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King Lear happens to be one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies.
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King Lear happens to be one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies. Some critiques have considered it as the greatest. The subplot and plot adroitly weave together the play’s main themes, which include blindness of various kinds, madness, reason, and possibly most important of all, the affiliation between a father and his children. King Lear is a piece about blindness; blindness to the emptiness of power and privilege, blindness to one’s true nature, blindness to others’ motivations, and blindness to the significance of altruistic love. King Lear’s only wish is to have enjoyment on a contented, untroubled old age, but he does not perceive the role his complete supremacy has performed in reshaping his affiliation with his daughters, whom he supposes to take care of him. In the opening scene of, Lear requests his daughters to affirm their love for him publicly. He says, “Nothing will come of nothing. Speak again” (King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1).
During the 19th century, King Lear was thought to be unfit for the stage for some reason. To begin with, King Lear, just like George, was an English king. The ruler was depicted on stage in extreme throes and dreadfully violent of madness. When the initial piece of paper of Shakespeare’s plays was printed in 1623, it had a lot of theatrical version of the lay, which was then given a title The Tragedy of King Lear. At that period, the piece of paper version was one of the most frequently performed plays in English playhouses. King Lear shows an elderly British ruler who progressively goes down into the depths of madness as the play progresses. For some time, King Leah is relatively mad before he eventually regains his senses. The king of England from 1760-1820, known as George III, commonly expressed his dislike for this play. He had his first prolonged bout with madness in 1788. If King Lear had been the ruler of some faraway foreign nation, the performance would have continued to be performed on stage. However, the parallels in this instance we are just too close for anyone’s comfort. Shakespeare shows in King Lear that the play’s main characters go through a transformation phase, where they are considerably changed through their suffering. All the way through the progression of the play, Lear is the most transformed character. He goes through bitterness, remorse, recognition, acceptance, and admittance, guilty, redemption, and optimism.
Just like George, King Lear was an English ruler portrayed on stage in extreme throes and terrible violence of madness. King Lear was not acted on stage after 1788 out of deference to their ailing monarch. When King George made his ultimate descent into madness in 1810, the ruling authority considered any version of King Lear not fit to be performed on stage, and the piece was prohibited completely. All the version of the drama was not performed again on the stage of an English theatre until late in 1820. It was several months after the demise of King George when the prohibition was officially uplifted. Additionally, during the Regency, there were a number individuals who thought that even published versions of the piece ought to be banned as being too crude and coarse. Charles wrote in his paper, “On the Tragedies of Shakespeare,” in 1811, it was essentially not possible for King Lear to be represented on stage. He supposed that the performance could only be suitably fit in the private study of the writing. According to him, when the piece could be performed, individuals would be forced to see an old man doddering about on stage with a walking stick, ejected of doors by his daughters on a drizzling night, has nonentity in it but what is disgusting and painful. In that part, king Lear asserts, “I am a very foolish fond old man, Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less. And to deal plainly I fear I am not in my perfect mind” (Act IV, Scene VII). Seeing it on stage would be nothing but weakness and infirmities.
In terms of universal lightning, the scene is very important as it parallels to the inner turmoil of Lear and sets off the course of his moral renaissance through suffering. The storm that kindles truth in Lear and the misery caused by the storm lifts up the coverings of his heart. The universal lighting provides a dramatic center of the play. It is used to represent Lear’s inner unrest, bring about change, symbolize power and nature, and expose the play’s characters under the intolerant conditions of lightning and thunder. The universal lighting contributes to the development of the main plot.
In terms of the proximity of the audience in King Lear, the audience understands that Lera’s two daughters, the deceitful Reagan and Goneril, are the adversaries to Lear’s desire to hold onto his authority. The play’s rising action sees these two personalities actively thwarting their dad and speeding up his downfall. Upon diving his monarchy between Reagan and Goneril, Lear keeps on to request that his daughters care for him, having expectations to retain the privileges of the crown devoid of the responsibilities. As the audience reads it, they discover a mighty irregular power of reasoning. Individual viewers and readers might well differ in their reactions. Lear has to face for the first time the estrangement he has made by dividing his realm and trusting Goneril and Regan. He says, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is/To have a thankless child. —Away, away!” (King Lear, Act 1, Scene 4).
There is a lack of realistic scenery or stage effect in King Lear. The symbolism and allegory in King Lear do not appear to disclose a mode of imagination. The play’s conclusion involves the deaths of many of the characters, most of them violent. Edgar murders his brother Edmund and also unintentionally kills his father. Lear’s family is also destroyed. Cordelia, Regan, and Goneril, and finally Lear himself all die. This reality reflects the fatalism of the whole play – a mistake, once done, cannot be undone, just as King Lear cannot undo his lethal mistake of offering the wrong daughters his kingdom.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of king Lear. Cambridge University Press.
Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of King Lear. Harper, 1885.
Generally, stress refers to a feeling which is created when reacting to certain events
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Generally, stress refers to a feeling which is created when reacting to certain events. It is the body’s way of rising to a specific challenge and preparing to meet a tough situation with focus, stamina, heightened alertness and strength. Brown et al further defines stress as a selective pressure that derives from the physical and social environment (3). These are mostly challenging or threatening to the survival, integrity and reproductive success of individuals and groups. Stress therefore is the body’s way of responding to any kinds of demands, be they small or large in magnitude. Stress may be defined as eustress, which is a term referring t o positive stress or distress, a term referring to negative stress or situations (Canfield, Hansen & Godwin 92). Positive stress contains the following characteristics: It is short-term, portrays feelings of excitement, is perceived as within the human coping capabilities, improves performance and motivates. Distress on the other hand causes anxiety, can be short or long-term, portrays a feeling of unpleasantness, decreases performance, is perceived to be outside our coping abilities and can lead to mental and physical problems.
Stressors are defined by Stanford & Salmon as events that provoke stress (156). These cover a wide range of situations, from outright physical danger to making a class presentation. Considering the length of time, daily hassles in addition to life changing events may well result in stress. It may be categorized in the forms of natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, pestilence; manmade disasters like war, economic conditions, technological inventions amongst others; and, personal experiences such as poverty, migration, diseases, separation or divorce. These fall under negative stressors. Positive stressors include receiving promotion at work, marriage, employment, taking a vacation.
In addition, stressors are not always limited to situations where some external situation is creating a problem. Internal events such as feelings and thoughts as well as habitual behaviors can also cause negative stress. Commonly internally caused sources of distress include: fears, unrealistic perfectionist expectations, worrying about future events and repetitive thought patterns. Habitual behavior patterns such as over scheduling, procrastination, and failing to be assertive may also be ultimate causers of stress (Bickerstaff 31).
Stress Response System
The human body responds to stressors through the activation of the nervous system and specific hormones. The adrenal glands are signaled by the hypothalamus to produce more of the adrenaline hormones as well as cortisol and release them to the blood stream. These hormones are entitled to speeding up the heart rate, blood pressure and metabolism. Blood vessels then open wider to let more blood flow to large muscle groups, thus alerting the muscles. Pupils dilate to improve vision and the liver releases some of its stored glucose to increase the body’s energy. Sweat is then produced to cool the body. Such physical changes are preparations to react quickly and effectively so as to handle the pressure of the moment. This natural reaction is referred to as the stress response and communicates with regions of the brain that control mood, motivation and fear (Stanford & Salmon 334).
The adrenaline increases the heart rate, elevates the blood pressure and boosts energy supplies while cortisol, a primary stress hormone, increases sugars in the blood stream, enhances the brain’s use of glucose and increases the availability of substances that repair tissues. It also curbs against functions that are nonessential in a fight or flight situation and alters immune system responses, and suppresses the digestive system, the reproductive system and growth processes (335).
The stress response system is mostly self-regulating. It decreases hormone levels and enables the body to return to normalcy after the passing of a perceived threat. As the adrenaline and cortisol levels decrease, the heart rate and blood pressure equally return to baseline and other body systems resume their regular activities. However, a constant presence of stressors in one’s life which may trigger a constant feeling of stress, tense, fight or flight to stay turned on eventually result in a situation where one has less control over potentially stress inducing events, creating more uncertainty and a more likely scenario of feeling stressed. The long-term activation of the stress response system and the subsequent overexposure to cortisol and adrenaline may disrupt the body’s processes putting one at increased of numerous health problems such as the heart disease, sleep problems, digestive problems, depression, obesity, memory impairment and eczema (Brown 332).
One’s reaction to potentially stressful events varies from another and may be influenced by genetic factors and life experiences. Genetics, in the sense that, the genes which control the stress response keep people on an even keel, only occasionally priming the body for fight or flight. Overeactive or underreactive responses may stem from slight differences in these genes. Life experiences on the other hand are influenced by environmental factors. Being exposed to extremely stressful scenarios when young such as neglect or abuse may result in increased vulnerability to stress when one matures into an adult (Bickerstaff 16).
