Essay Questions

In "On Sitting Down to Read King Lear Once Again," Keats asserts that Shakespeare's characters "seem to have no human passions." How does Keats explain this apparent lack of human emotion?

Keats argues that Shakespeare's characters are so consumed by their passions that they become "impersonations" of the emotions they represent, rather than fully fleshed-out human beings with different characteristics and motivations. He suggests that this is what gives Shakespeare's characters their universal appeal, as they speak to the larger human experience of feeling overwhelmed by strong emotions. However, some critics argue that Keats' assessment is unfair, as Shakespeare's characters do display a range of emotions and complexities that reflect the human experience.

What role does memory play in Keats' appreciation of King Lear? How does he use his own memories of reading the play to understand and interpret it?

Keats emphasizes the importance of memory in his appreciation of King Lear, using his own recollections of reading the play at various points in his life to deepen his understanding of the play's themes and characters. He argues that revisiting the play allows him to access a "well of fancy" that connects him to his past self and to the larger human experience of grappling with the passage of time. Through this, Keats shows that because of human memory, our relationship to the literature we read is always evolving. And that reading something more times can offer new insights and perspectives over time.

Keats concludes "On Sitting Down to Read King Lear Once Again" by stating that the play's tragedy serves as a reminder of the "universal substratum of human nature." What does Keats mean by this phrase? How does King Lear illustrate this idea?

Keats suggests that King Lear is a universally relevant poem which speaks to how humans interact with suffering and loss. Everyone in the world, no matter who they are, deal with suffering and loss at one point or another in their life. And Keats argues that the play's tragedy reflects the fundamental human struggle to understand and come to terms with the world around us, and that it offers a powerful reminder of the fragility and transience of human existence. Through the character of the eponymous King Lear, who descends into madness and despair in the face of his own mortality, the play illustrates the ways in which we all must confront our own mortality and the impermanence of life.