Hillary and King Lear

[CTyankee]

I am struck by Hillary's brief breakdown in NH in how it reminds me of that moment in King Lear, where he talks about life in the palace, when he and his daughter are actually going to prison:

Come, let's away to prison:
We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage:
When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down,
And ask of thee forgiveness: so we'll live,
And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh
At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues
Talk of court news; and we'll talk with them too,
Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out;
And take upon's the mystery of things,
As if we were God's spies: and we'll wear out,
In a wall'd prison, packs and sects of great ones,
That ebb and flow by the moon.

I guess it was her remark about "who's up and who's down" that prompted this remembrance.

Just a little thought by a an old humanities major...

[maddiejoan]

1. brief breakdown?

jeebus! A woman gets misty eyed and emotional --and it's a breakdown?

of King Lear proportions???

wow.

[Nedsdag]

2. Would you prefer Lady Macbeth?

I didn't think so.

[CTyankee]

4. Uh, I think you missed the point here.

I thought it was a dramatic moment in her campaign. It just reminded me of that wistful speech toward the end of King Lear which touched on palace politics.

Geez, sorry folks, it's not a huge deal here...

[CTyankee]

3. No, no, I didn't mean that at all. Sorry. I meant the momentary lapse into

"who's up and whose down" remarks that reminded me of Lear's speech after his reconciliation with Cordelia, a great moment in English drama. Hillary was, briefly, philosophizing about the campaign and it just reminded me of this speech and its sadness. It is not a takedown of Hillary; indeed, it is an appreciation of her reflection on the campaign...

[maddiejoan]

5. sorry

I'm touchy --it's been "Hillary is a cry-baby" all day on DU

[CTyankee]

6. I was a bit that way until I actually saw the tape of what she did.

It was one of those moments that come upon you when you really don't expect it, when someone asked her how she "did it" each and every day. That touched something in Hillary that I was immediately affected by, then I just thought of that moment in King Lear with Cordelia that is so intimate in its simple wording....

Hope tomorrow is a better day for all of us. BTW, I am an Edwards supporter but I am wondering how I am going to NOT vote for the first woman to be president in my super Tuesday Feb. 5.... that is going to be a tough decision. My daughter and 9 year old granddaughter are advocates for Hillary. A family of strong women!

Take care...:hi:

[catnhatnh]

7. Thank God....my Shakespeare is a little faded....

...the "how sharper than a serpent's tooth" gig was a guaranteed flame war...

[CTyankee]

8. Actually, that little speech can bring on different responses, as I've learned.

You can read it as an intensely felt, remorseful moment that is beautifully realized. OR you can be just fed up with this incredibly self centered old fool who screws up badly and tries to be cutesy about it. When I read it as a young woman I thought the former. When I reread it in graduate school (many years later) I said "God, it reminds me of something my first husband would say..." It kinda shocked my professor but she then laughed. At the time, I was sorry I had blurted that out, but I was just in no mood for what I considered self pity...