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King Lear's Character Analysis

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When one thinks of a king he believes that his life is a happy and lucky one, but that is not true for all kings, and that is especially not the case for King Lear. In Shakespeare 's play King Lear, King Lear believes he is living a perfect life because he thinks he has three daughters that love him greatly and is prospering as a king. He quickly comes to realize that is not the case. King Lear’s holding a meeting with his daughters for him to find out which loves him the most. The daughter who confesses her love for him will get the most land. King Lear believes that his favorite daughter Cordelia will love him the most. Once Cordelia admits that she does not love him as much he thought, King Lear’s ruin begins. Throughout the play King Lear …show more content…

Goneril begins to cut down the little power King Lear has left. She wants to get rid of King Lear’s knights because she feels he does not need them anymore. After Goneril gets rid of King Lear’s knights he utters, “I’ll feels thee Life and death / I am ashamed, that thou hast power to shake my manhood” (1.4). With the use of “I am ashamed, power to shake my manhood,” Shakespeare demonstrates, that his daughters are hurting him. By Goneril stripping King Lear of his knights which in this case symbolizes how much power he has, King Lear feels weak and humiliated. King Lear’s daughter is trying to weaken him as much as possible so she can get even more power. This can be proved by when King Lear says “shake my manhood”. King Lear is so powerless and vulnerable but there is nothing he can do about …show more content…

It 's not until Cordelia Lear’s favorite daughter dies in his arms where he totally crumbles. King Lear whimpers, “Howl, howl, howl, howl / had I your tongues and eyes, i’d use them so that heaven’s vault should crack. She’s gone forever! I know when one is dead, and when one lives; She’s dead as earth”(5.3). With the use of “Howl,howl,howl,howl” Shakespeare tells us the pain and acceptance of defeat that King Lear suffers. Lear has lost his last bit of power with Cordelia dying. Although Cordelia angers Lear at the beginning of the play, throughout once Lear notices that his other daughters are way worse he still loves Cordelia the most. By him now seeing her death he feels he has no more power and nothing to live for

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In The Lais of Marie de France the main characters involved were ultimately good people who cared about the feelings of others over their own. They each just wanted each other to be completely happy throughout the rest of their life while in King Lear it was a completely different agenda. Even with the chance to do what is right; the wicked sister, Goneril, decided to take the easy way out by stabbing herself and poisoning her sister. There is also the idea that there was no justice in King Lear being that multiple deaths happened, the good of Cordelia did not prevail because for her the messenger came too late, (Shakespeare, King Lear , 5.3.325-330). I think although society wants to believe good will always prosper sometimes the chaos of the world interferes and everyone gets swept away in evils

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Another idea that’s incorporated by both Shakespeare and Fears’ is the key concept of manipulation. Manipulation is very important in both texts as it is seen throughout both texts how damaging manipulation is. Shakespeare uses manipulative characters that manipulate those who are blind to achieve what they want. Manipulation is at the center of King Lear where in one the opening scenes, Lear asks his daughters, “Which of you shall we doth love us most?” , Lear’s two eldest, Goneril and Regan reply to King Lear saying “more than word can wield the matter” manipulating Lear and his egotistical nature.

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Lear wishes pain upon Cordelia’s future when he exclaims, “How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!—Away, away!” (Lear 1.4.282-283). Emphasizing that Lear wants her to receive a pain similar to the intensity of a serpent bite, Shakespeare first introduces the symbol of poison. For instance, distraught Lear wishes, at this moment, for Cordelia to endure the pain of such a poisonous creature, a decision he ultimately regrets. Moreover, in Act IV Scene III, Cordelia drowns herself due to Lear’s comments in Act I since she feels the unbearable stress of trying to rekindle the relationship with her once arrogant father.

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Macbeth is becoming aware of his tyrannical behaviours, however, he is more fearful of threats to the crown and his kingship than the consequences he may face for such behaviours. This connection to kingship versus tyranny proves that kingship is honourable whereas tyranny is unjust and cruel in manner. The theme’s element of kingship is highlighted by Shakespeare’s usage of oxymoron when speaking of a “fruitless crown” (3.1.62) and “barren sceptre” (3.1.63). Fruitless and barren are terms associated with infertility while words such as crown and sceptre idealize lineage. In regards to kingship, Macbeth is hyperfocused on the fact that he has a blatant lack of heirs (which is unnatural to the throne), whereas Banquo has been prophesied to have many heirs in his bloodline.

