Psychological Traits In King Lear

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Recommended: A discussion on nurture/nature

The dictionary defines human nature as the general psychological characteristics, feelings, and behavioral traits of humankind, regarded as shared by all humans. Throughout this course, we have talked about which traits we find to be most common in our lives. Our conversations furthered with the difficult task of pinpointing these traits as positive, negative, or neutral. From there, came the discussion of whether these traits came to us through nature or nurture. Depending on which text we were reading at the time, all of these answers changed. This proves that a trait does not have boundaries on its development or impact. Three traits that I find myself noticing most often in my own life are compassion, distrust, and belief in a higher …show more content…

We feel compassionate towards our family, friends, pets, and even complete strangers. My initial recollection of this trait was at an extremely young age. The way my mom rushed to my aid when I fell of my bed, my dad wiped away my tears when I wrecked my bike, and my grandparents smiled while they whisked me up after being pushed down by older cousins, are all my earliest memories of compassion. I have always very naturally received and given this trait. For this reason, I believe it was very simple for me to identify it in in the readings. One reading that encompasses this trait is Shakespeare’s King Lear. Kent, King Lear’s loyal man, had the utmost compassion for his king. When King Lear began to fall into illness and insanity, Kent remained by his side. After being betrayed by his daughters, King Lear even banished his dear Kent. Kent very well could have left, just as the king’s daughters did. Instead, he disguised himself and began to work for the king again, stating, “…to serve him truly that will put me in trust; to love him that is honest; to converse with him that is wise, and says little” (Shakespeare, 1994, 1.12-15). Although King Lear was at a very low part of his life, and began taking it out on those around him, Kent continued to show him compassion. With the examples given above, it seems as though compassion should exist closer to the positive side of the

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