King Lear: A Tragedy
William Shakespeare 's play, King Lear, is a well-known tragedy written in the 1600s. Plays written at that time were meant to teach a lesson through comedy or strong emotions; King Lear was an extreme example of the latter. One of Shakespeare 's bleakest plays, King Lear evokes strong emotions in the audience, allowing them to place themselves in the shoes of the characters in the play and learn the lesson behind the play. In order to accomplish this, Shakespeare effectively utilizes the precepts of an Aristotelian tragedy to construct his own which is evident in King Lear 's plot, characters and ending. Characteristic of an Aristotelian tragedy, King Lear 's complex and complete plot follows a cause-and-effect series …show more content…
In King Lear, Shakespeare uses similar components as an Aristotelian tragedy to augment the emotions of the audience and to teach them a lesson.
Aristotelian states that a "tragedy is an imitation of an action that is complete, and whole and of a certain magnitude" (Aristotle VII). This means that there is a beginning, a middle and an end and that all the events are caused by earlier incidents and they themselves are the cause of future incidents, hence the cause-and-effect series which is exemplified throughout King Lear. King Lear’s plot is "structurally self-contained" (McManus), it does not "begin nor end at haphazard" (Aristotle, VII). All the events that occur in King Lear are in chronological order, therefore the audience can follow along and feel everything the characters are feeling at the same time. The audience knows what the character knows and are not left with any questions, giving them the chance to focus on their emotions. Aristotle states that the plot must also be "of a certain magnitude" (Aristotle VII), both quantitatively and qualitatively. The quantitative aspect is the length and complexity of the play. King Lear occurs over a large time span, evident in the lines said by …show more content…
Everything builds up to the catharsis. The emotions that the audience feels, mainly pity and fear, reach a climax at the ending. The arousal of these emotions gives the audience a chance to purge them, reaching a balanced level. Aristotle believed that one receives pleasure from "contemplating the pity and fear that are aroused through an intricately constructed work of art" (McManus). Shakespeare utilizes this concept to achieve his goal of eliciting a strong emotional response from his audience. The death toll doubles in the final scene, with one death announced after another. This is where Shakespeare strays from the Aristotelian tragedy; normally the suffering in the final scene happens on stage, whereas in King Lear it occurs offstage and is announced. This could be because Shakespeare wanted to offer some sort of relief to the audience. King Lear has been said to be one of the bleakest and most extreme tragedies there is, with one pitiful event occurring after another. Since the point of the catharsis is the balance of emotions through the purging of pity and fear, too much emotion would ruin the effect, hence Shakespeare offers some sort of relief. However, the ending still evokes strong emotion; one particularly emotional point is when Lear announces Cordelia 's death. The audience was at a point of uncertainty, although the antagonists were out of the picture, they did now know whether the
William Shakespeare 's play, King Lear, is a well-known tragedy written in the 1600s. Plays written at that time were meant to teach a lesson through comedy or strong emotions; King Lear was an extreme example of the latter. One of Shakespeare 's bleakest plays, King Lear evokes strong emotions in the audience, allowing them to place themselves in the shoes of the characters in the play and learn the lesson behind the play. In order to accomplish this, Shakespeare effectively utilizes the precepts of an Aristotelian tragedy to construct his own which is evident in King Lear 's plot, characters and ending. Characteristic of an Aristotelian tragedy, King Lear 's complex and complete plot follows a cause-and-effect series …show more content…
In King Lear, Shakespeare uses similar components as an Aristotelian tragedy to augment the emotions of the audience and to teach them a lesson.
Aristotelian states that a "tragedy is an imitation of an action that is complete, and whole and of a certain magnitude" (Aristotle VII). This means that there is a beginning, a middle and an end and that all the events are caused by earlier incidents and they themselves are the cause of future incidents, hence the cause-and-effect series which is exemplified throughout King Lear. King Lear’s plot is "structurally self-contained" (McManus), it does not "begin nor end at haphazard" (Aristotle, VII). All the events that occur in King Lear are in chronological order, therefore the audience can follow along and feel everything the characters are feeling at the same time. The audience knows what the character knows and are not left with any questions, giving them the chance to focus on their emotions. Aristotle states that the plot must also be "of a certain magnitude" (Aristotle VII), both quantitatively and qualitatively. The quantitative aspect is the length and complexity of the play. King Lear occurs over a large time span, evident in the lines said by …show more content…
Everything builds up to the catharsis. The emotions that the audience feels, mainly pity and fear, reach a climax at the ending. The arousal of these emotions gives the audience a chance to purge them, reaching a balanced level. Aristotle believed that one receives pleasure from "contemplating the pity and fear that are aroused through an intricately constructed work of art" (McManus). Shakespeare utilizes this concept to achieve his goal of eliciting a strong emotional response from his audience. The death toll doubles in the final scene, with one death announced after another. This is where Shakespeare strays from the Aristotelian tragedy; normally the suffering in the final scene happens on stage, whereas in King Lear it occurs offstage and is announced. This could be because Shakespeare wanted to offer some sort of relief to the audience. King Lear has been said to be one of the bleakest and most extreme tragedies there is, with one pitiful event occurring after another. Since the point of the catharsis is the balance of emotions through the purging of pity and fear, too much emotion would ruin the effect, hence Shakespeare offers some sort of relief. However, the ending still evokes strong emotion; one particularly emotional point is when Lear announces Cordelia 's death. The audience was at a point of uncertainty, although the antagonists were out of the picture, they did now know whether the