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Personification
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:
King Lear is set in Ancient Britain, before the arrival of Christianity. Although there is no specific time frame mentioned in the play, it is roughly based on the story of the mythological Leir of Britain who—according to legend—ruled some time around the 8th century B.C.E. Fittingly, the audience encounters a preponderance of references to the ancient pantheons of Greco-Roman religion, particularly through characters’ invocation of gods like Apollo and Fortuna, as well as some rather anachronistic references to Greek philosophers from Athens and Thebes. On another note, the play is set during a particularly harsh winter, and the defining environmental feature in the narrative is a brutal storm that rages through the kingdom.
