What Is The Betrayal And Backstabbing Of King Lear

The common quote of “To every action there is a repercussion” definitely holds true in the book King Lear written by Shakespeare. This is especially shown between loyalty and betrayal when analysed in tandem. This can be seen in this work all throughout the course of Act 1. First off with King Lear’s three daughters; Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. The three daughters have always been told what to do by the King(quote), they very rarely were able to make choices on their own.

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).

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

In his tragedy King Lear, William Shakespeare presents two families: a family consisting of a father and his three daughters, and a family consisting of a father and his two sons, one of which is a bastard son. While he has the sons basically come out and admit that one of them is good and the other evil, the Bard chooses to have the feelings of the daughters appear more subtlely. At no point in King Lear does Shakespeare come out and blatantly tell his audience that Cordelia is the most caring and loving daughter, while her two sisters are uncaring and greedy, and love their father only when they stand to gain from it. However, via the three daughters’ speeches throughout King Lear, he does

The consequences of this problem appear very early in King Lear. Near the end of the initial scene, Cordelia has already deciphered the evil designs of her sisters. As she is leaving them to live with her new husband, Cordelia says: "Use well our father. / To your professed bosoms I commit him" (1.258-9). She realizes that her sisters are using their pseudo love for their father to garner the power of the throne and to misuse the authority that Lear has given them. Cordelia also points out in this statement that she realizes that her father is stuck in his role as king, unable to provide for himself, thus needing the support of the evil sisters to care for him. And they have little use for him: "Nothing will come of nothing, and since he has

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

Cordelia personifies integrity, honesty and love throughout the play. By her very nature she is unable to flatter or curry favour since dishonesty is not part of that nature. She represents the truth and it is against the backdrop of her loyalty and undying love for her father that we measure Lear’s arrogant behaviour.

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.

William Shakespeare's 'King Lear' is a tragic play of filial conflict, deception and loss. Characters Lear and Gloucester

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.

In books and in life older people are usually seen as wise and so this has become a stereotype. Older leaders are usually shown to be strong and always do the right thing because there wiser than their younger counterparts. This stereotype has become a little overused and so when you see a piece that goes against that norm, it becomes very interesting. In William Shakespeare’s King Lear the theme of sanity and corruption is developed through the motif of wisdom and age to illustrate the idea that older people are not always wiser than younger people. This play flips the idea of wisdom in relation to age on its head, which makes the plot all the more interesting.

Furthermore, King Lear suffers a loss of power which causes him to reveal his true nature when his powers as King and as a father are departed and he is able to see the innocence behind his daughter, Cordelia's, love for him. He is reunited with Cordelia and instantly compelled to beg for her forgiveness: "We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage./ When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down/ And ask of thee forgiveness. So we'll live,/ And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh..." (5.3.9-12). This is unveils King Lear's truly humble and loving nature. In summary, because Cordelia, Gloucester and King Lear all suffer a loss of power in the play, their true natures are ultimately revealed.

Centralized around the theme of power, King Lear, by William Shakespeare exhibits a plot that is predominantly focused on how one’s identity can ultimately be altered by differing factors. Specifically, as readers, we get an insight into how power seemingly alters King Lear’s sense of identity. It’s displayed in the opening scene, that King Lear is not a king to be easily taken advantage of. He is assertive. In fact, he can even be described as dominant.

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.

King Lear's hot temper and hasty decisions play a significant role in his fall from grace. His old age has caused him to behave impulsively, without any consideration for the consequences of his actions. When Lear asks his devoted daughter Cordelia to express her love for him, he becomes upset with her because she cannot put her feelings into words. He