Heartbreak And Tragedy In William Shakespeare's King Lear

Research Paper When someone hears the words “written by William Shakespeare,” they can automatically assume the story, poem, or play will relate to heartbreak and tragedy in some way. People know the play “Romeo and Juliet” as a romantic drama that deals with the ups and downs of a teenage romance. They dramatic play of “Julius Caesar” tells a story of drama and betrayal. It also teaches a good lesson in “keeping your friends close, and keep you enemies closer.” All of William Shakespeare’s works have many hidden, valuable lessons. One play, in particular, is “King Lear.” “King Lear”, like all of Shakespeare’s works, both famous and unknown, are written in Old English. Old English is very different than the Modern English that is spoken …show more content…
He is getting old and “wiser with age. He is drawing near to the age of retirement, and is looking to choose the right person to take his place. It kills him to think of giving up the title as “king”, but he is tired of all the duties that come with being a king. ("King Lear Character List") Lear has three daughters: Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. As any normal father would do, he wants one of his own flesh and blood to carry on ruler of Britain and keep the family tradition and bloodline alive. He wants to choose Cordelia, the youngest and “Daddy’s favorite.” It is no secret, from the beginning of the play, the audience members can tell that Lear chooses Cordelia over Goneril and Regan all the time. ("King Lear Character List") As time goes on, Goneril and Regan begin to grow bitter. So the question is asked; is Lear sympathetic or …show more content…
He is greedy and only care about himself. (Judkins) I think that all people who are greedy are not as sympathetic as people who are kind and caring and put other first. Maybe in the time period that William Shakespeare wrote this play, which was in the 1600’s, this was thought to be the normal family lifestyle. Maybe fathers were thought to be the household leaders and everyone had to obey him, or pay the price. Maybe Shakespeare wrote the play, and put King Lear as the main character to teach us a lesson. A lesson that show what happens when a kingdom has a greedy leader. A lesson to show what happens when parents tend to choose one child over the others and put that one child on a pedestal. We, as readers and audience members, will never know, and must interpret the play on our own. By today’s standards, King Lear’s ways on leadership and parenting would be