Connections: Medieval Thinkers and Religious Extremists

Life is a balance of the forces around you, forces that are black and white and every shade of gray. Most thoughts and ideas fall somewhere in the middle, but not always. In my opinion, those that are a lovely and pure gray are ideal; they're not too extreme, not too conservative. I know some people would be cringing at that assertion, shouting that I don't believe in anything enough to support it with wholehearted commitment to a cause. This leads into the somewhat surprising struggle between the extremes and the middle.

The premise of King Lear is filled with power struggles and idea clashing between the Renaissance thinkers and the Medieval thinkers. King Lear, the person with most of the power according to the state, is bent on tradition and stability, keeping with the way things have always been done. He is very medieval in his ways. His opposition comes from those that disagree, namely his older daughters, Goneril and Regan. They are clearly Renaissance thinkers, and also quite Machiavellian in nature. Despite their selfish actions, they represent the middle shade of gray in this argument. Renaissance thoughts centralize around individualism and scientific discovery. During their time, this was considered very extreme. But in our society, Renaissance thinkers are more common and popular. In my opinion, this is the best way option.

Similarly, on the news we often hear about religious extremists causing trouble and terror around the globe. Their name says it all: they're extreme. They believe in only the fundamental guidelines of their religion and leave no room for progressive thoughts and actions. The people who tend to be in the middle religiously are the people I'm surrounded by everyday in my community. The suburbs are not where one would expect to find a terrorist hiding out. We collectively represent the "middle", ranging from religiously indifferent to very observant.

The reason for the religious distinction is an inability to agree between the extremists and the middle. This is the exact same as in King Lear, where the extreme Medievalists are dead set against the middle Renaissance thinkers. The significance of this connection is the unusual nature of it. Normally, the opposite extremes hate each other, or at least argue and fight. It's not often that an extremist in something is offended by another person's neutrality. But this is illustrated in Shakespeare's world and our modern world. Both concepts are alike in the fact that they're a bit unexpected, and thus important to keep an eye out for.