A bard for our times

In celebrating Shakespeare I have to confess immediately that I have been besotted by the Elizabethan playwrights' writing from early childhood, when my father acted parts of the plays out for my two brothers and I. Later, he started taking us out to see theatre productions of Shakespeare's work. Later still, in a school production, I directed 'A Midsummer night's dream' with secondary school students. For me, Shakespeare's insight into human character is as relevant today as it was 400 years ago. This is his genius.

King Lear, in the play of the same name, characterised himself as a 'poor, infirm, weak old man' but then showed through his actions to have no real self-knowledge and revealed himself to be but an autocratic, vain old man. Having announced the he was retiring from his position as king, to share his kingdom between his three daughters, he asks them to show how much each loves him, secretly believing that the youngest, Cordelia, loves him the most. Gonerill, the eldest, and Regan, the second child , loudly and falsely proclaim their love. However, Cordelia, who is loath to speak, knowing her love to come from her heart, in answer to Lear's 'Speak!' replies ' Nothing' my lord', and this leads to her immediate banishment.

Lear did not know himself and it was only after cruel treatment by the two daughters –shutting him out during a wild stormy night, when he becomes almost mad– that he came to see how he had never known himself or his fellow-man and, at last, feels genuine pity, crying 'Unaccommodated man is no more but such a poor, bare, forked animal as thou art'.

Reading 'King Lear' again led me to think how words bring up different concepts. 'April', for instance, or 'England'. Robert Browning's poem 'Oh to be in England/now that April's there,/ and however wakes in England sees some...' A beautiful picture and redolent with 'renewal' 'regeneration', 'Spring'...

How different it is for the thousands of refugees currently attempting to stream across to 'England' for refuge from the Syrian war or the so-called Islamic State? What is 'England' to them? Safety, security, hope for a new life..?

Then, dear readers, we may ask ourselves, do we lack self-knowledge like Lear? Do we genuinely 'feel pity for our fellow man'? Is 'tut-tutting' and even shedding tears enough? What are we, as individuals, actually doing to help? Shakespeare would urge us to realise that self-knowledge leads to ' practical action'. It proved too late for King Lear, but there is still time for us!