Wisdom of Realization

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.

Let us first consider King Lear and his relationship with his daughter Cordelia. When King Lear asks Cordelia to profess her love for him she merely answers that she loves him according to her bond, no more. Enraged, the king banishes her without an inheritance or dowry. Cordelia tries to explain

The concepts of nature, humanity, power and love lay as a foundation for Shakespeare’s, King Lear. These notions are examined through the actions and realizations of King Lear, himself. Throughout the discourse of this play we view the portrayal of humans as animals and witness King Lear’s mistreatment after he gives away his power. When doing so he makes clear his view on love and its value, solely based on the flattery of words.Through nature, King Lear becomes grounded and recognizes the animalistic behaviors of the rich and the struggles of the poor. This recognition brings him to an utmost discovery that presents the reality of vicious humanity and changes the way he views the world.

It cannot be obtained only through age, but in overcoming perilous scenarios and succeeding in experience-filled events. The growing definition of the word “wisdom” sets a feeling to the reader as though she did

Mitch was intrigued by Morrie during his participation in his college course on “the meaning of life.” After chasing cash instead of his dreams post-college Mitch rekindled his bond with his dying life coach. On the second Tuesday Mitch thought to him self, “How useful it would be to put a daily limit on self pity.”(Pg.57) Feeling sorry for your self, much like most would expect Morrie to do, only deprives one of the ability to appreciate the life around him/her. By appreciating the love he’s receiving and time on earth before death, Morrie can have a positive outlook on life even while facing a tragic death sentence.

"There are many definitions of wisdom but one of the best understanding I have received is that wisdom is knowledge gained through suffering." - Elaine Heath

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

It takes countless decades and mistakes to acquire enough experience, knowledge, and good judgement to be considered a wise individual – a person everyone looks up to, and asks for advice. Wisdom is understanding and seeing the truth in life. It is the capability to recognize the aspects of life that are truly important and distinguishing them from the aspects that are essentially useless. Many authors incorporate one or more characters within their novels that possess the characteristics of a wise individual. In both Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom and King Lear by William Shakespeare, the protagonists Morrie and Lear are able to acquire wisdom after undergoing hardships and tribulations. Morrie is undeniably wiser than Lear as shown through his view of society, family, and his philosophies revolving around forgiveness and suffering.

“Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do”.

Toward the start of the play, Lear's daughters act in altogether different ways. The old King Lear needs to separate his kingdom in three parts. In any case, to choose which part will relate to each daughter, he proposes a love test. The better part will relate to the daughter who let him know he is the most valued for her.

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.

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.

This reckless behaviour causes Lear to lose a valued and trustworthy follower. Without a doubt, Lear's rash behaviour contributes to the suffering he endures at the hands of others.

However, Morrie’s demeanor gave him the façade of a man whom thoroughly engulfed life. Morrie’s philosophy of living seemed to be that life should be lived and not squandered on menial things such as obsessive or unfulfilling work and the love of monetary or material gains. Morrie defined these things as products of the “popular culture.” Morrie reiterated that “popular culture values” taught the person to become independent of those things that kept a person psychologically healthy and emotionally happy. Mitch begins to script Morrie’s life by

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