A comparative analysis of the characters of two dramatic King Lears : Shakespeare and Bottomley
type: CreativeWork
description: It has been the purpose of this study to make a comparative analysis of the most significant characters in two selections of dramatic literature: Gordon Bottomley’s King Lear’s Wife and William Shakespeare’s King Lear. The significant characters are Goneril and Regan, the “evil influence” in both plays; the two Lears, the “neutral influence” in both plays; and Hygd and Cordelia in King Lear’s Wife and King Lear, respectively. Hygd and Cordelia are the “honorable influence” in the stories. It has been the further purpose of this thesis to delete from both plays all subplots which do not directly pertain to the Lear story and to include both plays in this volume for the use of presentation before an audience. The edited version of both plays uses Bottomley’s King Lear’s Wife as a prologue to Shakespeare’s King Lear. It is hoped that the total effect will give a new significance to the motives of Lear’s daughters and to the character of King Lear Goneril and Regan are given justification, through Bottomley’s play, for their evil actions in Shakespeare’s play.
abstract: It has been the purpose of this study to make a comparative analysis of the most significant characters in two selections of dramatic literature: Gordon Bottomley’s King Lear’s Wife and William Shakespeare’s King Lear. The significant characters are Goneril and Regan, the “evil influence” in both plays; the two Lears, the “neutral influence” in both plays; and Hygd and Cordelia in King Lear’s Wife and King Lear, respectively. Hygd and Cordelia are the “honorable influence” in the stories. It has been the further purpose of this thesis to delete from both plays all subplots which do not directly pertain to the Lear story and to include both plays in this volume for the use of presentation before an audience. The edited version of both plays uses Bottomley’s King Lear’s Wife as a prologue to Shakespeare’s King Lear. It is hoped that the total effect will give a new significance to the motives of Lear’s daughters and to the character of King Lear Goneril and Regan are given justification, through Bottomley’s play, for their evil actions in Shakespeare’s play.
author: Mraz, Doyne Joseph
keywords: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 King Lear;Bottomley, Gordon, 1874-1948 King Lear's Wife;University of the Pacific Dissertations, Arts and Humanities, Communication, Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory, English Language and Literature, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Speech and Rhetorical Studies, Theatre and Performance Studies
license: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/
date published: 1957-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:37:12Z
provider: University of the Pacific
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of the Pacific