King Lear Traglear Essay

King Lear's fool is undoubtedly one of the wisest characters in the play. He is not only able to accurately analyze a situation which many other characters are blind to, but he is also able to foreshadow the actions of many characters and many other incidents to come. The main instruction the fool gives to the king is to beware of doing things that are unnatural, such as giving his inheritance, (splitting his kingdom among his daughters) to his daughters before he his dead. By doing this unnaturally, Lear must face many adverse consequences, such as losing his identity, self-worth, and respect from his daughters.

Shakespeare's King Lear is a play which shows the consequences of one man's decisions. The audience follows the main character, Lear, as he makes decisions that disrupt order in his Kingdom. When Lear surrenders all his power and land to his daughters as a reward for their demonstration of love towards him, the breakdown on order in evident. Lear's first mistake is to divide his Kingdom into three parts. A Kingdom is run best under one ruler as only one decision is made without contradiction. Another indication that order is disrupted is the separation of Lear's family. Lear's inability to control his anger causes him to banish his youngest daughter, Cordelia, and loyal servant, Kent. This foolish act causes Lear to become vulnerable to

King Lear poses many questions to its audience. Shakespeare’s conventions throughout the story hold true to the plot until Albany’s speech is interrupted by Lear’s rambling words. Upon closer examination however, it is obvious that the play’s writer meant to violate some of the conventions which he set earlier in the story through the crazed king's words. The character’s verses can be interpreted several ways, showing a different side of the conventions which Shakespeare sets. Focusing on the particular scene shows an underlying theme concerning the human race. His writing leaves the audience with a question about the story’s true meaning.

King Lear, overall, is a testimony of a literary work that somehow manages to bind us deeply into a strong sentiment of empathy or a metaphorical attachment of assumed tragic hero. Tragedy, exclusively, has consistently and substantially been proven to be the most emotionally compelling of literary works, and to most critics King Lear, although noting that it lacks in that regard in some aspects, is the most tragic of Shakespeare’s tragedies. The scenes written evoke a certain magnitude of tragedy, each one arousing emotions of fear and pity.

At the beginning of “King Lear,” an authoritative and willful protagonist dominates his court, making a fateful decision by rewarding his two treacherous daughters and banishing his faithful one in an effort to preserve his own pride. However, it becomes evident during the course of the tragedy that this protagonist, Lear, uses his power only as a means of projecting a persona, which he hides behind as he struggles to maintain confidence in himself. This poses a problem, since the audience is prevented from feeling sympathy for the king. Shakespeare’s ironic solution is to allow Lear’s progressing madness to be paired with his recognition of truth, thereby forcing Lear to shed his persona, and

William Shakespeare’s “King Lear” depicts aspects of a tragedy such as a flawed hero, the role of fate and catharsis. Throughout the play, King Lear is shown as a respected man held in high esteem by his subjects and servants; however Shakespeare shows the imperfect characteristics of Lear demonstrating the element of a flawed hero. The role of fate is depicted through the different opinions of the characters who such as Edmund and Lear himself. By doing this, the outcome of the play is shown to be the fate of the characters. Catharsis is another element shown through Lear’s views changing and him being remorseful for his mistakes.

Through many of Shakespeare’s plays, tragedy is caused by a series of events that usually stem from human nature. In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the main characters Gloucester and King Lear, find their worlds spiraling rapidly into darkness by cause of mistakes such as, King Lear superficiality, Gloucester’s blindness, and both of their quick to act mentalities have ultimately caused their downfall. All of which, the audience can find them self relating to, in some respect, seeing as they are common human mistakes. As the audience follows the play, they begin to relate to the mistake made by both characters and are able to see how everyday human mistakes can produce undesirable consequences.

The two sisters plan to neglect and discredit their father and his authority. This act of unkindness shows that their words of love were only a facade, and their true natures exist as unloving and uncaring daughters. In contrast, Cordelia cannot profess her love to Lear through words of flattery, however, her love for her father is deeper and truer than Goneril’s and Regan’s. When Cordelia is disowned by Lear and forced to leave, she says to her two sisters, “But yet, alas, stood I within his grace,/ I would prefer him to a better place” (I.i.275-276). Despite Lear’s rash actions of abandoning Cordelia, she still loves her father and wishes to take care of him. Cordelia is not able value her father through words, but her actions define her nature as a daughter and the love she has for Lear. Lastly, the fool, generally known for their playful antics and humor, displays wisdom and even offers advice to Lear. Right before Lear leaves to live with Regan, the fool advises, “Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been/ wise.” (I.v.42-43). On the surface, the social title of the fool gives the impression that the person is an inane individual, and his outfit makes him appear to be silly

1. Title and Author: 2. “The Conflict Between Gloucester and Edmund in King Lear and its Implications Today” by Ciara Khor-Brogan 2. Thesis: 1.

A recurring topic I saw while reading Shakespeare’s “King Lear”, is that the characters often dealt with not fulfilling their life. In the last lines of the play, Edgar states, “The oldest hath borne most; we that are young/ Shall never see so much nor live so long” (King Lear 5.3, 331-332). Edgar, being one of the few characters alive at the end, witnesses all the people around him not living their dreams and wishes. Edgar says this quote to fully end the play on a note that tells the reader to follow your dreams while you can. He knows this because he sees that Lear doesn’t get to fully reconcile with Cordelia because she dies. Edgar also watches Goneril and Regan fight over the attention of his half brother to the point where they die together.

Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear can be interpreted in many ways and many responses. The imprecision’s and complication of the play has led

In the play King Lear by William Shakespeare, the Fool is introduced as an lower-class character as he acts carefree and speaks in riddles. However, the Fool’s role in the play is not as plain and simple as it seems. Considering the Fool’s excellent relationship to Lear, he plays a significant role in supporting Lear’s sanity, thus he has the time to figure out the truths. The Fool takes on the important role of sustaining Lear’s sanity by staying loyal to Lear, providing comic relief to Lear, and teaching Lear of his faults.

In Elizabethan times, fools were used as entertainment in royal courts, with a specific role to entertain the king. However, in “King Lear”, the fool plays a much more significant role than comedic relief, as he, ironically, is able to provide insight into human nature and draw correlations between the play and everyday life. This is most evident when he talks to King Lear about what he has done wrong or what he has overlooked.

The opportunity to view both productions of King Lear has appeared twice for me in the past two years. The first time I viewed Trevor Nunn’s 2009 production of King Lear my review would have been based solely on my ability to understand the dialogue and my appreciation of the acting of Ian McKellen. Two years later I have a better understanding of the actual play and while I still enjoy the 2009 production the 1982 production directed by Jonathan Miller presents the words of William Shakespeare in a more accurate and period specific manor.

The definition of tragedy in Webster’s dictionary is, "drama of elevated theme and diction and with unhappy ending; sad event, serious accident, calamity."  However, the application of this terminology in Shakespearean Tragedy is more expressive.  Tragedy does not only mean death or calamity, but in fact, it refers to a series of steps that leads to the downfall of the tragic hero and eventually to his tragic death.  Lear, the main character in King Lear was affirmed as the tragic hero because the play meets all the requirements of a tragedy.   In order for a character to be qualified as a tragic hero, he must be in a high status on the social chain and the hero also possesses a tragic flaw that initiates the