Loyalty In Shakespeare's King Lear

Shakespeare seems to believe that extreme loyalty causes people to act rashly as shown by Mercutio fighting against Tybalt for Romeo, and Romeo and Juliet’s suicides.

Lear is a powerful man who does not see how genuine his youngest daughter, Cordelia’s love is, but believes the deceitfulness of her sisters, Goneril and Regan. Kent, one of Lear’s most loyal servants, sees the two-facedness of Cordelia’s sisters and tries to make him look pass the show that Goneril and Regan put on and see them for who they truly are, and Lear refuses. Lear commands to Kent get "Out of my sight!" The play echoes

William Shakespeare’s King Lear is massive in scope and deals with many themes. I’d like to focus on King Lear’s relationship with his daughters as it evolves throughout the play as well as the play King Lear’s themes regarding politics and politicking. The passage I think best represents the conclusion of these themes is King Lear’s conversation with Cordelia in Act 5, scene 3 where they have been taken prisoner by the English. My conclusion from reading this passage closely is that in Shakespeare’s King Lear, King Lear’s speech to Cordelia regarding their impending imprisonment builds Shakespeare’s idea of caged potential and judgement for those who politic.

Shakespeare's good characters, in the play King Lear, are considered good because they are loyal even when they are disguised from or unrecognizable by those to whom they owe loyalty. In addition, their loyalty does not waver even when they are banished or mistreated by those to whom they are loyal. Cordelia, Edgar and Kent are all characters that exemplify this goodness and unwavering loyalty.

In the 17th Century, when Macbeth was written , loyalty was highly regarded and had great value. The gunpowder plot in 1605, against King James I, shocked everybody . Treason against your own country was regarded as one of the worst crimes a person can commit and this is why Guy Fawkes was hung, drawn and quartered. In the play “Macbeth”, Shakespeare makes the themes of loyalty and family very clear to the audience in the first few scenes in the play. There are many examples of characters that were loyal and trusted, but that turned their back on the people that trusted them. With this becoming the case, it becomes very hard for people to put faith in others as in an instant they could turn their back and try and act on what they truly believe in.

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 is an actor who can only play the king. Thus, after he has abdicated his throne, passing the authority to his posterity, he still demands respect and power, which he is unable to claim from any of his former subjects, even his daughters. And as a king with no kingdom, he is an actor with no role to play, the most loathsome of all conditions. Lear himself realizes this, and in scene 4, he cries: "Why, this is not Lear" (4.204). And later in the same speech, he says: "Who is it that can tell me who I am?" (4.209). Lear is stuck in his role as king, unable to act in any other manner and powerless to provide for himself, causing the ultimate downfall of he and his

   The Earl of Kent plays a small but important part in Shakespeare's play King Lear. From the beginning scenes to the end we see a minor character that is used to show the values that Shakespeare believed in. Whether Kent is an example of the dutiful servant or plays the intermediary between Lear and Cordelia he is essential to the functioning of the plot.

A theme that is seen developing in Act 1 is that your loyalty to someone else or yourself, can hide your true intentions. This is shown in the characters of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth in their attitudes towards their friends and family. During Scene 7, Lady Macbeth says that she will do anything for her husband including, “while its was smiling in my face, have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, and dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done this,” (Shakespeare, I.vii.55-58). She shows that she would do anything for him if she had promised that she would do so, proving that no matter what they’ve been through she would stay by his side. But earlier in the act, her manner was much different as she explains her plan, “Art not

Kent’s effort to steer Lear in the right direction backfires. Lear is offended by Kent’s attempt to make him go against his word and reverse the disownment on Cordelia. Lear, feeling his pride in jeopardy, goes into a fit of rage and banishes Kent for questioning his judgment:

Cordelia’s disinheritance and banishment are frighteningly disproportionate to the “sin” she has committed in not flattering Lear. So too, is Kent’s treatment at his hands. This concept of disproportionate consequences for actions done, underlines how monstrous Lear’s arrogance is, as well as his petty tyranny and his lack of self-knowledge. However, the horrors Lear himself will have to suffer later in the play, as a result of his own folly, will also be out of all proportion to his initial blunder. Without Cordelia in the play, these actions would not have been sparked in Lear.

As previously stated, Kent, the Fool, and Cordelia make Lear more that just a mere nothing by serving faithfully, speaking bluntly, and loving unconditionally. Although Lear can physically see, he is blind in that he lacks insight, understanding, and direction. Since Lear's vision is unclear, he cannot see people for who they really are. When Lear becomes angered by Cordelia's response to him, Kent jumps in and tries to reason with Lear. Because of his lack of insight and stubbornness, Lear cannot and does not want to see the truth in Cordelia's and in Kent's statements. He cannot see what these words really mean. Lear is fooled by his other daughters along with their proclamations of love for him. Kent, who has insight, can see through the lies of Lear's other daughters, and can see that Cordelia is the one who truly loves Lear the most. Kent tries to convince Lear by saying "Answer my life, my judgment, Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least" (1.1.151-152). Lear, with no insight, only sees what is on the surface, and cannot look beyond the words. In this particular scene, there is also a shift in the way Lear is addressed my Kent. This shows how his role is changing. First, Kent calls him "Lear" (1.1.147), then "old man" (1.1.147), then "majesty" (1.1.151). Also notable in the play is that it is somewhat ironic that the character that is least blinded and has the most insight is the Fool. He has more wisdom and

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

Loyalty is being faithful to commitments and obligations. On the other hand there are many ways to display loyalty. One can be loyal to a person, political party, country, religion, or cause. The list is seemingly endless. William Shakespeare’s play King Lear exhibits many forms of loyalty, but one that shines particularly is loyalty to ones selfish needs. However there is a limit to loyalty which most over look. The characters Cordelia, the emotional King Lear, and the vile Edmund all manifest their loyalty to their own self, and all meet their demise. The limit to loyalty is death.

This makes the audience view Lear as obviously superior to Kent and it also demonstrates the total control and power Lear has over Kent by banishing his servant.