King Lear ACT 1 – an Annotated Commentary with Footnotes and Discussion by Glen Forsch
Go beyond the standard classroom analysis to uncover the hidden medical and historical subtext of William Shakespeare’s King Lear. In this deep dive into Act 1, Glen Forsch utilizes word etymology and historical exegesis to reveal a play centered on the 1495 outbreak of the “French Disease” (Syphilis) and the real-life caricatures of the era.
In this Annotated Commentary, we explore:
● The Caricatures: King Lear as King Charles VIII, the Duke of Albany as Bernard Stewart, and Edmund as the “Bastard Poet” Edmund Spenser.
● The Medical Cabinet: Defining “Curiosities,” “Moiety,” and the mercury salves used for “blushed” skin lesions.
● The Clinical Symptoms: Lear’s descriptions of “cadent tears” (burning urination), “untented woundings” (the physical symptoms of “the Clap”), and the onset of dementia from advanced syphilis.
● Inside Jokes: The connection between Goneril and Gonorrhea, and the appearance of medical professor Oswald Croll.
Download the ACT1 Annotated Commentary PDF for $1.
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