William Shakespeare and Sophocles are both very successful playwrights from very different time periods, though both have mastered the portrayal of tragedy. In both works, relationships between characters are destroyed, while other seemingly unlikely relationships are built. Although critics may argue death is the primary theme in King Lear and Antigone, a close examination of characterization, tone, and symbolism reveals betrayal and loyalty are the plot motivators. In King Lear, the theme of betrayal is evident from the very beginning, where King Lear is determining which daughter to grant his land to. Throughout this scene, King Lear’s speech displays a very dark, almost foreboding, tone. Meanwhile, his eldest daughters, Goneril and Regan, profess their love to their father and, his youngest daughter, Cordelia, betrays her father’s love by responding to him with “nothing” (Shakespeare). One critic, Jeffrey Stern, claims that although Lear is hurt by the betrayal of Cordelia, her emotional stagnation works to his advantage. This is because, “by placing the favored Cordelia between Goneril and Regan in the center of the kingdom and bequeathing to her the lion’s share of the land and power, Lear reduces the likelihood that his elder, more dangerous daughters …show more content…
Edmund’s motive to forge the letter is revealed through a soliloquy where he confesses, “Our father's love is to the bastard Edmund as to the legitimate: fine word,--legitimate! Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed, and my invention thrive, Edmund the base shall top the legitimate. I grow; I prosper,” (Shakespeare). Shakespeare uses the forged letter and Lear’s crown as parallels to symbolize the cruel intentions of Edmund and Lear’s
The play Antigone by Sophocles is a play like no other. There are three major themes or ideas which have a very important role in the play. The first major theme is fate, on how the play comes about and the turn of events that come about throughout it. Another main theme or idea is the pride the characters have and their unwillingness they have to change their minds once they are set on something. The last major theme is loyalty and the practical problem of conduct involving which is a higher law between the divine laws and those of the humans. It is an issue of which law is the "right" law, and if Creon and Antigone's acts are justifiable or not. The issues that Antigone and Creon have between them
What is loyalty and betrayal? In the play Antigone a lot of loyalty and betrayal was seen. The play Antigone is about one of Antigone’s brothers not having a proper burial; while the other brother was given the burial that they had both deserved. So Antigone goes on a mission to bury her brother, after she does this she is arrested for her crime of burying him after Creon, the king, says that no one is allowed to bury her. Antigone is then sentenced to death for not following the law Creon had made but going with the gods laws. After Antigone is locked up to starve she hangs herself; when the king’s son finds her dead he goes and kills himself. When Creon’s wife hears of this she also kills herself after the loss of both of her sons, therefore Creon is left all alone to die. In this play the universal theme of loyalty and betrayal is seen; this changed the purpose and meaning to the work because it affect Antigone and her loyalty to the gods but betrayal to mans law, Creon and his loyalty to mans law but betrayal to the gods, and Haemon’s loyalty to Antigone and his betrayal to his father Creon.
In King Lear, Lear’s conflict of power with his daughters is brought about by his own arrogance, which flaws his judgement and propels his change of heart. When Lear parcels out his kingdom to his daughters, he finds the honesty of Cordelia’s praise to be ungrateful and
At the beginning of the play King Lear denounces Cordelia as his daughter in a fit of rage. He has this reaction simply because she refused to flatter him and speak exaggerations of her love for him. As his favourite daughter, Lear was expecting Cordelia to shower him with compliments and praises like his other two daughters and when this did not occur he was overwhelmed with fury and denounces her as his daughter. Lear also falls victim to wrath once he realizes what his other two daughters have done to him. “I will have such revenges on you both, That all the world shall--I will do such things,-- What they are, yet I know not: but they shall be The terrors of the earth.” (2.4.305-9). In this quote Lear reveals the wrath that he wishes to inflict on both of his daughters for deceiving him and rejecting him after he gave them everything he had. King Lear’s wrath is fueled by his daughters’ betrayal. Lear never actually did proceed to inflict his wrath upon his daughters but he did however have every intention of doing so if given the opportunity.
