King Lear Essay Essay Research Paper L

King Lear Essay Essay, Research Paper

L e a r F l o w s W I t h T h e F l a w s

Shakespeare’s tragedy King Lear is a detailed description of the consequences of one man’s deci-sions. This fictitious man is Lear, King of England, whose decisions greatly change his life and the lives of those around him. As Lear takes on the rank of King he is, as one expects, a man of great power but he surrenders all of this power to his daughters as a reward for their display of love towards him. This sud-den surrender of his throne results in a chain reaction of events that send him through a journey of hell. King Lear is a typical description of one man’s journey through hell in order to compensate for his sin. As the play begins you can almost immediately see that Lear begins to make mistakes that will eventually result in his downfall. The very first words thing he says in the play is:

“…Give me the map there. Know that we have divided

In three our kingdom, and ’tis our fast intent

To shake all cares and business from our age,

Conferring them on younger strengths while we

Unburdened crawl to death…”

(Act I, Sc i, Ln 38-41)

This gives the reader the first indication of Lear’s intent to abandon his throne. He goes on to offer pieces of his kingdom to his daughters as a form of reward to his test of love for him.

“Great rivals in our youngest daughter’s love,

Long in our court have made their amorous sojourn,

And here are to be answered. Tell me, my daughters

Since now we will divest us both of rule,

Interest of territory, cares of state,

Which of you shall we say doth love us most.

That we our largest bounty may extend

where nature doth with merit challenge.”

(Act I, Sc i, Ln 47-53)

This is the first and most significant of the many mistakes that he makes in this play. By abandoning his throne, he disrupts the great chain of being which states that the King must not challenge the position that God has given him. This damage of God’s authority results in chaos that tears apart Lear’s world. Leaving him, in the end, with nothing. Following this Lear begins to banish those around him that truthfully care for him because at this stage he can’t see beyond his nose evil wear. He banishes Kent, a loyal servant, and his youngest and most loved daughter Cordelia. This results in Lear surrounding himself with people who only wish to use him which leaves him very vulnerable. This is precisely what happens and it is through this that he discovers his wrongs and amends them.

Following the committing of his sins, Lear becomes abandoned and estranged from his kingdom, which causes him to loose insanity. While lost in his grief and self-pity the fool is introduced to guide Lear back to the sane world and to help find the Lear that was ounce lost behind a hundred Knights but now is out in the open and scared like a little child. He actually being out on the lawns of his castle dramatically repre-sents the fact that Lear has now been pushed out from behind his Knights. The terrified little child that is now unsheltered is portrayed by Lear’s sudden insanity and his rage and anger is seen through the thun-derous weather that is being experienced. All of this contributes to the suffering of Lear due to the gross sins that he has committed.

The pinnacle of this hell that is experienced be Lear in order to repay his sins is at the end of the play when Cordelia is killed. Lear says this before he himself dies as he cannot live without his daughter.

“Howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones.

Had I your tongues and eyes, I’d use them so

That heaven’s vault should crack. She’s gone

for ever!

I know when one is dead, and when one lives.

She’s dead as earth. Lend me a looking glass.

If that her breath will mist or stain the

stone, Why, then she lives.”

(Act V, Sc iii, Ln 306-312)

All of this pain that Lear suffered is traced back to the single most important error that he made. The choice to give up his throne. This one mistake has proven to have major effect on Lear and the lives of those around him eventually killing almost everyone who was involved.

The main character of the play would be King Lear. Lear out of pride and anger has banished Cordelia and split the kingdom in half to the two older sisters, Goneril and Regan. This is Lear’s tragic flaw, which stops him from seeing the true faces of people because his pride and anger overrides his judgement. As we see in the first act, Lear does not listen to Kent’s argument to see the true faces of his daughters. Kent has hurt Lear’s pride by not listening his order to stay out of his and Cordelia’s way when Lear has already warned him.

“The bow is bent and drawn, make from the shaft.”

(Act I, Sc i, Ln 144-145)

Kent still disobeys Lear and is banished. Because of this flaw, Lear has started the tragedy by disturbing the order in the chain of being by dividing the kingdom, banishing his best servant and daughter, and giving up his thrown. Due to this flaw, Lear has given his two older daughters the chance to plot against him. Lear is finally thrown out of his daughters home and left with a fool, a servant and a beggar. This is when Lear reali

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