King Lear Research Paper

Chintan Khanduja

Mrs. Mitani

ENG4UI

19 January, 2016 The Journey of Self-Discovery

In William Shakespeare's King Lear, the main character King Lear makes some poor political decisions early in the play. For King Lear, Marcel Proust's quotation ''We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.'' clearly applies. People cannot be 'given' or receive wisdom, they need to experience and learn things for themselves. In the play, King Lear experiences certain hardships in his life and discovers that he made a poor decision of banishing Cordelia and giving his power and authority to Regan and Goneril. King Lear clearly demonstrates that people

King Lear says, “Doth any here know me? Can tell me who I am?” (1.4.201–205). This makes Lear question himself whether he is really a king anymore or he has lost his identity. Also he has started realizing that he was wrong in giving his power to Goneril and it was his poor decision. Similarly, by sending Kent to the stocks, Regan indicates her disrespect for Lear. When Lear realizes that Regan is treating him badly, he says “O, how this mother swells up toward my heart! / .... down, thou climbing sorrow” (2.4.54–55).“The mother” implies the weakness that shows emotional disturbance. Goneril and Regan offend their father King Lear by telling him that he is old and weak: “I pray you, father, being weak, seem so” (2.4.196). These words imply Lear’s loss of power and authority and the fact that he is growing old. The sisters’ refusal to allow Lear to keep his hundred knights and Regan’s refusal to allow him to stay with her make Lear understand that he can no longer order like a king. This makes him realize that he was completely wrong in giving his authority and power to Goneril and Regan and he made a poor

Both of these feelings appear when Lear says, “Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! rage! blow! / You cataracts.......spout / Till you have drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks!”(3.2.1–3). Lear questions how life can have treated him so poorly. However, further Lear notices his Fool and says, “I have one part in my heart / That’s sorry yet for thee” (3.2.70–71). Lear shows his sympathy towards his fool. These scenes illustrate that after experiencing such bad situations and the hardships, Lear is transforming into a good human being and he only blames his two daughters for their betrayal. Lear is repenting on the decision he made and now his aim is to get forgiveness from