How To Read Literature Like A Professor

In the tragedy of King Lear, Shakespeare emphasizes the importance of symbols through his usage of a poisonous serpent, specifically the poison Cordelia introduces into the family. Similarly, in the historical text, How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster illustrates the concept of symbolism, specifically in Chapter 5, “Is That A Symbol?”, when he suggests that symbols often possess multiple general meanings and a vary from one reader to another reader. Likewise, the symbol of poison Lear speaks of in Act I carries throughout the remainder of the tragedy, often exhibited as Lear’s pain due to Cordelia’s absence or the ruined relationships with his child developed when she travels away from the kingdom, emphasized by Act V;

Even surface level objects, words, or phrases hold a variety of meanings which develops their significance. Authors often form anything into a symbol, which increases the perplexity of their plots, by developing various meanings and outcomes. Foster, in Chapter 5, discusses the concept of multi-level symbolism in literature by writing, “ in general a symbol can’t be reduced to standing for one thing” (98). Scholars and readers alike often feel as if symbols need to possess only one meaning, yet symbols hold endless connotations. Again, readers often feel as if symbols appear in a clear cut matter and only contain one explicit connotation, even though authors often write with numerous intentions. For example, Foster develops his concept by describing E.M. Forster’s novel, A Passage to India, which utilizes the symbol of a cave at first glance to illustrate Mrs. Moore’s anxiety over unmanageable situations but through careful analysis the cave depicts her own prejudice or xenophobia. Similarly, Shakespeare emphasizes the poison of the serpent in King Lear in order to convey the concept that Cordelia ruined the family relationships in the kingdom, but also to emphasize the dramatic agony Lear feels when he witnesses Cordelia’s dead

Lear wishes pain upon Cordelia’s future when he exclaims, “How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!—Away, away!” (Lear 1.4.282-283). Emphasizing that Lear wants her to receive a pain similar to the intensity of a serpent bite, Shakespeare first introduces the symbol of poison. For instance, distraught Lear wishes, at this moment, for Cordelia to endure the pain of such a poisonous creature, a decision he ultimately regrets. Moreover, in Act IV Scene III, Cordelia drowns herself due to Lear’s comments in Act I since she feels the unbearable stress of trying to rekindle the relationship with her once arrogant father. Yet again, his words “poisoned” Cordelia, the way he wished for in the first place. Furthermore, Lear holds Cordelia, realizing the cruelty of his previous words, and then dies of a broken heart. At this moment, Cordelia turns into Lear’s own personal poison, since her suicide, caused by his harsh remarks in Act I, lead to his own death in Act IV. Poison possesses several connotations throughout the tragedy, such as Lear and Cordelia’s death or the pain he wishes she felt. Similarly, Foster illustrates that symbols hold various meanings, both one dimensionally and analytically, a theory which Shakespeare utilizes while relating the entire tragedy to