The wise fool described by Erasmus is someone who can see past the chaos of the material world and find greater truths in their madness. Characters within King Lear that exhibit the qualities of the wise fool: selflessness and loyalty, in their search for the truth and the treatment of others, find greater clarity in their decision-making, a factor crucial to their standing at the climax of the work. The characters may be classified into two categories, those who stay loyal to Lear through his descent into madness, and those betray him in their schemes of self-interest. Members of each category face similar situations and react differently based on allegiances and ambitions. The first comparison to examine is between Regan’s avoidance of, and
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Regan’s disrespectful and inconsiderate behavior when interacting with her father is an outward product of this inner selfishness; a night and day comparison to resilient selflessness of Kent. Regan is greedy to attain her father’s land, bitter from her perceived lesser love from her father, and too prideful to even entertain his audience. In all, her inner self seems to be the moral opposite of Kent, who endures banishment and indignity to remain loyal to Lear. The differences between their loyalties place these two characters in similar situations, although they respond in completely different ways.
To initially examine Regan, we begin when she receives word from her sister’s messenger, Oswald that her father Lear is en route from Gonoril’s castle. Upon receiving such news, and subsequently a visit from Lear, she falsely claims to be weary from travel in order to avoid Lear’s presence. Lear, hearing of this news from his own messenger Kent, clearly expresses shock and disgust in the following conversation where Kent depicts the transpired events for Lear from his shameful position of imprisonment in the stocks outside Regan’s …show more content…
He see’s above the shallow complacency of simply agreeing with Lear, and when giving him his honesty is repaid with distain. As a man who has spent considerable time with Lear, he knows well the reaction he will receive and the consequences his actions will bring, yet makes those choices regardless. This behavior and true loyalty appears as madness in relation to the punishment he endures because of it. This is a stark contrast to Regan’s unwillingness to even see her father, when she has already manipulated him into handing-over half of the kingdom. These portrayals are justified by the deaths each character faces at the conclusion of the play. Kent maintains his faithfulness to Lear into death, as he states following Lear’s death, “I have a journey, sir, shortly to go; My master calls me, I must not say no” (Shakespeare 5.3.320-321). This claim implies that Kent’s next action is to take is own life, and in doing so sharing his master’s fate. Kent’s death is more dignified than the death of Regan, because Kent was able to choose his fate Regan’s death came at the hand of her envious sister Gonoril over their shared love interest Edmund She was not in control of the events that ended her life, and died a shameful death in comparison to the martyrdom of Kent.
The value of loyalty to Shakespeare is demonstrated within King Lear by the respective fates of Albany and Edmund, two characters
Regan’s disrespectful and inconsiderate behavior when interacting with her father is an outward product of this inner selfishness; a night and day comparison to resilient selflessness of Kent. Regan is greedy to attain her father’s land, bitter from her perceived lesser love from her father, and too prideful to even entertain his audience. In all, her inner self seems to be the moral opposite of Kent, who endures banishment and indignity to remain loyal to Lear. The differences between their loyalties place these two characters in similar situations, although they respond in completely different ways.
To initially examine Regan, we begin when she receives word from her sister’s messenger, Oswald that her father Lear is en route from Gonoril’s castle. Upon receiving such news, and subsequently a visit from Lear, she falsely claims to be weary from travel in order to avoid Lear’s presence. Lear, hearing of this news from his own messenger Kent, clearly expresses shock and disgust in the following conversation where Kent depicts the transpired events for Lear from his shameful position of imprisonment in the stocks outside Regan’s …show more content…
He see’s above the shallow complacency of simply agreeing with Lear, and when giving him his honesty is repaid with distain. As a man who has spent considerable time with Lear, he knows well the reaction he will receive and the consequences his actions will bring, yet makes those choices regardless. This behavior and true loyalty appears as madness in relation to the punishment he endures because of it. This is a stark contrast to Regan’s unwillingness to even see her father, when she has already manipulated him into handing-over half of the kingdom. These portrayals are justified by the deaths each character faces at the conclusion of the play. Kent maintains his faithfulness to Lear into death, as he states following Lear’s death, “I have a journey, sir, shortly to go; My master calls me, I must not say no” (Shakespeare 5.3.320-321). This claim implies that Kent’s next action is to take is own life, and in doing so sharing his master’s fate. Kent’s death is more dignified than the death of Regan, because Kent was able to choose his fate Regan’s death came at the hand of her envious sister Gonoril over their shared love interest Edmund She was not in control of the events that ended her life, and died a shameful death in comparison to the martyrdom of Kent.
The value of loyalty to Shakespeare is demonstrated within King Lear by the respective fates of Albany and Edmund, two characters