In today's society, family relations are often viewed as the strongest of bonds of loyalty. It is the same way in William Shakespeare's play King Lear. Act I from Shakespeare's play focuses on loyalty and reveals the willingness of the human mind to twist reality to fit one's perception of loyalty. By using parataxic distortion, two characters defend themselves from reality and fail to comprehend how their ignorance is keeping them from grasping the truth. King Lear viewing loyalty as a statement of love. Lear is quickly reaching his elderly years, and decides to divide his kingdom amongst his three daughters and retire. In front of his court, he asks his daughters, "Tell me, my daughters . . . Which of you doth we sat loves us the most" (Shakespeare …show more content…
He visits Goneril first, bringing one hundred of his knights with him. Only a little time into his stay, Goneril is already upset with her father. He has allegedly hit one of her servants and is encouraging the boisterous behavior of his knights. Goneril tells her father his conduct is inappropriate, and that she has dismissed fifty of his knights. In his anger, Lear curses his daughter, hoping she'll have a child who is just as wicked as she is. After her father has stormed off, Goneril asks Oswald if he has written a letter to her sister, informing her of the things their father has done. Now that Lear has wronged Goneril, she is hoping her sister will reject their father (Shakespeare I.4-5.206-371). Once again, parataxic distortion has led Lear away from the truth, causing more strife to drift between him and his daughters. The Latin phrase, "Post hoc ergo propter hoc," which means "After this, therefore because of this" describes Lear's situation flawlessly. Because of parataxic distortion, Lear has let his anger overcome him and he only has one more daughter to turn to before his family turns him