Metaphors In King Lear

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Shakespeare’s King Lear was a five act tragedy. The story of King Lear was first published in 1608. (William, 2000) King Lear was a Shakespearean play, as well as a story. Because religion played a major role in Shakespeare’s life and during this time period he used Christ like metaphors in his writings including King Lear. (William, 2000) This story was a very accustomed tale in Elizabethan England, where it was believed to be based off of historical facts from British history. (Metzger, 2000) Two daughters attempted to have their father declared insane so that they might seize his estate. The youngest daughter Cordelia was the only one who objected and remained faithful to her father. In this story Shakespeare was supporting Christian beliefs in divine justice. Instead of proposing easy answers to the plot and story of King Lear, Shakespeare makes you think and ponder about the role of God and divine justice, as well as putting some historical accounts and original writings during this time period.
When Shakespeare was writing King Lear, English had survived many years of civil war, political, and religious disturbance. (Metzger, 2000) Shakespeare also used many literary devices in this story such as comic relief and soliloquy.
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He used writing styles and metaphors that were greatly shown in King Lear. The words that Shakespeare used in this story reflect the way he thought about women and men during this time period. When you look at his poetry and compare it to works such has John Donne’s, you see that Shakespeare did not just focus on one aspect of his writing. John Donne has a writer mainly focused on religion. Shakespeare took a variety of topics and themes and put them all throughout his writing for example in King Lear you see religious views, social classes, gender roles between men and women, and also rhyme scheme is an important part in his poetry and

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