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Theme of transformation in king lear
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I chose this topic to show readers how the characters motives changed throughout the story. This is my thoughts on why they changed; because of one girl who stood up to her father changed so much which was like a domino effect and which made most characters change from within.
King Lear
At the beginning of the play King Lear decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters. He asked which one of them loved him the most. He uses their answer to decide how to divide his kingdom. This shows how uncaring and selfish he is. His two older daughters know their father’s true character and flatter him to get what they want. They know this is what motivates him, flattery that feeds his pride. Eventually his love of praise and flattery will be the reason he is destroyed and then dies. His youngest daughter, Cordelia does not give him the answer he wants so he flies into a rage and then disowns her. He is too blind to realize that she is the one who really loves him. He also doesn’t care that by disowning her, he will make it hard for her to get a husband. King Lear is a ruler who cares only about all the things that come with being the king, especially his title. At the end, he comes to realize that it is Cordelia who really loves him. He would rather go to prison with her than to be the king again.
We can all relate King Lear in a way. Sometimes people flatter us and tell us what we want to hear in order to get what they want. The people who really care about us, like the Cordelia’s of the world, tell us what we need to hear and are straight with us. Unlike King Lear, hopefully we don’t find out the hard way, who really has our back.
Cordelia
Cordelia is an honest and beautiful character in this play. She does not fall for t...
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... kind of redemption. This causes some conflict with the readers. It seems that we are able to forgive those who realize their mistakes and ask for forgiveness.
Duke of Albany
The Duke of Albany is the husband of Regan. He appears to be weak and unaware of his wife’s cruelty and affair with Edmund. But at the end he finally sees who she really is. He is the character who changes the most. He finally realizes what is happening and then attacks and arrests Edmund. He also becomes angry with his wife and lets her know that he is aware of what she had done. He reminds me of the friend wle have that has a cheating girl and won’t listen to his friends. Deep down he probably knows the truth but doesn’t want to face it because he loves her too much. Sometimes it better that they find out for themselves because it can turn them against you and cause you to love a friend.
With Cordelia declared as banished, Lear states, “With my two daughters’ dowers digest the third...Only we shall retain The name and all th’ addition to a king. The sway, revenue, execution of the rest, Beloved sons, be yours” (Shakespeare 17). Lear’s fault here is that he believes that he can divide up his kingdom to his daughters and still retain the title as king; he wants to retire his position and responsibilities as a king but still remain respected and treated as one. His flaw in wanting to be superior leads to his downfall, as he is so blinded by his greed that he decides to divide up his kingdom to his two daughters who are as hungry for power as he is. They only want to strip him of his position and respect to gain more influence. Lear, not realizing the impact of such an impulsive decision, descends into madness when his daughters force him out of his home. After being locked out of his only shelter by his daughters, he states, “Filial ingratitude!...In such a night To shut me out?...O Regan, Goneril, Your old kind father whose frank heart gave all! O that way madness lies. Let me shun that; No more of that” (Shakespeare 137). Lear becomes fully aware of the consequences of his actions. He realizes how ungrateful his daughters are and how they have treated him unfairly even though he has given them everything; much to his dismay, he is left with
two daughters that flattered him with words he wanted to hear, King Lear suffers greatly during the
While the Fool disrupts Lear’s mental state, Cordelia steadies him with compassion, understanding, and truth. When Cordelia has rescued the King, she says that “Mine enemy’s dog, / though he had bit me, should have stood that night / Against my fire” (4.7.42-44). Cordelia is amazed at her sisters’ treatment of Lear because she cannot comprehend the actions of such uncaring people. Cordelia’s considerate nature soothes the King’s overwrought mind. Because the King seems rash and even irrational at times, those who understand him are few. His youngest daughter knows what Lear goes through with her sisters, and wishes that she could “Repair those violent harms that my two sisters / Have in thy reverence made.
