Why Is King Lear A Man More Sinned Against Than Sinning

After King Lear’s two oldest daughters, Goneril and Regan express their love for their father in a flattering speech they were granted their share of the kingdom, and Cordelia his youngest daughter and favorite daughter refused to play along, Lear felts she was disrespectful and she was banished from his sight. Cordelia bids farewell to her sisters, and tells them that she knows they don’t love him, “I know you what you are, and like a sister am most loath to call your faults as they are named.” (1.2.273-275). “Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides; who covers faults, at last shame them derides. Well may you prosper!” (1.2.284-286). Once Cordelia left, Goneril and Regan revealed to the audience that they had no love for their father.

Pride is one of the very many themes that plays a fundamental role throughout the play. Toward the start of the play Lear seems to be a vain and proud old king. Not so much violent, but not safe either. He wants the title of a king but does not want the responsibility that comes with it. His ignorance and pride prompts the distance of his only daughter who truly loved him, Cordelia (Lear 1.1.95) and the revelation that Regan and Goneril’s words were never genuine (Lear 1.1.70). Ignored by both Regan and Goneril, Lear turns against the storm and screams, “I am a man more sinned against than sinning” (Lear 3.2.56-57). Here, Lear still believes that he

Though the actions of Regan and Goneril mirror the king's, in that they banish King Lear, just as he banishes Cordelia and Kent, their sin against their father is worse than his sin against Cordelia and Kent. King Lear bases his daughters' love on superficial characteristics, he banishes Kent and Cordelia – his own daughter – and clings to his pride, not desiring to give up the title "King" even after he has yielded his power to his

In King Lear, Goneril and Regan’s disloyalty is hurtful for Lear and it pushes him into a state of isolation where he is stripped of his authority that he had as king. It would be considered that Lear was at him lifetime low because he has socially fallen to the role of a beggar. He has no home, family or power. Lear’s madness and misery causes him to realize he has hit rock bottom. “Prithee, go in thyself. Seek thine own ease. / This tempest will not give me leave to ponder/ On things would hurt me more” (III, iv, 23-25). Lear is aware of his poor state as he refuses to take shelter from storm. The physical pains he gains from the storm relieve the misery his daughters branded on his heart.

In act 1, scene 1, Lear says that “Meantime [he] shall express [his] darker purpose” (1,1,36). The expression “darker purpose” tells us that there is a secret and a tragedy that is about to be revealed. The power that Lear gives to Gonerill and Regan makes them deceitful. He offers his kingdom to them but in return they must tell him how much they love him “which of you shall we say doth love us most, that we our largest bounty may extend”. (1, 1,56-57). Lear gives an opportunity for his daughters to take advantage of him. Gonerill “loves [him]

Due to this flaw, Lear has given way to the two older daughters to conspire against him.  Lear is finally thrown out of his daughters’ homes and left with a fool, a servant and a beggar. This is when Lear realizes the mistake that he has made and suffers the banishment of his two eldest daughters.  Lear is caught in a storm and begins to lose his sanity because he can not bear the treatment of his two daughters as well as the error he has made with Cordelia and Kent.  Lear also suffers from lack of rest when he is moving all over the place and the thing that breaks him is the death of his youngest daughter, Cordelia.  This suffering can be contrasted with other happier times like when Lear was still king and when he was not banished by his two daughters.

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” 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.

The soliloquy done by Kent provides background information that may be of importance to the big picture of King Lear; this information includes the plan of the French and how Lear’s kingdom has changed after power was given to Regan and Goneril.

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.

This must be counted as a sin against the King, as Goneril and Regan did lie with vicious intent. Considering that the daughter's sin stemmed from that of the father, we must still consider Lear the greater sinner at this point. Having divided his kingdom, Lear intends to stay with his daughters. This may be considered as imposing on the girls, but Lear is left with very little choice, as he

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.

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.

Lear's actions of distributing his kingdom to his daughters (which in a patriarchal society such as Lear's is against natural law) and his rashness of expelling Cordelia and wrongly rewarding Regan and Goneril, were a violation and misreading of true nature which, from that point on, lead to the destruction and death of Lear and his family.

him in order that he may divide his kingdom according to the strength of their