King Lear Rhetorical Analysis

In William Shakespeare’s King Lear, Edgar concludes the play by lamenting over the tragic deaths of those the around him and the future of the kingdom. As Kent, Albany, and Edgar are the only characters remaining in the end, Edgar stresses upon the lives lost because of deceitful actions and the importance of letting honesty reign instead. Bound to never again let lies tear a family apart, Edgar believes that words should come from the heart and that one should never speak with malicious intentions. Through a didactic declaration of ethical principles, Shakespeare summarizes the moral of the play, which is that truth should preside over one’s actions rather than lies as displayed through an antithesis of virtuous actions and through syntax

Edgar uses his experience to bestow upon the audience a didactic lesson intended to teach a moral principle. Lies, deceit, and trickery drive the events of the play to its mournful end, and most characters could have avoided their tragic endings if the daughters of Lear and sons of Gloucester acted out of love and compassion rather than hatred and jealousy. To summarize the overall cause and effect of the events enacted in the play, Edgar proclaims, “Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say” (Lear 5.3.330). Speaking from his experience, Edgar advises those around him, including the audience, that one’s words should express what one feels, whether they please those around them or not, rather than hiding one’s true feelings and expressing what they believe others want to hear. For example, Cordelia stayed true to her heart, and when her father asked her to preach her love for him, she spoke to the degree of her heart as opposed to her sisters who treated their father with flattery and unwarranted praise. Lear’s disillusionment over the fake expression of love that his daughters portrayed drove him to madness and, ultimately, his demise. Throughout Regan and Goneril’s false facade toward their father, lies grew deeper throughout the kingdom, resulting in hateful crimes of murder against loved ones. In the end, Edgar clearly sees that deception grew too powerful, and to prevent any further damage, he teaches that honesty is the virtue that should drive one’s