King Lear Changes

King Lear is one of the best tragedies written by William Shakespeare. Through the play, Shakespeare successfully describes the change of a main character, King Lear, like a little caterpillar escaped from his cocoon. Lear goes through a process of realizing, accepting the truth and gaining knowledge to himself. One can easily see that he is not still the same short-tempered, egocentric, or powerful king as he was in the beginning. Instead, he is just a powerless old man who is weak, panicked and dazed. Lear is completely changing his perception to the real world, personal characteristics and his thinking about love through a series of losses in the play, a banishment of his daughter, a fierce storm, a “foolishness” king and the death of his true daughter, Cordelia.

He wants to hear his three daughters’ speech, which one shows “love” to him the most shall receive the largest area of his country. Later, he divides a half of his kingdom to each of his older daughters because he believes their empty flattery, while he reacts so strongly to Cordelia when she does not act as he would like her to. He also refuses his mistake when Kent tells the right thing to him. In the madness, Lear banishes Cordelia as well as his loyalty servant, Kent. One can see that Lear believe in a conditional love when he values a flattering of love over true love. It also show that he is like a kid who become blind to see the truth because of some “Sweet candy”. Moreover, Lear also craves of power and authority even when he is not a king any more. It is illustrated in these quotes: “With reservation of an hundred knights…Beloved sons, be yours..” (Wiliiam, 1.1.135-140). In his mind, Lear does not realize that his decision is too folly because he always has a concept that when he gives up all of his kingship, in somehow he will still hold on to the power that he was before. He does not believe