ISSN 1226-8682

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A Choleric Lear: Humoralism and Malleable Identity in King Lear

Eonjoo Park

Pages : 39

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.21559/aellk.2021.47.3.003

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Abstract

Park, Eonjoo. ¡°A Choleric Lear: Humoralism and Malleable Identity in King Lear.¡± Studies in English Language & Literature 47.3 (2021): 39-54. This article examines the character of Lear with the early modern medical scheme of Galenic humoralism. I argue that the dual emphasis on health and temperament in humoral theory allows us insight into Lear¡¯s rashness, wrath, and madness not only as illness but also as different phases of his choleric identity. Humoralism also posits physical connections between the body and nature, which enable a malleable concept of identity. This belief helps us to understand how Lear¡¯s identity is constantly formed and reformed in response to his immediate environment and social conditions. The tempest scenes, then, not only metaphorically represent Lear¡¯s inner turmoil, but literally stage Lear¡¯s recognition and acceptance of the state of flux that defines his choleric identity. (Jeonbuk National University)

Keywords

# humoralism # identity # King Lear # early modern medicine # choler

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