During the opening act, King Lear was preparing to divide his kingdom amongst his daughters. This test of love essentially pitted the daughters against each other and signified the sibling rivalry that was shown. He was seeking a verbalized declaration of false affection, instead of a true affirmation from the heart. Goneril and Regan were quick to assert how they adored their father more than the other, while Cordelia was unable to proclaim her love for her father in spoken words. She simply announced, “Wretched as I am, I can’t express in words what’s in my heart. I love your Majesty according to my duty as a daughter. No more, no less” (Shakespeare 27). King Lear disowned his favorite daughter for merely not articulating in words what she expressed in her daily actions. Had a mother been present, she may have required more intent, rather than presumed conclusions and doubt upon their children. The queen could have expressed how the king was acting irrational in the heat of the moment and that perhaps banishment was slightly harsh. After all, it is “from being mothered and fathered, we learn to be ourselves as men and women (Kahn 241).
Greek and Shakespearean tragedies have influenced the modern world of literature. One of the authors at the forefront of Greek tragedies was Sophocles. One of Sophocles most famous pieces of work is, Antigone. Written in 440 B.C in Athens, Greece, Sophocles uses this play to dramatize a series of events that unfolds when pride becomes more important than loyalty to family. Controversy still remains today of whom the tragic hero of Antigone is, but some scholars believe that Antigone herself is the tragic hero. Antigone goes past conventional expectations to stand up for her brother, Polyneikes. The decision to defy the orders of her Uncle, Kreon, proves her loyalty true, but ultimately leads her to death. Centuries later in England, during the rule of Queen Elizabeth I, Shakespeare surfaced and starting writing Shakespearean tragedies. Hamlet, one of his most well known works, shows the control the desire of revenge can have. Hamlet, the tragic hero, plans to avenge his father’s death at all cost. The female characters of both of these tragedies play a pivotal role within the stories. The women of Antigone and Hamlet operate within a male centric society but the women profoundly affect the plot through their actions and their deaths.
It is clear from the beginning of King Lear that Cordelia has an entirely good nature, she remains constant throughout the play, never wavering in her morals. The play begins with Lear deciding that he will have his daughters compete for their divisions of his kingdoms based on which of them can impress him the most with their proclamations of love. Cordelia, however, cannot express her love for her father in words, and refuses to deceive him by doing otherwise, stating that she is “sure [her] love's more richer than [her] tongue” (278-80). She realizes that by holding her tongue she is infuriating her father, but her nature cannot allow her to do otherwise. When King Lear asks her what she has to say, she states “Nothing, my lord.” This shows Cordelia’s inherent good nature by doing what is right in a tough situation. Lear’s lack of understanding of the natural bond between parents and their children leads him to his eventual demise. He is easily mislead by the other sisters, Goneril and Regan’s fake natural behavior when they give their long speeches in order to try and flatter him.
Fisher, Jerilyn, and Ellen S. Silber. "Reading Between the Lines: Connecting with Gertrude and Ophelia in William Shakespeare's Hamlet." Women in Literature: Reading through the Lens of
At the beginning of the play King Lear has more power than anyone else, the feeling of power made him think it was okay to ask his three daughters who loved him the most. When his youngest and favourite daughter Cordelia did not give him the answer he wanted by saying, “Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave / My heart into my mouth/ I love your majesty / According to my bond, no more nor less” (King Lear 1.1.91-93). he started lashing out. Lear clearly values Goneril and Regan fawning over him over Cordelia’s sincere honesty. Out of pride and anger, Lear banishes Cordelia, as well as Kent for defending her. Lear splits the kingdom in half to Goneril and Regan which leads to the deaths of many people in the play. Throughout the play he becomes increasingly shocked when people do not obey him the way they did before and the lack of respect he receives. With his loss of power Lear often responds to these problems with anger saying things like “My curses on her!” (2.4.138). about his own daughter. By the end of the play he recognizes that he takes responsibility for both his own problems and for those of others. King Lear’s actions were the first step to the plays tragic outcome.
