The Medievalism of Emotions in King Lear

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/2083-8530.23.11

Keywords:

medievalism, emotions in Shakespeare, King Lear, Reformation in England, humoral theory

Abstract

King Lear exemplifies two cultures of feeling, the medieval and the early modern one. Even though the humoral theory lay at the heart of the medieval and the early modern understanding of emotions, there was a sudden change in the understanding of specific medieval emotions in Renaissance England, such as honour as an emotional disposition. Emotional expression also changed, since the late Middle Ages favoured vehement emotional expression, while in early modern England curtailment of any affective responses was advocated. Early modern England cut itself off from its medieval past in this manner and saw itself as “civilized” due to this restraint. Also some medieval courtly rituals were rejected. Expression of anger was no longer seen as natural and socially necessary. Shame started to be perceived as a private emotion and was not related to public shaming. The meaning of pride was discussed and love was separated from the medieval concept of charity. In contrast, in King Lear the question of embodiment of emotions is seen from a perspective similar to the medieval one. The article analyzes medievalism in terms of affections and studies the shift from the medieval ideas about them to the early modern ones.

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Author Biography

Anna Czarnowus, University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland

Anna Czarnowus is an adjunct professor at the Department of Literary Studies at the University of Silesia, Katowice. She has been publishing on Middle English literature and medievalism. She is the co-editor (with M.J. Toswell) of Medievalism in English Canadian Literature: From Richardson to Atwood (D.S. Brewer, 2020) and is currently co-editing (with Carolyne Larrington) Memory and Medievalism in George R.R. Martin and Game of Thrones: The Keeper of All Our Memories (Bloomsbury, forthcoming). Her next monograph is going to focus on the history of emotions in the context of medieval literature. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2832-1351

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Published

2021-06-30

How to Cite

Czarnowus, A. (2021). The Medievalism of Emotions in King Lear. Multicultural Shakespeare: Translation, Appropriation and Performance, 23(38), 181–196. https://doi.org/10.18778/2083-8530.23.11

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