King Lear Essay

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Recommended: Critical Opinion on King Lear

King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is a play that portrayed a world too cruel and unmerciful to be true to life. It is a play filled with endless horror and unrelieved suffering. However, in this environment, Shakespeare expresses human existence in its profound depth. He examines the motivation of the characters’ actions and the future consequences of their irrational thoughts. In the play, Shakespeare illustrates King Lear’s development as a tragic hero driven by emotion to a character of rational thoughts with the help of his reasonable daughter, Cordelia, and the contrast of the ambiguous Edmund. In the play, Shakespeare analyzes the characters’ emotional needs and their ability to resolve their problems with rational actions. He shows the consequences of acting rashly and irresponsibly through the sufferings of King Lear. He explores the struggle for power and the emotional need of a tired king. He created a play that illustrated the needs of reason and emotion for a human being.
King Lear has been in a position of authority and superiority. This position shapes King Lear into a man full of pride. However, as King Lear’s age grows, his emotional needs also grows. It is the false pride of Lear that blinded him with his emotional needs. King Lear behaved rashly and irresponsibly at the start of the play. Deep within Lear, he realizes that it is time for him to retired from this position of honor. Despite this realization, Lear’s pride keeps him from letting go of his power. King Lear wants the title and treatment of a king, but he does not want the work and obligations of the position. Therefore, when he makes the choice of letting his daughters to govern the kingdom, it foreshadows the strapping away of his p...

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... and reasons throughout the play. However, King Lear, Cordelia, and Edmund all had the same ending -- death. Shakespeare illustrates emotion and reason as the sides of a coin. He infers that in order to survive, one must achieve a balance within emotion and reason. If there was any disruptions to the balance, it will cost death to oneself. In the play, Shakespeare demonstrates that the personalities of all people, regardless of sex, social hierarchy, or age, are fluid and subject to change more than one would expect. Therefore, at times, it is necessary for a person to change to achieve for a better ending as Lear and Edmund. Shakespeare also demonstrates that the overtake of either emotion or reason will lead to one’s downfall. In the play, Shakespeare fully explores the motives behind the characters’ actions; thus, he develops a new understanding for human nature.

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