Shakespeare's King Lear is a play which shows the consequences of one man's decisions. The audience follows the main character, Lear, as he makes decisions that disrupt order in his Kingdom. When Lear surrenders all his power and land to his daughters as a reward for their demonstration of love towards him, the breakdown on order in evident. Lear's first mistake is to divide his Kingdom into three parts. A Kingdom is run best under one ruler as only one decision is made without contradiction. Another indication that order is disrupted is the separation of Lear's family. Lear's inability to control his anger causes him to banish his youngest daughter, Cordelia, and loyal servant, Kent. This foolish act causes Lear to become vulnerable to his other two daughters as they conspire against him. Lastly, the transfer of power from Lear to his eldest and middle daughter, Goneril and Regan, reveals disorder as a result of the division of the Kingdom. A Kingdom without order is a Kingdom in chaos. When order is disrupted in King Lear, the audience witnesses chaotic events that Lear endures, eventually learning who truly loves him.
King Lear's hot temper and hasty decisions play a significant role in his fall from grace. His old age has caused him to behave impulsively, without any consideration for the consequences of his actions. When Lear asks his devoted daughter Cordelia to express her love for him, he becomes upset with her because she cannot put her feelings into words. He does not realize that she cares deeply for him and disowns her by saying, "Here I disclaim all my paternal care, propinquity and property of blood, and as a stranger to my heart and me hold thee from this for ever (1.1.120-123)." It is only later, when Cordelia has left him, that Lear realizes he had made a wrong decision. In another fit of rage, Lear ...
What makes Cordelia a good character here is not only that she refuses to flatter her father in order to deceive him out of his wealth, but also because she accepts her father's punishment and leaves willingly even though she knows it is not a just punishment. Additionally, she expresses no animosity toward Lear, instead she asks her sisters to care for him. This unwavering loyalty is also exhibited later in the play when Cordelia finds Lear and she realizes he is mad. She cares for him and gives him medicinal herbs until he is well again. Even when Lear begs for her forgiveness she insists that she has no cause to be offended.
After Kent delightfully brings the two together and Lear realizes who he is talking to, he begs for forgiveness: “Pray, do not mock me. / I am a very foolish fond old man, / Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less /....Do not laugh at me, / For as I am a man, I think this lady / To be my child Cordelia.“ (IV.vii.68-79). Lear has finally achieved self-awareness regarding his mistaken banishment of Cordelia, and proclaims to her in a surprising display of humility that he is just a “foolish fond old man.” Shocking the audience, Lear does not hold back his newfound sense of shame. He goes on: “Be your tears wet? Yes, faith. I pray, weep not. If you have poison for me, I will drink it. I know you do not love me, for your sisters Have, as I do remember, done me wrong. You have some cause; they have not.” (IV.vii.81-85). In another case of both humility and misjudgment, Lear believes that Cordelia no longer loves him due to his mistakes. Lear could not be more wrong because Cordelia 's love for her father is unconditional and still lives. Cordelia virtuously accepts his apology and assures him “No, sir, you must not kneel,” (IV.vii.67). Although the two do not live much longer, Lear intends to live out the rest of their lives being the best a father can
King Lear had come so accustomed to his praise, that it is the sole thing he lived for, he needed it to survive, his treatment as a king was his Achilles heel in this play. He wanted to step down as king and divide his kingdom into 3 sections, giving them to his daughters to rule. Goneril and Regan were more than willing to accommodate his request to demonstrate their love for their father and king by professing their love to him in dramatic fashion combined with a good bit of exaggeration. While Cordelia on the other hand, found it a struggle to profess what she thought to be known by her father and king, she states, “Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave / My heart into my mouth. I love your majesty / According to my bond; nor more nor less (Scene 1.1, Lines 91-93).
Alteration in power has major consequences with the structure of monarchy. In King Lear he renounces his departure from the throne. As well as dividing his kingdom “ In three our kingdom, and ‘tis our fast intent”. This is dramatic irony as Lear is unaware he is making a horrible decision with devastating repercussions. However this change was inevitable due to Lear’s mentality and fatal flaws. His pride and inability to see the truth blinds
The first stage of Lear’s transformation is resentment. At the start of the play it is made quite clear that Lear is a proud, impulsive, hot-tempered old man. He is so self-centered that he simply cannot fathom being criticized. The strength of Lear’s ego becomes evident in the brutal images with which he expresses his anger towards Cordelia: “The barbarous Scythian,/Or he that makes his generation messes/To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom/Be as well neighboured, pitied, and relieved,/As thou may sometime daughter.” (1.1.118-122). The powerful language that Lear uses to describe his intense hatred towards Cordelia is so incommensurable to the cause, that there can be only one explanation: Lear is so passionately wrapped up in his own particular self-image, that he simply cannot comprehend any viewpoint (regarding himself) that differs from his own (no matter how politely framed). It is this anger and resentment that sets Lear’s suffering and ultimate purification in motion.