General Adaptation Syndrome
Stress was recognized by Hans Selye as a major cause of illness (18). He categorized the stress response in three phases which he referred to as the general adaptation syndrome. These are basically the alarm stage, the resistance stage and the exhaustion stage. The alarm stage occurs when one is under threat or frightened. The body goes to total alertness, releasing stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. These increase one’s strength and concentration (13). The heart speeds up, sending more oxygen and blood to the muscles for one to be able to take quick action. This ‘fight or flight’ response can be lifesaving but if prolonged can take a toll on one’s body. The resistance stage on the other hand occurs after the initial extreme reaction. Here, the body tries to adapt to the continued stress. It remains alert but at a lower level while trying to resume its normal functions. Once the stress passes, one is able to rebuild defenses. If this is lengthened, the exhaustion stage takes over. This stage is known as the burnout or overload phase. Continued pounding as a result of stress depletes the body’s reserves putting one at risk of a disease. This sequence may happen in response to either a physical or emotional threat. Facing multiple long-term stressors strain one’s system and can easily and quickly cause exhaustion (Brown 255).
Effects of stress
Stress can have effects throughout one’s body on both the physical and mental health. It can affect; the digestion system as stress hormones slow the release of stomach acid and interfere with how well the stomach can empty itself. This may cause stomachaches, may cause diarrhea as the same hormones cause the colon t o work faster. The heart, brain and blood vessels; high levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, increase the heart rate, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. These raise the risk for heart attacks and strokes. The immune system normally responds to infections by releasing chemicals that aid in the healing process. Stress response weakens the immune system, slowing the healing process and increase the risk of catching colds and other infections. In addition, one’s body weight may be affected. This is because cortisol makes one to crave for fats and carbohydrates which are ingredients for weight gain. Cortisol increases weight gain around the abdominal area and may further increase one’s vulnerability to heart disease and diabetes. Lastly, the mental health is affected in the sense that being bombarded with stress hormones creates a constant state of anxiety and tension. This is a set up for depression, headaches or other problems over a period of time. Lack of sleep may also occur as a result of a heightened state of arousal (Bickerstaff 17).
The treatment of stress related illnesses such as post-traumatic disorder involves the introduction of stress reduction strategies. Such strategies include; avoiding stressors, changing one’s reaction to the stressors and relieving stress after the reaction to the stressors. Exercising, listening to music, aromatherapy and massage are also other known intervention of reducing stress after it has occurred. Psychotherapeutic approaches attempt to modify the patient’s reactions to stressors and may include an analysis of he patient’s individual patterns of response to stress (Cnafield, Hansen & Godwin 96).
In a nutshell, the definition of stress has been exclusively covered in the introduction of this document. Stress and stressors, the stress response system, the general adaptation syndrome, effects of stress to the body and treatment interventions for stress have also been discussed in detail. It is worth noting that adopting an attitude of gratitude, being altruistic, leading a purpose driven life and keeping a healthy sense of modesty about one’s goals and achievements, accrue as some of the strategies to leading a stress-free life.
Works Cited
Bickerstaff, Linda. Stress: coping in a changing world. New York: Rosen Publishing,
2007.
Brown, M. et al. Stress: neurobiology and neuroendocrinology. London: Informa
Healthcare, 1991.
Canfield, Jack, Victor, Hansen, and Leslie, Godwin. Stress: chicken soup for the soul
Healthy Living Series. Florida: HCI, 2006.
Stanford, S., and Peter, Salmon. Stress: from synapse to syndrome. Missouri: Academic
Press, 1993.
to Chapter 6 on the environment
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According to Chapter 6 on the environment, the relationship between the environment and development has been growing concern about degradation and pollution of the environment and climate change as they impact future development. The desire for development has to do with the excess use of resources that causes environmental pollution. The first world conference on the environment was held in1972 in Stockholm. Below is a brief discussion of the five environmental problems discussed in the article;
Deforestation: It simply signifies clearing of green cover and makes that land available for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes. The forest is a natural sink of carbon dioxide, produces fresh air, and helps regulate temperature and rainfall. Currently, forests cover 30% of the land, but each year tree cover is lost, resulting in the nation of Panama due to the growing population demand for more food, shelter, and cloth.
Global warming: It is the unusually rapid upsurge in the earth’s average surface temperature over the past century, mainly due to the greenhouse gases released as individuals burn fossil fuels. Global warming results in rising temperatures of the ocean and the earth, causing natural disasters that include rising sea levels, melting of polar ice caps, flooding, and unnatural patterns of precipitation such as excessive snow, drought wildfires, flash floods, and hurricanes,
Acid Rain: happens as a result of the presence of particular pollutants in the atmosphere. It can be caused due to combustion of fossil fuels or erupting volcanoes, or rotting vegetation, releasing nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. It is a known environmental problem that can seriously affect human health, wildlife, and aquatic species.
Overpopulation: population explosion in less developed and developing nations is straining the already scarce resources. The population of the planet is reaching unsustainable levels as it faces a shortage of resources.
Pollution: It is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful materials are called pollutants. It includes air, water, soil, noise, light, radioactive, and thermal pollution. These are the primary causes that affect the environment in several ways. All these kinds of pollution are interlinked and influence each other.