King Lear Research Paper

562 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Character of lear in the play king lear

The words elderly or aged are highly connotative, and consequently older people are considered fragile or a burden to society. However, “elderly” can also suggest wisdom, experience and the passing on of tradition. To be aged or old is feared (Troyansky 219). Shakespeare’s King Lear, is evidence of this common human anxiety. Ben Jonson suggests Shakespeare’s plays are “not of an age, but for all time”, suggesting that their themes are universal and timeless. The treatment of Lear in the play mirrors society’s contempt for those who seem redundant. However, the treatment of this demographic varies depending on culture. Ultimately, Western society’s treatment of the elderly as not progressed positively since the Elizaethan Era; however, Shakespeare’s …show more content…

He states the elderly’s children become their parents as they become incapable of taking care of themselves (163). The Fool addresses this issue during his first encounter with Lear: “I have used it, nuncle, ever since thou madest thy / daughters thy mother; for when thou gavest them the rod, / and puttest down thine own breeches” (Shakespeare 1.4 168-170). When one’s parents become elderly, they require their children to take care of them. In Western society, children consider this a burden, eventually enrolling their parents in a retirement home. Western culture’s unwillingness to nurture the elderly is mimicked by Regan’s behaviour towards Lear. Regan refuses to provide Lear with hospitality as she claims “nor am provided/ For your fit welcome (2.4 233-234). However, taking care of one’s parents is viewed as a norm in East and Southeast Asia (Wan). Someone of Lear’s status would never be treated with such little respect in Eastern culture as they revered the elderly. Recognizing the value of caring for the elderly can allow for improvement in the West. Next, when individuals start to age their bodies start to function differently, often being more susceptible to

Show More
Related

  • Human Suffering in Inferno and King Lear

    1552 Words  | 4 Pages

    Through Lear, Shakespeare expertly portrays the inevitability of human suffering. The “little nothings,” seemingly insignificant choices that Lear makes over the course of the play, inevitably evolve into unstoppable forces that change Lear’s life for the worse. He falls for Goneril’s and Regan’s flattery and his pride turns him away from Cordelia’s unembellished affection. He is constantly advised by Kent and the Fool to avoid such choices, but his stubborn hubris prevents him from seeing the wisdom hidden in the Fool’s words: “Prithee, tell him, so much the rent of his land comes to: he will not believe a fool” (Shakespeare 21). This leads to Lear’s eventual “unburdening,” as foreshadowed in Act I. This unburdening is exacerbated by his failure to recognize and learn from his initial mistakes until it is too late. Lear’s lack of recognition is, in part, explained by his belief in a predestined life controlled completely by the gods: “It is the stars, the stars above us govern our conditions” (Shakespeare 101). The elder characters in King Lear pin their various sufferings on the will of...

    Read More

  • The Fool And Cordelia: Opposing Influences On King Lear

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the Fool is a source of chaos and disruption in King Lear’s tumultuous life. The Fool causes the King distress by insulting him, making light of his problems, and telling him the truth. On the road to Regan’s, the Fool says “If thou wert my Fool, nuncle, I’d have thee / beaten for being old before thy time.” (1.5.40-41). He denies the king the respect due to him as an aged King, causing the King to wonder at his worthiness. The fool also makes light of Lear’s qualms making snide remarks in response to Lear’s ruminations. When Lear asks Edgar cryptically, “wouldst thou give ‘em all?” the Fool responds, “Nay, he reserved a blanket, else we had been all shamed” (3.4.69-72). The Fool’s snide remarks do little to maintain Lear’s fragile control of his faculties. However, the Fool speaks to the king candidly, a rare occasion in Lear’s life. Even Kent acknowledges the truth of the Fool’s statements, saying, “This is not altogether fool, my lord” (1.4.155).

    Read More

  • Integrity in Jean Anouilh’s Antigone

    2403 Words  | 5 Pages

    The distinctions between young and old, naïve and wise are very clear. There is a fiery passion for life often embedded in the young, and a sense of bittersweet reflection set in the aged. The age gap between the two is often a cause for conflict. The young want to hurry up and live only to eventually die; the old want to slow down their rate of living and postpone death. With such divergent circumstances, conflicts are almost impossible to avoid. The question of how one can grow old while keeping youthful idealism and integrity seems to be the source of most conflicts. Jean Anouilh, in his version of the Greek classic play Antigone, firmly captures and reflects the disparity between old and young through the use of the characters of Antigone and Creon.

