King Lear

A five-act tragedy by the English playwright Shakespeare, probably written in 1605.

Lear is a legendary king of England, and is sometimes mentioned in 16th-century literature, but Shakespeare's treatment of him is unique. King Lear has three daughters, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. Because of his old age, he plans to divide his kingdom among them, but when his two elder sisters express their unwillingness to follow him, the honest Cordelia becomes angry and deliberately responds coldly, which leads to her being banished by her father. Lear decides to stay alternately at his two daughters' houses, but is treated unbearably coldly by both, so he wanders the wilderness in a storm with only the court jester and his loyal servant Kent, and goes crazy, cursing his daughters' ingratitude. He eventually realizes that the king is also just another human being, and that humans are nothing more than naked animals.

Cordelia, now Queen of France, hears of her father's plight and leads an army to England to save him, but is ultimately defeated and taken prisoner along with Lear, who is strangled to death by soldiers. Lear dies of grief as he holds her body in his arms. The two elder sisters destroy themselves through illicit love. This is the main story, but there is a similar subplot involving Gloucester and his uncle and son. Edmund, the second son born by a mistress, harbors ill will towards his father and brother, which causes his father to lose both his eyes and his brother to be banished. He eventually loses a duel with his brother and dies.

Unlike Shakespeare's other works and many of the tragedies of the period, God's justice is not fully realized in this play. There is a gap between the act and the result, so it is said to be the most existential of Shakespeare's tragedies, and some say it resembles a modern absurdist drama, but it is said to be one of the greatest tragedies in the history of world theater.

[Jiro Ozu]

"King Lear" translated by Tsuneari Fukuda (Shincho Bunko)" ▽ "King Lear" (translated by Isao Mikami, Kadokawa Bunko/translated by Isamu Saito, Iwanami Bunko)" ▽ "The Complete Works of Shakespeare 28: King Lear" translated by Yushi Odashima (1983, Hakusuisha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イギリスの劇作家シェークスピアの五幕悲劇。1605年の作と推定される。

　リアはイギリスの伝説的国王で、16世紀の文学にもときどき言及されているが、シェークスピアの扱い方は独自である。リア王にはゴネリル、リーガン、コーデリアの三女があり、老体のため彼女たちに国土を分割しようとするが、二人の姉が心にもない追従(ついしょう)をいうのを聞いて、誠実なコーデリアは腹をたて、わざとすげない応答をするので、父王から追放されてしまう。リアは二人の娘の屋敷に交互に滞留することにしたが、どちらからも耐えがたい冷遇を受けるので、宮廷付きの道化師と忠臣ケントの二人だけを連れて暴風雨の荒野をさまよい、娘の忘恩をののしって狂乱するが、やがて、王もまた一介の人間にすぎず、人間は裸の動物にほかならないことを悟る。

　フランス王妃となったコーデリアは父王の窮状を聞き、父を救うため軍をイギリスに進めるが、最後には敗れ、リアとともに捕虜となり、兵士の手にかかって絞め殺される。リアは彼女の死体を抱えながら悲しみのため絶命する。二人の姉娘は不倫の恋のため身を滅ぼす。以上が主筋であるが、グロスター伯父子のこれに似た副筋が絡んでいる。すなわち、妾腹(しょうふく)の次男エドマンドは父と兄に悪心を抱き、そのため父は両眼を失い、兄は追放の身となる。彼は最後に兄との決闘に敗れて死ぬ。

　シェークスピアの他の作品やこの時代の多くの悲劇と違って、この劇には神の正義が十分に実現されていない。行為と結果との間にギャップがみられるので、シェークスピア悲劇のなかではもっとも実存的であるとの評、現代の不条理劇に似ているという意見もあるが、世界演劇史を通じてもっとも優れた悲劇の一つといわれている。

［小津次郎］

『福田恆存訳『リア王』（新潮文庫）』▽『『リヤ王』（三神勲訳・角川文庫／斎藤勇訳・岩波文庫）』▽『小田島雄志訳『シェイクスピア全集28　リア王』（1983・白水社）』

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