King Lear and A Thousand Acres: A Comparison

A detailed Summary of King Lear and A Thousand Acres: A Comparison

In William Shakespeare's King Lear and Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres, the reader will

find that both works use similar character types that mirror each other to increase further

the similarities and meaning of the works.

Perhaps no similarity is as striking as that of the fathers'. They share three

characteristics which bind them and make their parallels unmistakable. The first, and most

obvious, is that they are both proprietors of a large estate. King Lear's property consists

of England and Larry Cook's property is that of a thousand acres of land in Iowa. This

land brings the primary conflicts of the two works into focus. Before their downward

spiral, both men are revered and respected. Their social status has brought them honor,

only up to the point where the fathers seek to divide their land. After that, things take a

turn for the worse. As it relates to King Lear, he gathers his royal entourage and begins to

divide the kingdom between his three daughters. To determine who would receive what,

Lear asks that his daughters profess their love for him. When his two eldest, Goneril and

Regan speak falsely about their affection for their father, Lear bestows upon each of them

a portion of the kingdom. When it comes

parallel, this tirade occurs during a storm. Because of the betrayal at their daughters'

Although separated by hundreds of years, these similarities help to tie the works

According to my bond, no more nor less" (Shakespeare, 13). Her insolence results in her

far as I'm concerned, from now on you're on your own" (Smiley, 183). In yet another

Approximate Word count = 980
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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