"It's not Lear's weakness but his strength that makes the story a tragedy." Discuss.

"It's not Lear's weakness but his strength that makes the story a tragedy." Discuss. I would disagree with the statement above, since we can see from the very beginning of the play, that Lear makes the mistake himself of abdicating his throne to fuel his ego, which eventually results in his downfall. By abdicating his throne, not only is he plunging his family and community into crisis by abandoning his responsibilities, he is also violating God's natural law. In the 18th Century man's task was to obey God's law and maintain his position in the hierarchy, fulfilling his duties. King Lear by giving away his kingdom went against this and violated the natural order. This creates a parallelism between another of Shakespeare's plays, "Macbeth." Macbeth when he becomes king is not a true king, as he is not behaving like God's deputy on earth, and instead he acts like a usurper. Both Lear and Macbeth abdicate their responsibilities, disobeying God's law, which has devastating consequences to the family and country causing disorder and chaos later on in the play. Following this, Lear out of pride and anger begins to banish those around him who genuinely care for him, starting with Cordelia. This is another of Lear's tragic flaws, which prevents him from seeing the true faces of people because his pride and anger overrides his judgement. As we see in this first act, Lear does not

  • Word count: 1155
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Fool's language tricks

Agnieszka Zgajewska Fool's language tricks When the Fool enters the stage he seems to be completely free in telling the truth but he does not have a complete immunity from punishment. First proof of it comes when Lear warns him with the whip: LEAR: Take heed sirrah, the whip. (II.4.111) When he goes too far in his impudent commentaries he could be turned away from Lear's household. Who would then stay with Lear and point out the truth to him? Fool has the awareness of that and from the moment of Lear's first warning he is more careful in how he expresses his criticism. He knows how to extricate himself from risky situations and escape an eventual punishment. He starts to use his tricks and verbal shifts which for a while distract Lear's attention and let him continue revealing the truth to his master. When the Fool feels that Lear's patience is running out he masks his comments with his characteristic manner. He immediately changes the form of his speech and finds the way to escape the whipping. He stops himself from another biting remark and in response to Lear's warning he provides less acute answer. More to the point, in dangerous situations " the truth he

  • Word count: 768
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

How Does Lear change throughout the play?

King Lear Coursework How Does Lear change throughout the play? In a play about individual tragedies, a lack of responsibility plays an important part. The play 'King Lear' shows Lear's descent to madness'. In the play, King Lear experiences his own journey through time. He is betrayed by two of his daughters but is reconciled to his youngest at the end. All of the turning points of his reign as a king, was due to his lack of thinking as he never thought of what he is doing until his actions take an awful turn. Lear is a complex tragic hero. He, unlike other tragic heroes, doesn't have one flaw which leads him to his downfall, but rather multiple flaws. Lear doesn't realise at the beginning that he isn't seen as the perfect king but we as the audience know this is entirely true. His character has many different weaknesses ranging from the smallest things to the most important things that some may stumble on. My initial impression of Lear is that he is a naïve and arrogant king who indulges himself in false praise from others. He thrives of power and lives day by day on his wealthy state. At the opening of the play, the audience sees Lear as the 'enemy' of the play. 'King Lear' was written in the early 17th century. This was the time when Kings and Queens ruled the land with unquestionable power. The play is about a struggle for power and property. 'King Lear' perhaps

  • Word count: 2637
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

King Lear

Chris Rose 5 February 2002 GCSE Major Coursework Assignment: Shakespeare: King Lear The play king Lear written by William Shakespeare deals with relationships, greed and selfishness as issues. The play is about an aging king and his three daughters to decide how much each daughter gets he asks them all to in turn to put their love for him into words. The most loved daughter and youngest daughter called Cordelia goes last. After Regan and Gonerills speech Cordelia refuses, saying that she cannot ask her love into words. Lear casts her away and as disowns her. She goes off to marry the king of France, and later returns leading an army. The rest of the play revolves around the consequences of these actions. Shakespeare would have got the ideas that he put in king Lear from topical gossip and books that were around at the time. One topic of conversation in London around this time was sir William Allen. He suffered a similar state of affairs as King Lear did, because he was also aging and he also decided to give up his estate and split it three ways, only, Lear had one advantage, Lear had Cordelia whereas sir William Allen was mistreated by all three of his daughters. One winter, his daughters got so sick of looking after him, that they even refused to give him fuel to keep himself warm. Another celebrity from around that time that suffered a similar mistreatment by his