    Read More

  • Lear's Pride Creates his Madness

    1855 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lear: I’m old with older strengths with the burden of rule, legal ownership of territory and all the duties and commands that are thrown upon you regarding cares of state. Restless i have three times as many daughters as one and i have three pieces of a map. The last one being the largest and given to the blood and flesh which loves this old man more than for himself. So unleash your hearts for your words are future jewels, revenue, soil and marble, fuels of the earth and raiment.

    Read More

  • Self Discovey in King Lear

    1653 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... 39-year old man from California, slaughtered his family in an attempt to receive a sizable inheritance. Lyle and Erik Menendez, also from California, ended the lives of their parents in pursuit of an upper-class lifestyle. These individuals valued money over familial ties; King Lear originally valued power and compliance over his own blood. The self-discovery of King Lear exemplifies the fact that humans are far more valuable than money or power in attempt to set an example for humanity. These lessons still ring true in more modern times; famed psychiatrist Sigmund Freud warned against accepting flattery as genuine and giving away one's possessions during his or her lifetime. Lear's self-discovery came too late to save his daughters; the play seems to encourage humanity to have its own self-discovery before it disavows its Cordelias in the pursuit of niceties.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Cruelty In King Lear

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    Absolute in every child’s mind is the belief that they are right, despite all the evidence to the contrary. Until children grow up to raise children own their own, a parent’s disputation only inflates that desire to prove. Part and parcel to this, as one may find out through personal experience or by extension, cruelty towards parents is a reflection of a child’s own inadequacy (whether in large or small scale). In this sense, King Lear is a story of children with a desire to break past their hierarchal status. Whether it is the belief that a woman shall take a husband, and with that guard her inherited land, or what role bastards truly deserves in a society that preemptively condemns them. Cruelty at the hands of children accounts for almost

    Read More

  • Suffering in Titues Andronicus and King Lear

    2885 Words  | 6 Pages

    An essential element to any Shakespearean tragedy is the idea of human suffering. In both Titus Andronicus and King Lear no one can deny that the characters in these plays do indeed suffer and at great lengths, but the question begs to be asked what is the source of this suffering? Keeping in mind that during the times in which William Shakespeare wrote death, adultery and fragrant sexuality where at an optimal level and as such single parent families frequently resulted. Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus and King Lear are indeed tales that show the follies of such single parent families and more precisely those families that lack a mothering figure. It is this lack of the female in the parental role, which serves as a source of suffering for both the parents and their children.

    Read More

  • The Tragedy of King Lear Analysis

    2095 Words  | 5 Pages

    In The Tragedy of King Lear, particularly in the first half of the play, Lear continually swears to the gods. He invokes them for mercies and begs them for destruction; he binds both his oaths and his curses with their names. The older characters—Lear and Gloucester—tend view their world as strictly within the moral framework of the pagan religion. As Lear expresses it, the central core of his religion lies in the idea of earthly justice. In II.4.14-15, Lear expresses his disbelief that Regan and Albany would have put the disguised Kent, his messenger, in stocks. He at first attempts to deny the rather obvious fact in front of him, objecting “No” twice before swearing it. By the time Lear invokes the king of the pagan gods, his refusal to believe has become willful and almost absurd. Kent replies, not without sarcasm, by affixing the name of the queen of the gods to a contradictory statement. The formula is turned into nonsense by its repetition. In contradicting Lear’s oath as well as the assertion with which it is coupled, Kent is subtly challenging Lear’s conception of the universe as controlled by just gods. He is also and perhaps more importantly, challenging Lear’s relationship with the gods. It is Kent who most lucidly and repeatedly opposes the ideas put forth by Lear; his actions as well as his statements undermine Lear’s hypotheses about divine order. Lear does not find his foil in youth but in middle age; not in the opposite excess of his own—Edmund’s calculation, say—but in Kent’s comparative moderation. Likewise the viable alternative to his relationship to divine justice is not shown by Edmund with his ...

