What aspect of aging frightens you, and what could symbolize it? Wasted opportunities that induce regret is terrifying as I get closer to my expiration date. My fear of the many choices, opportunities, and situations that could have gone differently if I had worked a little harder or made a sacrifice is deafening. My symbol could be a feast a rotten fruit as the once prolific, energy bearing fruit turns into a molded, unpalatable piece of food that I can only look at in disgust. My wasted opportunities.
5. How does reflecting on King Lear (its story and/or particular characters) make you feel "uncomfortably at home"? King Lear's allusions to family and its many problems is overwhelming as it consistently states, exemplifies, and executes lessons of the troubled family and the problems that surround the people within it. I feel "uncomfortably at home" as the difficulties in my own family are represented to the ones in King Lear causing an uncomfortable sense of commonality and insight.
