Hubris In Shakespeare's King Lear

“’Tis his own blame”: The Price of Hubris The Greek Philosopher Aristotle believed that there is always a reason for everything that happens. Many people attribute that reason to God and Heaven; this rooted belief prevents them from reflecting on their own faults. In Shakespeare’s play King Lear, Lear and Gloucester both exercise a serious lack of good judgement, and their hubris prevents them from reflecting on their own faults. Instead, they repeatedly blame Heaven and Hell for their evil children’s betrayals. The misery Lear and Gloucester experience makes them realize that not being able to admit one’s own faults could result in an individual’s loss of everything. Lear and Gloucester blame external forces for the consequences of

Through the use of metaphor and irony, Shakespeare shows how one’s hubris could make him or her blind to truth which will lead to his or her downfall and eventual realization. As Lear’s foil, Gloucester also fails to see the true colors of his children and blames his loyal child Edgar wrongly: “O villain, villain! His very opinion in the letter! Abhorred / villain! Unnatural, detested, brutish villain—worse than / brutish!” (1.2.72-74). He fails to see the truth and is fooled by Edmund’s words easily; he curses his good, legitimate son “unnatural”. Soon, Edmund shows his evil side and betrays his own father. His exposure of Gloucester’s secrets results in the loss of Gloucester’s eyes. Facing the actual blindness, Gloucester blames gods and tries to commit suicide instead of reflecting on his wrong behaviors. But his suffering and pain leads him to a realization. He says, “I stumbled when I saw” (4.1.22). He realizes he was foolish and was blind to the truth when he still has his eyes; now that he is literally blind, he is more capable of telling the difference between appearance and reality. He says, “I see it feeling” (4.6.139). Gloucester’s lack of good judgement results in his downfall, and it also makes him realizes how blind he is when he still has his eyes. He should not trusted Edmund rashly; he should not have blamed everything on external forces; he should have thought throughly. These realizations Gloucester comes to in the play King Lear helps Shakespeare convey his message about the importance of