    Read More

  • Examples Of Bad Parenting In King Lear

    1755 Words  | 4 Pages

    The tragedy King Lear by William Shakespeare ought to be seen as a lesson on what not to do as a parent. By picking favorites, King Lear and the Earl of Gloucester leave a lasting impact on their children 's psyche, ultimately leading to them committing horrible crimes. The rash judgments, violent reactions, and blindness of both Lear and Gloucester lead to both their and their children 's demise. As a result, all of the father-child relationships in the play begin to collapse.

    Read More

  • The Aging of Hamlet

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul was whose progeny they are"  Milton   I Read Hamlet the other day.  It had changed considerably since I last read it.  Hamlet himself was somewhat thinner, I thought; but he had also mellowed considerably; he was rather less cynical and a little more tolerant than he had been.  Polonius was definitely more senile than before. Ophelia was less silly, and more of a pathetic figure than ever.  Laertes was exactly the same: that sort of young man does not change; but Osrichad distinctly grown up.  The Queen was a little fatter; and the King's teeth seemed to me to be needing attention.  These were the principal changes I noticed in the play....

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Much Ado About Nothing By William Shakespeare

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    The setting and time might have changed, but internally we are still the same human species that walked this Earth. Much Ado About Nothing reveals the courtship of Beatrice and Signior Benedict. Nothing much has changed, we still love the same way and fall in love the same way. The cunning ways of both their friends on merging the two together still exist in today’s society. It is comparable to high school romance. The childish ways are still present and it is not easily distinguishable in today’s world. Shakespeare mocks our ways, but shed insight on how we go about our ways. It is easily relatable to anyone at any age, and especially young adults. We do not see ourselves doing it directly, but stepping back and having an outside perspective we can easily see ourselves replicating the same actions. Shakespeare’s play exposes the young adults to more experiences that can reflected upon a later time. To my point of view, Shakespeare writes for emotions, not for action and glory for what a movie depicts. This is why Shakespeare is still around and can be considered timeless. It is easily malleable to fit in any

    Read More

  • Comparing The Tempest and King Lear

    1334 Words  | 3 Pages

    Prospero and Lear are, without a doubt, the two most compelling mature figures in Shakespeare. In a way, one is the flip side, so to speak, of the other. Each represents an aging man's relationship to family, environment, and, most importantly, himself. One might even be so bold as to venture that had Lear lived, he might, through the enormity of his painful transformation, have become a character much like Prospero, a man who has learned bitter lessons from his intercourse with the world and has utilized them to create his own unique reality, becoming, finally, the true master of his destiny.

    Read More

  • The Foolishness of Fools in Shakespeare's King Lear

    1697 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear is comprised of many distinct themes. His contrasts of light and dark, good and evil, and his brilliant illustration of parallels between the foolishness of the play's characters and society allowed him to craft a masterpiece. Just as well, Shakespeare's dynamic use of linguistic techniques such as pun and irony aid this illustration of the perfect microcosm, not only of 16th century Britain, but of all times and places. By far the theme that best allowed the furthering of this superb contrast between Victorian England and Lear's own defined world is Shakespeare's discussion of fools and their foolishness. This discussion allows Shakespeare to not only more fully portray human nature, but also seems to illicit a sort of Socratic introspection into the nature of society's own ignorance as well.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of Shakespeare's Play King Lear

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shakespeare’s play “King Lear” does not lack wicked characters. Throughout the play, it is evident that most characters only care about themselves and their status in England. Such characters as Goneril and Edmund will do anything to improve their standings in society such as killing and betraying family members. In contrast, The Duke of Albany cares about King Lear and England, but he takes no action to prove that he cares for them. However, the character Albany goes through a metamorphosis as the play evolves. At the start of the play, Albany is dismissive and lacks drive, but he quickly transitions into a dynamic character ready to right wrongs. The character of Albany, as developed by Shakespeare in “King Lear,” showcases a round character

    Read More

  • Analyzing King Lear's Tragic Flaws

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    King Lear is a play about a tragic hero, by the name of King Lear, whose flaws get the best of him. A tragic hero must possess three qualities. The first is they must have power, in other words, a leader. King Lear has the highest rank of any leader. He is a king. The next quality is they must have a tragic flaw, and King Lear has several of those. Finally, they must experience a downfall. Lear's realization of his mistakes is more than a downfall. It is a tragedy. Lear is a tragic hero because he has those three qualities. His flaws are his arrogance, his ignorance, and his misjudgments, each contributing to the other.

    Read More

More about King Lear Research Paper

Open Document