King Lear and Waiting for Godot are plays that are very similar in a way that they have the same central concern of recognition within the plays. There are many different ways that the issue of recognition is shown; there is self-recognition, recognition by others and recognition of actions. Whilst these plays differ from each other in almost every other way, they do share this central concern. Recognition means the acknowledgement of the existence, validity or legality of something.
The many characters in King Lear struggle with recognition throughout the play. There are some obvious ways that this can be seen; King Lear needs to be told how much he is loved by his daughters, and later needs to learn to recognise the error of his ways in order to be able to reconcile with his legitimate daughter, Cordelia. These are examples of recognition by others and recognition of actions. There are many ways to delve into this throughout the story. Edgar, or later known as Poor Tom, feels the need to be recognised as a legitimate member of the family by Gloucester, “In King Lear, recognition of Edgar ‘‘as a real person and a real son’’ is complicated by Edgar’s own relentless moralising” (McCoy 46). This is crucial to the play’s storyline following the theme of recognition as it contributes deeply to the reader feeling what the character’s are feeling on …show more content…
When Gloucester becomes blind it resonates with Edgar, now know as Poor Tom, and he wants to help in any way
The many characters in King Lear struggle with recognition throughout the play. There are some obvious ways that this can be seen; King Lear needs to be told how much he is loved by his daughters, and later needs to learn to recognise the error of his ways in order to be able to reconcile with his legitimate daughter, Cordelia. These are examples of recognition by others and recognition of actions. There are many ways to delve into this throughout the story. Edgar, or later known as Poor Tom, feels the need to be recognised as a legitimate member of the family by Gloucester, “In King Lear, recognition of Edgar ‘‘as a real person and a real son’’ is complicated by Edgar’s own relentless moralising” (McCoy 46). This is crucial to the play’s storyline following the theme of recognition as it contributes deeply to the reader feeling what the character’s are feeling on …show more content…
When Gloucester becomes blind it resonates with Edgar, now know as Poor Tom, and he wants to help in any way