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The embellishment of the daughter’s love by taking advantage of their father through flattery is the basis for the final quote of the play as Edgar remarks about the consequences of lies and manipulation rather than speaking from the heart. Though Regan and Goneril replied to a dramatic degree of which they love their father, Lear interrogated her by exclaiming, “What can you say to draw a third more opulent than your sisters? Speak” (Lear 1.1.87-88). Filled with power, Lear spoke to his daughters in an arrogant tone as he hinted that his inheritance is related to how much love they profess towards him. In response, Cordelia answers of nothing, beginning a string of repetition of the word “nothing” each with various syntax and punctuation to show the tension building between the father and daughter relationship.

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It is a lack of clarity that creates chaos. The chaos in Shakespeare 's King Lear is due in part to Lear 's inability to see the true nature of situations going on around him. The onset of his blindness is illustrated through his obliviousness to his daughters deception, which results in his decision to divide his kingdom among only two of his three daughters. Past tense and passive. Blindness is the catalyst that causes much disaster in the play.

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Shakespeare changes King Lear to make him sympathetic because he undergoes a huge struggle and is emotionally varied. This makes him seem more human and not just a character.

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As King Lear creeps to an end of his reign, he decides to divide his kingdom into three parts dependent on which one of his daughters has devoted the most love to him. When the kids betray their fathers for control of money and power Lear and Gloucester soon realize that they were distracted by their careless emotions. Readers are introduced to King Lear in the prime of his arrogance. He is a typical king who thinks that the world revolves around him. As Lear begins to realize that he is becoming too old

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Loyalty is a fickle mistress. At times she is a guiding figure, giving heart to the protagonist’s quest. Other times she betrays the protagonist, turning those one trusts against themselves. Important to note is that loyalty is neither good nor evil, but a means to justify one’s actoins. Two classic examples of loyalty’s nature is The Aeneid and King Lear.

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At this point in the play, King Lear has lost everything. Lear no longer has property, title, or respect. Despite not having these things, Lear still manages to keep his pride. This is evident when he refuses to use “women’s weapons, water drops” (2.4. 276). This shows that Lear is desperate to maintain an image of superiority.

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King Lear is about political authority as much as it is about the power of family and its’ dynamics. Lear is not only a father but also a king, and when he gives away his authority to the unworthy and evil Goneril and Regan, he gives not only himself and his family but all the people of Britain into cruelty and chaos. As the two wicked sisters satiate their demand for power and Edmund begins his own rising, the kingdom collapses into civil clash, and we realize that Lear has destroyed not only his own authority but all authority in Britain. The reliable, hierarchal order that Lear initially represents falls apart and disorder consumes the dimension. The failure of authority in the face of chaos recurs in Lear’s excursions on the heath during the storm.

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King Lear is an arrogant and powerful individual who is very much aware of his authority. Lear’s most obvious flaw at the start of the play is that he values appearances over reality. He wants to be treated as a king and to also enjoy the title, but he doesn’t want to take the king’s responsibilities of ruling for the good of his kingdom. Likewise, his test for his daughters establishes the fact that he would much rather prefer a complimentary public display of

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The vast majority of characters in the play either die or are left with nothing, all except for Albany, Edgar, and Kent. To summarize Albany’s philosophy, all those who were good until the end tasted virtue while the rest essentially got what was coming to them. Whether or not Albany’s idea holds true, as virtuous characters died as well, King Lear has an overall bleak ending. The little hope that is left is mainly for Edgar, who watched as friends and family striked each other down, and likely learned many important lessons on the nature of humanity. The characters who lived can put their new knowledge to good use to ensure something as terrible never happens

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He desires all the trappings of power without the responsibility which is why the passive and forgiving Cordelia is the perfect choice for a successor. ( Foster Edward E.) The audience may feel alienated towards him at the start of the play considering his selfish and harsh treatment of his favorite daughter. As an audience, we soon feel sympathy for Lear despite his egotistical manner. He quickly regrets his decision and can be forgiven for behaving rashly

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It is a striking event how he treats his alleged favourite daughter and how easily he believes the lies he is being fed. Despite this, his quote holds a certain truth to it. As Lear has sinned against Cordelia, his other two daughters have sinned against him. He is right in his words for the reason that, although he was unjust and treated Cordelia disrespectfully, he did it because he felt betrayed.

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