Degrees of Darkness

         Shakespeare’s position is unique in the English-speaking world. Though his works began in English, there is still debate much like a debate over translation. The change of a single world can change the tone or even the meaning of a phrase or a whole speech. These debates continue in the reading of King Lear, a play with large differences between the first two published versions of the drama.

         King Lear makes great ceremony of giving his land, and thus power, to his daughters. After his eldest daughter, Goneril, professes her love “dearer than eyesight”, Lear grants her one third of his kingdom. (I.i.56) In proving the love that he has shown, Lear describes this beautiful land. According to the Penguin version, he says:

“Of all these bounds, even from this line to this, With shadowy forests and with champaigns riched, With plenteous rivers and wide-skirted meads, We make thee lady. To thine and Albany’s issues Be this perpetual…” (I.i.63-67)

There is controversy over the bolded word, “shadowy.” In the 1608 quarto, these same forests were described as “shady”, but by the time that the folio was published fifteen years later, the forests had reached this later term, “shadowy.”

         On the surface, these two terms seem the same. The idea of a shady forest and a shadowy one both conjure images of pathways beneath tall trees, where the light is filtered by the leaves and branches that stretch and crowd overhead. Shady is described as “affording shade”, which is not very helpful (OED, s.v. “shady” 1.). The definition of the word shade is more illuminating “Partial or comparative darkness… esp. the comparative darkness caused by a more or less opaque object intercepting the direct rays of the sun” (OED, s.v. “shade” 1.). Shadowy is even described by the Oxford English Dictionary using the word shade, as “abounding in shade, shadowed from the sun” (OED, s.v. “shadowy” 2a.). It seems as if an editor should make some sort of arbitrary choice between the two.

         It is interesting, of course, that Lear describes the darkness present in the land that he gives a child. This would seem to illuminate the character of Goneril. Yet the connation attached to the word chosen is even more enlightening. The word shade can often mean a ghost. The word shadow, as a Biblical allusion, has another meaning attached, bringing to mind the idea of “the valley of the shadow of death.” The use of the word “shadow” foreshadows that this daughter, who supposedly loves her father “no less than life” will cause her father to lose his life (I.i.58).

         Shadowy has another sense that adds to the idea of villainy. A shady area implies a space with muted light, a place where the sun cannot penetrate fully. Shade is safe, once one adjusts to the dark. In contrast, shadows rarely cover an entire area. Instead, there are parts that are darker than others, making it possible for someone to hide to achieve some sort of villainous purpose.

         As an editor, I believe that the best choice is the use of the word “shadow.” The words used in the first act of a play show the first gleam of the themes that will be later introduced in the play. Shakespeare certainly intended to draw the attention of the audience to the idea of the darkness, as he does not mention the beautiful sunshine, but rather the shadows. Surely in a kingdom, even one third of the former kingdom, there must be somewhere to soak up the sun’s rays. But Lear does not associate the brightness with his eldest daughter, but instead the darkness. The villainy that will eventually be brought to light is best expressed in the darkness encompassed by the word “shadowy.”