King Lear Essay

Loyalty is a comparative term that describes different levels of commitment and support of another, depending on the circumstances. From deeply rooted to non-existent, loyalty can be witnessed in William Shakespeare’s King Lear. This idea of loyalty has numerous layers though. Yet, by the end of the play, it comes down to loyalty being temporary. It’s a scary idea that people are often only loyal because of circumstance, and when situations don’t play out as we’ve planned we turn our backs.…

King Lear: Dual Duties What does duty to someone truly mean? The literal definition of duty is "a moral or legal obligation"(Merriam-Webster 1). This means that duty may be considered the morals or values of an individual. In King Lear by Shakespeare, duty is portrayed in contrasting levels, with Edmund and Edgar to show how important loyalty is to live a long and successful life. Edmund's duty is very minimalistic in King Lear. Edmund, only thinking of himself, rarely fulfills his duty to…

Several of Shakespeare’s tragedies depict the theme of betrayal within a family. King Lear is an example of one of Shakespeare’s tragedies that does just that. In the play, there is betrayal within Lear’s family and it takes Lear retiring to bring out the malicious side of everyone. At the beginning of the play, Lear had a sense of home, but not so much when he decides to retire. Lear’s home does not seem so much like a home after all; it is a place, not a home, filled with selfish people who…

Although blindness is defined as not having sight, Shakespeare, through King Lear, allows us to see that being blind is just a mental flaw as it physically. Shakespeare through King Lear, Gloucester and Albany shows us the portray ignorance and willful denial that each character petrays. The people that surround King Lear, Gloucester and Albany aren’t exactly as what they appear, but instead of choosing to see the truth they decide to see the image on the outside instead of the inside. The…

We see King in a state of giving up his throne equally to his 3 daughters; Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. Before he hands it to them, he wants to see how much they love him, by them expressing their love. Cordelia is the only daughter that hesitates to speak for she can't express all of her love. She is banished for this, leaving all the land to the two oldest. King Lear starts to notice his mistake when the two girls start to become rude and corrupt. A sub story also taking place is King Lear's…

prominently featured over the course of King Lear, and each of these concepts also directly relates to another theme that is incredibly relevant in one of the Bard’s most famous tragedies blindness. Blindness is a theme that has multiple meanings. From not being able to see what is directly in front of oneself, to being quite literally blinded, King Lear features multiple types of blindness over the course of the play. In the beginning of the play, after Lear banishes his only truthful daughter…

Shakespeare, the author of King Lear, writes in a unique style. While writing the tragedy of King Lear he has many of his main characters go through an experience that takes them far out of their comfort zone to change them for the better. Throughout King Lear, Shakespeare shows that man cannot be morally strong without over coming suffering. At the beginning of the play Shakespeare portrays King Lear is an old, foolish man. He splits his kingdom into three, a piece for each of his daughters,…

Imagine an arrogant king of England who plays the game “Who loves me the most?” with his three daughters. This unconventional contest will decide which daughter will receive the largest portion of land from his kingdom. Two of the daughters exaggerate their love for him, but one chooses to remain silent. Little did the king know that he would lose his power due to this competition. As the king loses everything and faces the consequences for his poor decisions, he starts to see the world in a…

King Lear is another famous tragedy by William Shakespeare that includes women, both virtuous and evil, whom lead to destruction by play’s end. King Lear includes three female characters: Cordelia, Regan, and Goneril. While all three women are daughters of King Lear, Goneril and Regan are portrayed as lying, hypocritical, greedy, and selfish monsters while Cordelia is the only daughter who truly loves and cares for their father. “In spite of her virtue and piety, she is presented as a woman who…

that eventuates in King Lear, three main elements are woven together to show the transformation of the principal character. Lear’s heroic characteristics are suddenly undermined by his flaws, the play revealing his true nature as the consequences eventuate. The role of fate in Lear’s downfall and how he regards fate is a device to centre cosmically tragic events on the choices of one man. By the conclusion of the play, the audience has shifted their compassion to lie with Lear, a transformation…