Examples Of Human Nature In King Lear

As I glanced at my second semester schedule in December, I had no idea what “Nature and Human Nature” meant. After turning to my dictionary and class discussions, it all became a little clearer. My first introduction to human nature occurred while reflecting on the Shakespeare play King Lear. Selfishness, loyalty, love, anger, and many other themes of human nature reigned prevalent throughout the play. Personally, I found the theme of dysfunctional family relationships the most interesting. In addition, it was the simplest to notice and wrap my head around. I believe this easily ties into human nature because each family has their fair share of issues. The one relationship in which I see this the most, occurs within King Lear’s own family.

She goes from love to hate in what seems like a matter of minutes. A perfect example of a high point in their relationship is when she confesses the amount of love she has for her father during the land giving ceremony (I.i.3). She did this because due to her father’s medical state, he could no longer run the kingdom. Because we don’t have enough information yet, we assume she does this to honor her father. This shows a softer side of Goneril, that readers begin to favor. Throughout the next few acts, her demeanor drastically changes. As her father’s mental state deteriorates, their relationship begins to do the same. This is simply because of an anger or hatred that she seems to have towards her father. This is extremely noticeable when King Lear appears as Goneril’s home. At first, she allows her father to stay there but soon changes her mind. She simply, and rudely states that she wishes that he would not stay with her (I.iv.26-29). This seems to make King Lear go off. He even goes as far as to put a curse on her that supposedly will not allow her to conceive a child. I believe this is because he is taken back by his daughter’s reaction. Being a king, he is used to being the elite in which no one can turn down. However, with the loss of his kingdom came the loss of his power. Goneril only seemed to love him when he was offering her the kingdom, while King Lear felt as

Regan, is very similar to that of Goneril. They start out as the best of friends as she also confesses her love to her father in hopes of getting a nice piece of the kingdom. Before her time is up, her husband, Duke of Cornwall, prompts her in exactly what to say to please the King (I.i.3). This again makes us believe that Regan is a good daughter who truly loves her father. Our mood will change just like it did with Goneril. After King Lear’s curse on Goneril he leaves her home. However, he doesn’t have many options of places to go. This forces him to take the journey to Regan’s home. When he arrives he experiences a very similar treatment. Regan seems so grateful to see her father at first, but after bringing in reinforcements from her sister Goneril, her attitude changes (II.iv.52-58). They blame it on the size of the entourage that he still has, but truly the issue lies within their greed. The dysfunction of the Lear family relationships only expands from