Divided Fathers, Divided Kings Echoes of Arcadia in Shakespeare's King Lear

Abstract

The parallels between Philip Sidney’s New Arcadia and William Shakespeare’s King Lear have long been recognized by scholars. In his introduction to the Arden edition of King Lear, R.A. Foakes notes that “for the action involving Gloucester and his two sons Shakespeare remembered an episode in Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia,” and describes the scene in which Mucidorus and Pyrocles encounter an old man being led by a younger one, who turns out to be his son.¹ While it is clear that Sidney’s text influenced King Lear’s Gloucester plot, it seems negligent to ignore the possibility that Arcadia had an impact on other parts of the play. The Gloucester plot is not the only example of a divided family in Lear; Lear and his daughters also (somewhat more obviously) represent the problems that arise when division occurs.