Theme Of Reconciliation In Shakespeare's King Lear

William Shakespeare’s “King Lear” is among his more popular works. Within his works generally there is a sense of political favor toward the main characters in order to goad the politicians of the day to support Shakespeare’s plays. In this play, however, authority figures are depicted as weak; the weakest characters are depicted as the heroes of the story, and the leaders that push everyone else around receive proper justice: they learn that reconciliation is fundamental to their resurrection, and they work diligently to make amends to their conducted evil. The play has numerous subplots within it to “paint” this picture: gradient relationships between Lear and his daughters Goneril and Regan and the notion of inheritance, the forgiving act of Cordilia toward her father Lear, Edgar’s loyalty to his father amidst banishment from his father’s house, Edward’s reconciliation, and the effect on Britain because of these events. Clearly Shakespeare intended to house the idea of reconciliation deep within the Tragedy of King Lear: the play would not

Both father and daughter previously had severed their ties to one another because of Lear’s rash decision to banish her from his kingdom. Because his kingdom has since been brought to ruin because of his own decisions, Lear realizes that he also has harmed his daughter Cordilia. Cordillia hears Lear’s requests to “give him the poison that he deserves”, but dispite the fact that he hates himself, Cordillia unconditionally forgives him (McCoy 51). He is forgiven because of Cordilia’s love for him, not because of his actions, despite his fear to seek her out (Synder 363). Because Lear receives forgiveness so readily from Cordillia, and that her forgiveness does not come from his supposed righteousness, but from her unconditional love for her father, “King Lear” constitutes a definition of