How does the character of King Lear Change throughout the play 'King Lear'

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How does the character of King Lear

Change throughout the play 'King Lear'

The play King Lear in many ways fits in with the Jacobean ideals. It portrays the idea of society being thrown into chaos, by a break down of the hierarchy that was believed to have so much power over the state of the world. In the hierarchy, God came first, then the King, then the Bishops, then the aristocracy, then everyone else. It may have been believed that once Lear divided up the kingdom, he, having the divine right of Kingship but not being recognised as having it, caused society to be disrupted, and the world and weather to turn to chaos. This is mirrored in how the elements and his family's condition change. For it's time 'King Lear' must have seemed quite a radical play, as it deals openly with the disruption of society, and the extent that some people will go to for power. It also shows the King, the person nearest to God as having so many faults and being complacent (" Lear: ... crawl unburdened towards death... ") In his duties, which must have been quite a new thing