A To Z Challenge 2022: Shakespeare - G Is For Gaunt And Goneril
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| Goneril And Regan 1902. Public Domain |
G is for John of Gaunt and Goneril.
John of Gaunt was a real person, the uncle of Richard II and father of Henry IV. In the play, Richard II, he is not well liked by his nephew. Henry, his son, is banished and returns, then usurps the throne, but Gaunt dies.
Before he dies, though, he makes a famous speech, “This England”. Here is a link to four famous versions on YouTube. https://youtu.be/hQQyyMyTHa0 . It shows the speech made by four different actors.
Some big names have played the role, most recently Sir Patrick Stewart doing it in The Hollow Crown series, and wasn’t he amazing! (Incidentally, the Duke of York in that version was played by David Suchet, who is best known as Hercule Poirot). He is in that YouTube video.
Another G is Goneril in King Lear. Goneril is Lear’s oldest daughter. When he decides to retire and split his kingdom among his three girls, he requires them to make speeches about their love for him. Goneril and her sister Regan tell him what he wants to hear, of course, while the youngest, Cordelia, rejects the entire “tell me how much you love me” thing. So, Lear makes the huge mistake of handing the whole kingdom to his older girls, who throw him out into the cold.
Goneril is married to the decent Duke of Albany, but she and her sister are fighting over the good looking but nasty Edmund, son of the Earl of Gloucester. Edmund has persuaded his father that his brother Edgar is disloyal. It is a sort of other version of the story of Lear. Edgar looks after his father, who has been blinded by Regan’s dreadful husband, Cornwall.
Anyway, Lear’s two older daughters and Cornwall are dead by the end of the play.
So is Cordelia, the youngest, but at least she and her fsther have reconciled.
Goneril has been played by some well known actresses. Irene Worth played the role in the 1971 film with Paul Scofield as Lear. (I saw that version when I was at secondary school). Dorothy Tutin played Goneril in the 1983 version with Laurence Olivier. Dorothy Tutin played Anne Boleyn in The Six Wives Of Henry VIII, and Cecily in the film of The Importance Of Being Earnest. You can see that one on YouTube for free. Here is the link. https://youtube.com/watch?v=S8MqqPPTXJk&feature=share. A wonderful production with Leo McKern as Gloucester and John Hurt as the Fool.
Most recent was Emma Thompson playing Goneril, would you believe, in 2018! I haven’t seen that. Cordelia is played by Florence Pugh(most recently seen in the Marvel Universe as Black Widow assassin Yelena Belova). Sir Anthony Hopkins is Lear. I can’t find it on my streaming services, but there are a couple of other versions on Prime, including one with Ian Holm as Lear.
Definitely a role worth pursuing if you don’t mind being a villain!