On the Imagery of Heath in King Lear—From the Perspective of Archetypal Criticism

CHU Shi-qi

As one of Shakespeares most representative works， King Lear has been paid much attention to and studied by scholars at home and abroad from different perspectives since its publication. As for me， Id like to study on the imagery of Heath in King Lear from the perspective of Archetypal Criticism to explore and make an analysis of the four multinational-layered and profound symbolic significance. It will be of great benefit to promote our study and understanding of this drama from this specific perspective， thus bringing us much enlightenment and benefits.

Keywords： King Lear， archetypal criticism， heath

Introduction

In his great creation， Shakespeare is committed to promoting and conveying the spirit of humanism， highlighting and giving emphasis to the shining point of human nature. As for the essence of human， Shakespeare believes that it is free will which makes human different from animals and become human. At the same time， it is also the root of all kinds of sins in human nature. In Shakespeares view， the defects of human nature are the result of human liberalization， which is well reflected in Hamlet. What should be pointed out is that in Shakespeares poems， it is love and friendship that he sings highly of， which exactly reflects his appreciation and pursuit of beauty. And Shakespeares creation has its unique artistic characteristics for he skillfully applies clue art， monologue art， the integration of tragicomedy， technique integration and so forth. In addition， the language used by Shakespeare is extremely vivid and infectious.

As one of the Four tragedies， King Lear is built on the story of two main families， which are also two parallel clues of the whole drama. One clue is the story of King Lear and his three daughters， the other is the story of Earl of Gloucester and his two sons. The whole dramas tragic ending conveys Shakespeares unique thoughts on human nature， morality and the world.

In terms of historical background， King Lears story comes from an ancient legend in Britain， which took place in around the 8th century. There are many poems and essays created based on this theme. It is generally believed that Shakespeares King Lear was created by adapting an earlier anonymous work and Shakespeare added plenty of original contents such as tragic ending and King Lears Madness on the basis of the story blueprint. As far as the creative background is concerned， the creation of King Lear is at the peak of Shakespeares artistic career， on which he has a clearer and more thorough view of life and the world and pays more attention to the speculation of human nature， morality and philosophy. In King Lear， Shakespeare aims to expose the corruption of the British feudal system at that time through a court power struggle story and to boldly satirize the hypocrisy of the whole society， various crimes and evil virtues， all of which can be clearly found out from the various characters carefully portrayed in King Lears story， such as King Lears two selfish and hypocritical daughters， the insidious and cunning Edmund.

Since its publication， scholars at home and abroad have conducted various research and exploration on King Lear from a wide range of perspectives， including human nature， tragedy analysis， death analysis， text analysis， multi-axiological perspective， ironic art， power and family affection， crazy phenomenon interpretation， feminist criticism， corpus， language characteristics， translation and so on. As far as I am concerned， Id like to analyze the imagery of Heath in King Lear from the perspective of Archetypal Criticism.

Archetypal Criticism and the Imagery of Heath

Archetypal Criticism， stems from contemporary peoples research on human early culture， primitive thinking and human common psychological structure， which surpasses and abandons Freuds psychoanalytic theory to some extent. It has mainly experienced three periods in the development process of more than half a century. First and foremost， Early Archetypal Criticism represented by Frasers Golden Bough and Cambridge school. Golden Bough， as an anthropological monograph on primitive cultural customs with witchcraft and primitive religious rituals as the main objects， is known as the Encyclopedia of cultural anthropology. It reveals several common archetypes in western literature， such as death and resurrection as well as scapegoat. It has become the foundation work of Archetypal Criticism and directly promoted the emergence of Cambridge school in England. Secondly， Archetypal Criticism in the development stage represented by Jungs theory of Collective Unconsciousness and its school. In Jungs view， the original image or prototype is interlinked for all nations， all times and all people， and there are as many prototypes as typical situations in our life， such as birth prototype， death prototype， regeneration prototype， mother earth Prototype and so on. In addition， Jungs theory contains rich aesthetic and literary thoughts， mainly including Art and Collective Unconsciousness， artists as collective people， psychological and illusory literary models， artistic charm and function. Finally， Frye and his Anatomy of Criticism. As a master of Archetypal Criticism， Frye integrates the main viewpoints of Fraser school and Jung school and widely absorbs the achievements of contemporary psychology， anthropology and linguistics， succeeding in establishing a comprehensive and profound Archetypal Criticism system. His work Anatomy of Criticism mainly includes four parts： historical criticism， ethical criticism， archetypal criticism and rhetorical criticism. As far as he is concerned， the most basic commonness of literature lies in the imitation of archetypes， which are typical or recurring images in literary works. What is more， Frye unifies the four myths and the four main types of literature as well as advocates the criticism of “standing back.”

As a typical image in literary works， Heath tends to own rich symbolic significance. Typical examples include Claire McFalls Ferryman， Eliots Wasteland， Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights and so on. Taking Ferryman as an instance， the wasteland portrayed in it represents all kinds of hardships and struggles in life. Only through the wasteland bravely can our soul be truly ferried and redeemed. On the other hand， the wasteland also symbolizes love and warmth between people， and only with a warm heart can we cross the wasteland to gain real happiness. In King Lear， the imagery of Heath has also appeared plenty of times， owning multi-layered and profound symbolic significance.

