The “Love Test” in King Lear is widely understood to be the central puzzle in one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. As part of a political succession plan, it seems unnecessary.  As part of a loving relationship between parents and children, it seems grotesque. It doesn’t even seem to be a real test, since the result is supposed to be pre-ordained. While it is clear that the disastrous results of the test set the whole tragedy in motion, neither we nor the characters within the play seem to grasp the “why” of the test itself. In this talk, we will argue that the “Love Test” is best understood by reflecting on the vexed question of the ends of the parent-child love relationship. Surprisingly, Shakespeare challenges the view that the filially pious child solves this vexed question, opening the possibility that parent-child love is tragic.

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Jeremy Schwartz received his Ph.D. in 2007 from the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago.  He is currently an Associate Professor at Texas Tech University where he has taught since 2009. He works on Kant, moral philosophy, and metaethics. He is also interested in ancient philosophy.

David Hayes received his BA in English from Kenyon College and his Ph.D. from the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. He joined the European College of Liberal Arts (now Bard College Berlin) in 2005 as a postdoctoral fellow and remained as faculty, where he teaches Greek philosophy and literature and coordinates a core course on love in the Middle Ages. 

📷: Museo de Arte de Ponce, "Three daughters of King Lear by Gustav Pope" | via Wikimedia Commons