The Tragedy of King Lear: Redeeming Christ?1

摘要

Contravening the tendency among literary critics to draw parallels between Cordelia and Christ, this article argues for a strong correlation between Lear himself and Christ—in terms of both individual character and the respective ‘plots’ of play and Gospel. Considered under the aspect of Christian tragedy, the narratives of Shakespeare’s play and of Christ’s life as recorded in the canonical Gospels mirror each other in their incarnational shape and with respect to the extraordinary suffering of the central figures. The multifaceted christological reading of Lear offered here implies a theologically profound hope not classically associated with the play.