Symbolic Significance of the Imagery of Heath

Tragic significance. Heath， far from the mortal life， remote and desolate， tends to give people a sense of loneliness and desolation. In King Lear， the several times appearance of Heath owns profound tragic significance， which is mainly reflected in two families： King Lears and Earl of Gloucesters. In King Lears family， the root of King Lears tragedy can be divided into two sides， one is his dereliction of duty as a king. He practices tyranny， divides up the land at will and is indifferent to the lives of the common people. Another is his selfishness， rudeness， unreasonableness and disability to distinguish right from wrong. And Cordelias tragedy embodies an overwhelming and irresistible tragic force for kind people often have to go through all kinds of hardships but still cannot escape the tragic ending after all， which exactly foils the morbid state of the time that Shakespeare would like to describe and convey. The two representative tragic characters in Earl of Gloucester s family are Earl of Gloucester and his eldest son Edgar. Earl of Gloucester， both loyal to the country and kind-hearted as an individual， has been calculated step by step and finally loses his sight for his credulousness to the words of his insidious and hypocritical second son Edmund and distrust to his eldest son Edgar. Edgar， has always been kind， which exactly becomes one of the roots of his calculation by Edmund instead. Taking Scene 3 of Act 2 in the drama as an instance， Edgars lonely and helpless situation in the heath is the profound foil of the tragic significance of the whole drama.

Enter Edgar

Edgar I heard myself proclaimed，

And by the happy hollow of a tree

Escaped the hunt. No port is free， no place

That guard and most unusual vigilance

Does not attend my taking. Whiles I may escape，

I will preserve myself； and am bethought

To take the basest and most poorest shape

That ever penury， in contempt of man，

Brought near to beast. My face Ill grime with filth，

Blanket my loins， elf all my hair in knots，

And with presented nakedness outface

The winds and persecutions of the sky.

The country gives me proof and precedent

Of Bedlam beggars， who， with roaring voices，

Strike in their numbed and mortified bare arms

Pins， wooden pricks， nails， sprigs of rosemary；

And with this horrible object， from low farms，

Poor pelting villages， sheepcotes， and mills，

Sometime with lunatic bans， sometime with prayers，

Enforce their charity. Poor Turlygod！ Poor Tom！

Thats something yet！ Edgar I nothing am. [Exit.] （Shakespeare， 2018， p. 100）.

Chaos and absurdity of the world. The desolate and disordered heath often gives us a sense of chaos. In King Lear， another symbolic meaning of the heath is chaos and absurdity of the world. A typical instance is the storm on the heath， which is not only in material but in spiritual. Kind peoples tragic ending is undoubtedly a profound reflection of the background of the whole era at that time. Family， is supposed to be full of warmth and love. Nevertheless， in the two families described in King Lear， what can be seen is the calculation and conspiracy between brothers and sisters as well as the extreme selfishness， indifference and hypocrisy of human nature. Taking a section in Scene 2 of act 3 as an example，

Storm still. Enter Learand Fool.

Lear Blow， winds， and crack your cheeks！ Rage！ Blow！

You cataracts and hurricanoes， spout

Till you have drenched our steeples， drowned the cocks！

You sulphrous and thought-executing fires，

Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts，

Singe my white head！ And thou， all-thaking thunder，

Strike flat the thick rotundity othworld，

Crack Natures moulds， an germains spill at once，

That make ingrateful man！ （Shakespeare， 2018， p. 132）.

King Lears roar in the storm deeply reflects his inner frenzy， struggle and desolation after suffering from his two childrens ingratitude. In Scene 1 of Act 4， it can be seen that the absurd scene of a madman taking a blind man after Edgars meeting with his father Earl of Gloucester in the heath is exactly a reflection of the morbid state of that era.

Earl of Gloucester Then prithee get thee gone.

If for my sake

Thou wilt overtake us hence a mile or twain

In the way toward Dover， do it for ancient love；

And bring some covering for this naked soul，

Who Ill entreat to lead me.

Old man Alack， sir， he is mad！

Earl of Gloucester It is the times plague when

madmen lead the blind.

Do as I bid thee， or rather do thy pleasure.

Above the rest， be gone. （Shakespeare， 2018， p. 188）.

The protagonists rebirth and growth. Heath， is the simplest and the most primitive state of the world， the place where all things grow， and the symbol of the return of human nature. In King Lear， the repeated appearance of heath also symbolizes the protagonists return to heath， return to nature， reconciliation with nature， and their rebirth and transformation after suffering from all kinds of hardships. It is known to us that King Lear is selfish， indifferent， rude and confused at first， however， he gradually wakes up to his mistakes as a king， a father and an individual after the betrayal of his two daughters. After being calculated and persecuted by his second son Edmund， Earl of Gloucester gradually understands his previous confusion， that is， his credulity to Edmund and his distrust to Edgar. Kind Edgar， who still lacks the perseverance and courage in his bones as well as the wisdom and ability to know about different kinds of persons， which leads to his easily suffering from Edmunds calculation， finally successfully gets rebirth and transformation in twists and turns.