  • Word count: 1425
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Tis the infirmity of his age; yet he hath ever but slenderly known himself(TM) (Act 1.1 290-291) Discuss the portrayal of King Lear(TM)s character in the first act of King Lear.

''Tis the infirmity of his age; yet he hath ever but slenderly known himself' (Act 1.1 290-291) Discuss the portrayal of King Lear's character in the first act of King Lear. 'King Lear' was written by the world-renowned English playwright William Shakespeare in the years 1604-1605. It is one of Shakespeare's most tragic plays where both good and evil characters suffer horribly and die grisly deaths. The play tells the story of an old King whose irrational behaviour leads to his downfall and his road to redemption. In the first act of the play King Lear is portrayed as an arrogant man who basks in his own self importance and expects only praise and assent from his peers. His decision to give away his kingdom to his daughters before his death while keeping the title of King shows that he values words and titles over power and authority. What makes this decision worse is his choice of dividing his kingdom: awarding the finest portion to the daughter that answers the question "which of you shall we say doth love us most?" the best. Lear disregards his older daughters' previous actions but accepts their hyperbole filled proclamations of love blindly, while taking offence for his youngest and favourite daughter's plain and truthful answer. His choice to disown her and split the kingdom between the older two prove to be a foolhardy decision which leads to his fall from

  • Word count: 611
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

It can be argued that the central concern of King Lear is the nature of a particular form of evil: anger. Aristotle defined anger as: ... an impulse

The central concern of tragedy has always been to explore the nature of evil in the world; both its existence and the nature of particular types of evil and their effect. If we are to find the meaning of Shakespeare's tragedies, we must examine how men looked at the problem of evil in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Much of the philosophy which under-pinned the English Renaissance can be traced to the ideas of Aristotle. It can be argued that the central concern of King Lear is the nature of a particular form of evil: anger. Aristotle defined anger as: ... an impulse, accompanied by pain, to a conspicuous revenge for a conspicuous slight directed without justification towards what concerns oneself or towards what concerns one's friends. Aristotle argued that anger always arises from injured self-esteem, from some slight inflicted upon the individual directly or indirectly, there being three kinds of slighting possible: contempt; spite; and insolence. Since a man expects to be respected by his inferiors, he expects those to respect him to whom he is superior in birth, capacity goodness or anything else. Furthermore, he expects those whom he has treated well, as well as those whom he is now treating well, to respect him. According to Aristotle, then, the man who is slighted by those who he thinks ought to respect him and feel grateful toward him is the more easily

  • Word count: 2299
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Explore the Relationship between Lear and Cordelia with Particular Reference to Act one Scene one; and how it Affects to the Rest of the Play.

Explore the Relationship between Lear and Cordelia with Particular Reference to Act one Scene one; and how it Affects to the Rest of the Play. The play starts off with Kent and Gloucester discussing which son-in-law the King prefers most to give his Kingdom too. Lear then explains on the next page that he intends to divide his kingdom up into three sections. "Know that we have divided In three our kingdom," Lear gives the reason that he is old and does not want to deal with affairs of state into his old age; he believes these problems should be given to younger people as Lear approaches his death. Lear goes on to say that although he loves both of his son-in-laws he has decided to divide the Kingdom up between his three daughters. "To shake all cares and business from our age, Conferring them on younger strengths while we Unburdened crawl toward death. Our son of Cornwall, And you, our no less loving son Albany, We have this hour a constant will to publish Our daughters' several dowers that future strife May be prevented now." Lear has decided to divide his Kingdom between his three daughters to save future troubles. One piece of the Kingdom however is bigger than the others and the daughter that can express her love most will get the largest piece. "Which of you shall we say doth love us most, That we our largest bounty may extend" Lear likes to be assured he

