The Universal Truths of King Lear

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Recommended: Suffering and redemption in King Lear

The Universal Truths of King Lear

Edgar: O, matter and impertinency mixed, Reason in madness! (4.6.192-93)

Reason in madness, truth in suffering, and sight in blindness all

contain the same basic meaning. In order to find and recognize our real

selves and the truth, we must suffer. These various themes are continually

illustrated throughout Shakespeare's King Lear. Their effects are not

solely felt by Lear and Gloucester. All sincerely "good" characters in the

play must, in some way, suffer before they can gain wisdom and truth. Some

characters are made to suffer more, some less. The truths and wisdom

gained are what give the drama its substance. These truths are universal.

The "good" characters represent everyone with their as they gain knowledge

from suffering.

Lear, is the character most obviously made to suffer. In the

beginning of the drama, Lear is unable to see the good in his daughter

Cordelia. He is so egotistical that when Cordelia explains her love for

him is that of a daughter for her father, he becomes enraged. He desires

to hear she loves him more than she could love anyone, ever.

Cordelia: Good my lord,

You have begot me, bred me, loved me.

I return those duties back as are right fit:

Obey you, love you, and most honor you........

That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry

Half my love with him, half my care and duty.

Sure I shall never marry like my sisters,

To love my father all. (1.1.105-15)

Cordelia's plight is only one of the many truths Lear is unable to see.

Since he is king, h...

... middle of paper ...

...so must the

characters go through some type of suffering to appreciate the goodness,

truth, and wisdom.

Works Cited and Consulted

Bradley, A.C. "King Lear." 20Lh Century Interpretations of King Lear. Ed. Jane Adelman. New Jersev; Prentice-Hall, 1978.

Colie, Rosalie. Some Faces of King Lear. Ed. R. Colie & F.T. Flahiff. UniversitV of Toronto Press, 1994.

Curry, Walter. Shakespeare s Philosophical Patterns. London: Mass Peter Smith, 1968.

Hunter, Robert G. Criticism on Shakespeare s Tragedies.. University of Georgia Press, 1996.

Matthews, Richard. "Edmund's Redemption in King Lear". Shakespeare Quarterly. Winter, 19q5. pps. 25-29.

Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Canada Inc. Toronto. 1990.

Snyder, Susan. "King Lear and the Prodigal Son." Shakespeare Quarterly. Autumn 1966. pps. 361-369.

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