Love， warmth and reconciliation. Another symbolic meaning of heath in King Lear that is worthwhile to note is love， warmth and reconciliation， which is mainly reflected between Edgar and his father Earl of Gloucester. Taking Scene 1 of Act 4 as an example，

Earl of Gloucester Knowst thou the way to Dover？

Edgar Both stile and gate， horseway and footpath.

Poor Tom hath been scared out of his good wits. Bless

thee， good mans son， from the foul fiend！ Five fiends

have been in poor Tom at once： of lust， as Obidicut；

Hobbididence， prince of dumbness； Mahu， of stealing；

Modo， of murder； Flibbertigibbet， of mopping and

mowing， who since possesses chambermaids and waiting

women. So， bless thee， master！

Earl of Gloucester Here， take this Purse， thou

whom the heavens plagues

Have humbled to all strokes. That I am wretched

Makes thee the happier. Heavens， deal.so still

Let the superfluous and list-dieted man，

That slaves your ordinance， that will not see

Because He does not feel， feel your powr quickly；

So distribution should undo excess，

And each man have enough. Dost thou know Dover？

Edgar Ay， master.

Earl of Gloucester There is a cliff，whose high and

bending head

Looks fearfully in the confined deep.

Bring me but to the very brim of it，

And Ill repair the misery thou dost bear

With something rich about me. From that place

I shall no leading need.

Edgar Give me thy arm.

Poor Tom shall lead thee.[Exeunt.] （Shakespeare， 2018， p. 188）.

It is not difficult to find out that there is still love and warmth between them and reconciliation has long been reached in their hearts although they have both suffered from the lack of mutual trust.

Enlightenment

It is of great theoretical and practical significance to interpret the imagery of Heath in King Lear from the perspective of Archetypal Criticism. And there are much enlightenment I have acquired from it， mainly including two aspects.

For one thing， the world we live in is both rich， colorful and chaotic， complex. It is full of pressure in which it seems that moving forward step by step under strong pressure has long become the norm of contemporary people. It is ineluctable to encounter all kinds of hardships and setbacks in everyones process of growth. Perhaps sometimes we feel that we can only stagnate and that life gives us too much difficulties and pressure which makes us feel extremely suffocating. However， the real strong persons heart is full of hope for life， and they dare to face， dare to challenge， never give up and stick to their dream all the time. Indeed， only in this way can we achieve real growth and transformation， which is the real meaning of life. For another， love and warmth is always an indispensable part in our life， and we should also learn to reconcile with others and ourselves. Love and warmth between people is always the most powerful spiritual pillar. Ferryman is a good example. On the heath， Dylan crosses one difficulty after another under the leadership of Tristan. It can be said that it is the love and warmth between them that helps them successfully cross the heath to get rebirth and happiness to a great extent. In our real life， the love from family and friends is always our strongest backing. It is precisely because of it that we are able to better forge ahead on the road of life. What is more， the warmth given by strangers is also a powerful spiritual force. There is a movie I once saw that mainly tells about the story between a robber and an old man. When the robber forced by life walks to a steamed bread shop， the old man selling steamed bread suddenly picks up several steamed bread and walks towards him trembling. At that moment， the robber is extremely surprised and feels the warmth that he had never felt before. From then on， he stops robbing and becomes a down-to-earth man. It is also indispensable to learn to reconcile with others. It is inevitable for us to meet all kinds of people and have a lot of friction with them， and tolerance is very important and valuable. There is a saying which goes that“taking a step back and forgiving others mistakes is also to leave more ways for yourself.” And the so-called“grow a melon and get a melon， grow a bean and get a bean” tells us that planting the seeds of tolerance is of great benefit both to others and ourselves. Tolerance gives us reason which allows us to think comprehensively to better deal with the contradictions in the interpersonal relationship. To be kind to others is actually to be kind to ourselves. In addition， it is required for us to reconcile with ourselves， which is easy to ignore. Contemporary people always give themselves too much pressure， are too harsh to themselves and always deny themselves repeatedly， especially when they encounter some setbacks. In fact， what we need to do is to reconcile with ourselves， believe in ourselves， believe that we have done well and can become an increasingly excellent person to realize our self-worth step by step. A phenomenon that impresses me deeply is the appearance anxiety of many contemporary people. Plenty of people always feel that they are not perfect， which seriously affects their psychology and even their daily life. It is unnecessary on the ground that everyone is unique and imperfection is exactly perfect. Confident people are the most beautiful and charming.

Conclusion

In a word， in my view， the imagery of Heath in King Lear has four symbolic meanings： tragic significance， chaos and absurdity of the world， the protagonists rebirth and growth as well as love， warmth and reconciliation. It is worthy to be pointed out that there are still plenty of new symbolic meanings to be deeply excavated and analyzed.

References

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