One purpose for such a violent scene is to define the villains of the story. The play opens with King Lear retiring and deciding to split his land between his three daughters Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. The size of the land plot each daughter will receive will be proportionate to their love for their father. The older two daughters Goneril and Regan eloquently announce their undying love for Lear, and are rewarded generously. The third daughter Cordelia, who truly does love her father, refuses to participate in such a display of flattery and lies. Cordelia announces, in front of all Lear's subjects, that she loves her father, "according to her bond, no more nor less." Insulted and hurt by Cordelia's harsh denouncement of love, Lear disowns her. And Lear's best friend of thirty years Kent defends Cordelia, Lear banishes Kent too. Having given away his land, Lear decides that he's going to take turns living with Goneril and Regan. To remind him of his kingship Lear kept a hundred knights. But when Lear shows up with his army at Goneril and Regan's houses, his "loving" daughters kick him out.
Lear's relationship with his three daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia, is, from the beginning, very uncharacteristic of the typical father-daughter relationship. It's clear that the king is more interested in words than true feelings, as he begins by asking which of his daughters loves him most. Goneril and Regan's answers are descriptive and sound somewhat phony, but Lear is flattered by them. Cordelia's response of nothing is honest; but her father misunderstands the plea and banishes her. Lear's basic flaw at the beginning of the play is that he values appearances above reality. He wants to be treated as a king and to enjoy the title, but he doesn't want to fulfill a king's obligations. Similarly, his test of his daughters demonstrates that he values a flattering public display of love over real love. He doesn't ask "which of you doth love us most," but rather, "which of you shall we say doth love us most?" (I.i.49). It would be simple to conclude that Lear is simply blind to the truth, but Cordelia is already his favorite daughter at the beginning of the play, so presumably he knows that she loves him the most. Nevertheless, Lear values Goneril and Regan's fawning over Cordelia's sincere sense of filial duty.
Furthermore, the characters in both King Lear, and in 419’s past sufferings, leads them to exhibit acts of corruption and evil later on in their lives, which is seen most prominently in Edmund in King Lear, and Laura in 419. Both these characters’ have experience traumatising situations in the past, and whether or not these sufferings have accumulated throughout their lives, or whether or not they have recently experienced a huge amount of sufferings, these characters wish to see action taken to see justice prevail for them. To begin with, Edmund has experienced sufferings from his childhood now into adulthood, as he has always been treated horribly by his family. Due to the resentment he faces as an illegitimate child as an outsider, this motivates him to take action in order to remove his status as a bastard child, and to gain power and status like his legitimate brother Edgar. Edmund was not originally pure evil, but
The gaining and the maintaining of power require sacrifice of one’s moral integrity. Such idea is shown in the play, King Lear, written by William Shakespeare, as he explores the implication of power within family relations and showcases its link between power and morality, thus expressing the impact power has on one’s conscience. Cordelia says “My love's richer than my tongue”, exclaiming the magnitude and the legitimacy of her love towards her father. As before Cordelia, her sisters gave false words of love in order to gain power, the contrast of “love” and “tongue” is evident as one was used to give affection thus losing power, while other one was used to deceive to gain a selfish power. The contrast between the two further emphasizes the
The first flaw in King Lear is his arrogance, which results in the loss of Cordelia and Kent. It is his arrogance in the first scene of the play that causes him to make bad decisions. He expects his favorite, youngest daughter to be the most worthy of his love. His pride makes him expect that Cordelia’s speech to be the one filled with the most love. Unfortunately for King Lear’s pride, Cordelia replies to his inquisition by saying, “I love your majesty/According to my bond and nothing less';(1.1.100-101). Out of pride and anger, Lear banishes Cordelia and splits the kingdom in half to the two evil sisters, Goneril and Regan. This tragic flaw prevents King Lear from seeing the truth because his arrogance overrides his judgement. Lear’s arrogance also causes him to lose his most faithful servan...