As they become more powerful than Lear himself and have the authority to do as they please, Lear starts to finally get a grasp to the situation. As all of this is happening the readers find out of Edmunds true identity. While he hides his identity from his father he does everything in his power to gain his father’s respect, in order to steal his title. For Edmund to get his wishes granted he betrays his brothers. In act 1 scene 3, he revealed his plan to the readers: Convincing his father into thinking Edgar wanted to kill him and convincing Edgar into leaving and banishing; never speaking to his father again. Here betrayal is being used to get one's way
King Lear is a character who displays a great deal of anger throughout the course of the play, he often allows his anger to take over him. A lot of things that are said and during the course of the play are due to Lear’s anger which is a leading factor for his insanity. Lear loses his temper during a love test when his daughter does not give the answer that he was looking for, he disowns her calling Cordelia his, “sometime daughter,” (1.1.119) and gives her share of the land to her sisters. This in turn leads to his insanity because in his blind rage he does not acknowledge the sincerity behind Cordelia’s veiled words; unlike her sisters she does not try to flatter her father in order to receive more land, whereas her sisters have their secrets agendas and do not truly love Lear. In addition to this, King Lear is also enraged when the Earl of Kent who is a loyal follower of Lear, goes against the banishment of Cordelia and speaks up in favour of the youngest daughter. Lear is livid with Kent going against him and banishes Kent, as well reminding him that, “if on the tenth day
King Lear an imprudent, old man symbolizes selfishness like no other. What is most daunting is the fact that he is adamantly loyal to appearances and ranking in life. He carries a title which most can not even dream of attaining, but wants to give up the position and all the responsibilities that follow it. “ Know that we have divided/ In three our kingdom, and `tis our fast intent/ To shake all cares and business from our age” (1.1.37-39). It is quite understandable if he just wanted to end his reign as king, but it’s another thing when he also wants to bask in the glory of the title and be treated like he still owns it. This egotistical attitude of his is more annoying than anything else, for he brought forth all his problems upon himself, and also unto others. His most arrogant moment is at the very beginning of the play, when he demands his daughters to profess their love for him openly, “which of you shall we say doth love us most?” (1.1.53). The use of his words in this quote is disgusting, it exudes pride, self-importance, and flattery. It’s because of these very words, that Cordelia denied him his right to the, all so selfish public display of love. Although Lear made costly mistakes throughout the play, his love to Cordelia rang
“King Lear” is known as one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies. “King Lear” is a play which tears off the outer coverings of human character. Two prominent themes that can be found in “King Lear” are disguise and deception. Disguise and deception are connected to each other because if you put on a disguise, you are masking yourself. If you are masking yourself, you are misrepresenting the truth, which is also known as deception. The characters constantly deceive each other throughout the play by either changing their physical appearance or changing their personality to mask their true identities and motives. Shakespeare’s exposure of the connection between disguise and deception reflects today’s culture and is still relevant today.
Edmund’s frustration at the treatment of illegitimate children was present from the start of the play, as he exclaimed: “Why ‘bastard’?/ [..] When my mind as generous and my shape as true / As honest madam’s issue?” (I ii 6-7). He considered himself an
Shakespeare’s illustrates this notion through the relationship between Lear and Cordelia. Initially, Lear is blinded by his own pride as he sees love as simply flattering words. Shakespeare’s use of an aside for Cordelia when she states “I am sure my love’s more ponderous than my tongue” depicts her truthfulness and honesty which serves to amplify Lear’s blindness as he misunderstands her causing him to disown her and disclaim “all [his] paternal care, Propinquity, and property of blood.” His moral blindness ruins his relationship with Cordelia as banishes her and gives his kingdom to his other daughters, Reagan and Goneril. However, as the play progresses his vision becomes clearer as he realises Reagan and Goneril’s deceitful nature, likening Regan to a “vulture” due to her “sharp-toothed unkindness.” After going mad, Lear is able to see how he has faulted Cordelia and it is his reconciliation with Cordelia which signifies his partial redemption. His character development from a self-absorbed king to a caring father reflects his clearer vision for what truly matters. When he slowly regains his sanity, he “remembers not these garments” but recognises his daughter as he tells “I think this lady to be my child Cordelia.” This indicates his change in values as the first thing he attempts to identify is his daughter. This is reinforced in the high modality language when Lear claims it will take “a brand from heaven” separate him from Cordelia. The apologetic tone when Lear tells Cordelia “I’ll kneel down and ask of thee forgiveness” symbolises Lear’s enlightenment as it exemplifies his desire to repent for his actions. The death of Cordelia redeems Lear as his actions highlight his love for her. Shakespeare employs religious imagery in the stage direction “re-enter King Lear, with Cordelia dead in his arms” which alludes to Virgin Mary holding her dead son Christ in her arms. This heightens and magnifies