King Lear Research Paper

The Tale of a Tragic Hero: King Lear

Human values apply the matters of right and wrong within our judgments. Shakespeare shows us how wicked and ruthless human nature can be when making choices. Moral misjudgments of the characters lead to an intense circle where life-threatening situations meet. In the tragedy King Lear written by William Shakespeare, striving for the opportunity of justice in the world for individual judgments, along with betrayal amongst family members proves the cruel chaos that illustrates throughout the play. This tragedy is a story of a man, entitled King Lear, and his decision leading to his future along with the fate of others. Many sad stories produce a tragic hero. The tragic hero that is being produced in this story

is King Lear.
The author, William Shakespeare, was born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon. It notes that Shakespeare may have educated at the King Edward IV Grammar School in Stratford. Here he became knowledgeable in classical Greek and Latin. There is also an unknown fact of whether or not Shakespeare attended a University to further his education after being enrolled in the grammar school. When Shakespeare was eighteen years old, he went on to marry Anne Hathaway in November of 1582. At this time, Anne was twenty-six years old and three months pregnant. Their marriage may have been hasty due to the pregnancy. Following their marriage, Shakespeare and Hathaway had their first child Susanna, born in May of 1583. Soon after, Hathaway birthed twins Judith and Hamnet in 1585. Unfortunately, Hamnet passed when he was merely 11 years old. The seven years following the twins’ birth Shakespeare vanishes from all records. This period of his disappearance is now known as the “lost years.” This period causes a lot of controversy as to what happened. There are thoughts that he worked as an assistant schoolmaster in Lancashire for a time. After his time away, it is thought he turns up again in London sometime in 1592, but arrived there in 1588. At this time, he began to establish himself as an actor and a playwright.
The definition of a tragic hero is, “a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy” (Dictionary.com). King Lear is a tragic hero that was brought to Earth with nobility, "endowed with a tragic flaw, and is doomed to make a serious error in judgment.” He disowned his youngest daughter Cordelia because she refused to flatter her father. Due to this, King Lear brands his two eldest daughters, Regan and Goneril, rulers of his land now divided into two after had being three. Regan and Goneril truly did no love their father they just desired the land and power that came along with the title. Both the ladies betrayed their father, King Lear, and had ruled him to a sentenced death by Edmund. Surely, King Lear had no one to blame for his death, but himself. This reason was brought into the light due to the amount of pride he held along with wanting to uphold his ego, which proves to be a fatal flaw, thus the tragic hero point is shown in the story.
"Tell me, my daughters, -- Since now we will divest us both of rule, Interest of territory, cares of state, -- Which of you shall we say doth love us most, that we our largest bounty may extend Where nature doth with merit challenge” (Shakespeare 1256)?
In the first act, King Lear put strong emphasis on his need of having a powerful ego, in this act is where he interrogated all three daughters to determine who adored him most.

King Lear became aware that his beloved daughter Cordelia did not have large amounts to voice about her love and adoration for her father. Cordelia's actions caused King Lear to repudiate Cordelia and divide his land unto his malicious daughters Regan and Goneril. The mistake of disowning Cordelia led to several outcomes such as the division of his country to Regan and Goneril, the falling of his armies and the ending of his existence. At some point, all tragic heroes fall from great heights, they comprehend the irreparable mistakes made, and they face a dramatic death. King Lear ultimately met all these issues. For a period, King Lear was the qualified king and had many luxuries: the love of his three daughters, wealth, supremacy, and bliss. King Lear became stripped of his wealth and supremacy, and his life all due to his daughters Regan and Goneril, who once stated they loved their father far more than their spouses. Another factor that proves King Lear is a tragic hero is his tragic death. He dies after he is gains freedom from prison. He hoists his lifeless daughters body in his hands, declares his love for her and how he wronged her. He then goes on to die over Cordelia's deceased body because of the heartache and pain he

felt.
"And my poor fool is hang'd: No, no, no life? Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, And thou no breath at all? Thou'lt come no more, Never, never, never, never, never. Pray you, undo this button: thank you, sir. [O, o, o, o] Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips, look there, look there" (Shakespeare 1263)!
King Lear is the epitome of a tragic hero because he understood that he made an irrevocable mistake. When he went to visit his daughters, he realized they were foul and his decision to give them all the land and power was immoral. He realized Cordelia deserved all of what her sisters received. Through all of this realization, his life was on the line, and at this moment, King Lear became a humbled man.
William Shakespeare's story King Lear is one of his most outstanding tragedies. A tragic hero is neither necessarily good nor bad, and this was what represented through the character. He acquired various qualities that labeled him as a tragic hero. His death and wellbeing caused the audience to be sympathetic over a person who was once supreme but eventually turned into an average man. King Lear continues being among some of the highly unforgettable characters in literature because of his characteristics as being a such a strong character in a tragedy.