  • Word count: 614
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Wide Sargasso Sea provides unique insight into the gradual deterioration of the human mind and spirit

Wide Sargasso Sea provides unique insight into the gradual deterioration of the human mind and spirit. On examining Antoinette and her mother Annette, the reader gains a new perspective of insanity. One realizes that these two women are mentally perturbed as a result of numerous external factors that are beyond their control. The cruelty of life and people drive Annette and her daughter to lunacy. Neither mother nor daughter have a genetic predisposition to madness, and their downfall is an inevitable result of the actions of those around them and the unbearable nature of their living situation. Antoinette's condition owes its beginnings to the solitude of her childhood, thus the cold, unfeeling treatment she receives from her husband does not create her mental instability, only exacerbates it. At the beginning of the novel, it becomes apparent that solitude is a primary cause of theCosway women's insanity. Antoinette's narration reveals that her mother is not accepted by other white people in Jamaica because she originated from Martinique, and the Jamaican ladies in particular "never approved" of her mother "because she pretty like pretty self". Her only friend, Mr. Luttrell, commits suicide after he tires of waiting for monetary compensation for the loss of his slaves. Annette is left with no one of her colour or class to associate with. In describing her childhood,

  • Word count: 1839
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

With detailed reference to the scenes in King Lear that you have studied so far, discuss the importance of the characters of Kent and the Fool in the play.

With detailed reference to the scenes in King Lear that you have studied so far, discuss the importance of the characters of Kent and the Fool in the play. Although they are far from being major players in the Shakespearean tragedy King Lear, both the Earl of Kent and The Fool are important in their own right and both are crucial in Lear's journey to eventual redemption. The Earl of Kent is King Lear's most loyal and dedicated supporter. He sticks with Lear through thick and thin solely out of love and respect for him, with no hint of selfishness or ulterior motives in his actions. Kent, however, does not follow Lear blindly whichever road he takes. Rather, Kent offers Lear advice, which more often than not, falls on deaf ears. In particular, Kent is the one that does his utmost to try and convince Lear to "reserve [thy] state" and "check this hideous rashness" when the King chooses to divide his kingdom between two of his daughters and banishing the youngest and only loyal one. Kent's efforts to save his master's kingdom are in vain, and he is banished for his troubles. This does not deter Kent, however, and he re-enters the castle disguised as Caius, a man of a lesser rank than Kent, and resumes his service to the King. Kent retains his bluntness, for which he suffers a night in the stocks. Kent is in total opposite of Goneril's servant, Oswald. Oswald does

  • Word count: 710
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Self discovery in King Lear

Self- Discovery in King Lear Although King Lear is an estimable monarch, as revealed by the devotion of men such as Kent, he has numerable character flaws. His power as king has encouraged him to be conceited and impulsive, as his oldest daughters Regan and Goneril reflect, "The best and soundest of his time hath been but rash..." and that "he hath ever but slenderly known himself" (Act 1 Scene 1). When Lear decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters, Cordelia, Goneril, and Regan in order to have less responsibility in his old age, he creates a situation in which his eldest daughters gain authority and mistreat him, and his youngest is criticised for not accentuating her love. Lear is unable to cope with his loss of power and descends into madness. While the circumstances in which Lear finds himself are instrumental in the unfolding of this tragedy, it is ultimately not the circumstances themselves, but King Lear's rash reactions to them that lead to his downfall. In this downfall, Lear is forced to come to terms with himself as a nothing but a mortal man. Through the course of the play, King Lear goes through a process of attaining self-knowledge, or true vision of one's self and the world. With this knowledge, he encounters a metamorphosis of person. In the beginning, King Lear's vanity, and the image and exercise of power dominate his person. But a series

  • Word count: 1594
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay