Shakespeare’s Ridiculous King Lear

It’s surprising that Shakespeare’s King Lear is not treated as a comedy. His portrayal of a power hungry nobility only serves to mock the monarchical system. Both of Lear’s elder daughters deceive their own father in order to procure his wealth of land, and Edmund the bastard cannot stop killing and lying in order to climb up the royal succession. This backstabbing nature of the monarchy is exactly what makes it so ridiculous. Most importantly, Shakespeare depicts the tragic life of King Lear, an abdicated ruler. The play centers around Lear’s struggle to maintain his subjects’ respect and his daughters’ love, all of which he loses. With these examples, Shakespeare makes a shrewd comment about the superfluousness of the ruling class, and the fate of Lear becomes a stand-in for Shakespeare’s attitude towards the “nobility.”

Shakespeare wrote King Lear around 1606, which coincides with the reign of King James I, who ascended to the throne in 1603, succeeding Elizabeth I. Although he was a supporter of the arts, James “articulated his belief in an absolutist theory of monarchy and the divine right of kings, desiring to command not only complete obedience but also complete devotion” (Bengtsson). Being that Elizabeth had previously established an equal relationship with the parliament, British government became uneasy. In addition, many Protestants, including Shakespeare himself, feared that religious persecution would start up once more as it had before Elizabeth. In fact, James passed the Popish Recusants Act, “an act to cause persons [existing Protestants] to be naturalized or restored in blood to conform [to Catholicism] and take the oath of allegiance and supremacy [to the Pope]” (Burton). From his actions, one can see how Eng...

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... the neglect of the true purpose of government: to lead the people. In this way, The Tragedy of King Lear becomes a criticism, illustrating Shakespeare’s attitudes towards the flawed ruling class of his time.

Works Cited

Bengtsson, Frederick. “Historical Context for King Lear by William Shakespeare.” Columbia College. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. .

“Mary, Queen of Scots.” BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. .

Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. The Tragedy of King Lear. New York: Washington Square, 1993. Print.

Burton, Edwin, Edward D’Alton, and Jarvis Kelley. “Penal Laws.” The Catholic

Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 21 Jan. 2014. .