「리어 왕」에 대한 비평적 논쟁의 개관 = A Sturvey of the Critical Debate on King Lear

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In King Lear Shakespeare represents a mixed image of men-ignoble, wicked, and grand, worthy-by means of the human relations centered mainly around the siblings, the fathers and the children, masters and servants. And there has been a heated, long controversy over the general, ultimate tone and the vision of humanity of the play, and the critics are divided into three groups. First of them are the critics with skeptical, negative posture. They regard the play as a profoundly skeptical exploration of human nature and find only a darker vision of humanity devoid of Christian sanctions as well as of meaning and redemption in the play. These critics find the helplessness and nothingness of humanity gratuitously suffering and dying in a pagan universe. Among them are Elton, Everett, Brooke, James, Long, Schucking, Kastan, Felperin and extreme Kott. The avowed affirmative, Christian critics are the second group. These critics believe that King Lear is a profoundly Christian in thought and forgiveness in it. Danby, Bickersteth, Bradley, Chambers, Knights, Campbell, Maxwell, Myrick, Siegel, Bethell, Snyder belong to this group. The last of them are the moderate critics in favor of optimism. The critics are recognizant of the inherent frailty of humanity and also the pathetic human condition including the harsh, unbearable reality of suffering and eath. Yet, they affirm the irreducible human value and see in King Lear a revelation of the essential dignity and capacity of human being to endure suffering and to be awakened into love as an ultimate good. Dowden, Lothian, Harbage, Jorgensen, Kaufmann, Hawkes, Holloway, Skulsky, Nowottny, Mack from this group.
By porviding a brief survey and analysis of these conflicting criticisms on King Lear, the thesis tries to help the reader solve the tangled issue whether the play is an expression of optimism with or without Christian doctrine or an expression of pessimism more or less infused with paganism and(or) absurdism.