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Tragic flaw of king lear in king lear
Examing shakespeare's king lear as a tragedy
The development of the character of Lear
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Newman (2002) argues that Lear is guilty for favoritism, Lear says that he will: “express his darker purpose” (I. I. 35). This “purpose” is to give Cordelia the part of Kingdom which is “more opulent than [her sisters]”. By intending to give Cordelia the most opulent part of the kingdom he makes the other two sisters jealous (Gierstae, 2015). Yet Cordelia thinks that if she speaks her love will be equal to her sisters’ therefore she says nothing. Lear tries to give her another chance to speak as “Nothing will come out of nothing” but Cordelia is persistent in what she believes, she even goes further asking rhetorically: “Why have my sisters husbands if they say they love you all? here she makes a good point but Lear is so angry that cannot understand, as a result he disowns her:
“Let it be so – thy truth then be thy dower:
For, by the sacred radiance
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Nevertheless, through the storm Lear learns generosity, modesty and understanding:
Poor naked wretches, wheresoe` er you are,
That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides,
Your loop`d and window`d raggedness, defend you
From seasons such as these? (3.4.28-32)
When he meets Poor Tom he strips off his clothes too in order to empathize with him. He starts to feel bad for not helping the poor people of his country. These sufferings help Lear to return to his true self: “There is nothing more noble and beautiful in literature than Shakespeare's exposition of the effects of suffering in reviving the greatness and eliciting the sweetness of Lear's nature” (Bradley, 1904, p.36). Cordelia’s presence awakens Lear as from death: “you do me wrong to take me out o’ th’ grave” (1.46). Her forgiveness relieves him: “The great rage,/You see, is kill’d in him” (II.80-81) and makes him happy because they can unite now: “Come, let’s away to prison./We two alone will sing like birds i’ th’ cage” (5.3.8-9) (Stern,
Lear becomes blinded by his flaws, leading him to make irrational decisions which ultimately cause him to go mad. After Cordelia is unable to state how much she loves her father and outdo her sisters exaggerated professions of
undergoes a redeeming reversal of character. Lear slowly starts to go mad, Lear. O, let me not be mad,
... Lears blessing, and declared his daughter. Lear also realized that Kents speaking out was for Lear’s best and that he too was abused and banished. What stings Lear even more is that he is now completely dependent upon his two shameless daughters, Goneril and Regan. Plus that he must now beg them when he took care of them like a father when they were once children, to drive Lears further into madness he realizes that as king he was so ignorant and blind with power that he never took care of the homeless and let them suffer. All these realization and the fact that Lear is in his second childhood a tender stage drive him into the peak of madness.
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 ...
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
Let us begin by looking at the role of human nature in King Lear more closely. It is clear from the beginning of King Lear that Cordelia has an entirely good nature, she remains constant throughout the play, never wavering in her morals. The play begins with Lear deciding that he will have his daughters compete for their divisions of his kingdoms based on which of them can impress him the most with their proclamations of love. Cordelia, however, cannot express her love for her father in words, and refuses to deceive him by doing otherwise, stating that she is “sure [her] love's more richer than [her] tongue” (1.1.78-80). She realizes that by holding her tongue she is infuriating her father, but her nature cannot allow her to do otherwise. When King Lear asks her what she has to say, she states “Nothing, my lord” (1.1.86). A...
Only the truth is irreconcilable with the demands of Lear’s ego. When Cordelia doesn’t say what Lear wants to hear he breaks out in anger by a violent oath, disclaiming paternal care of Cordelia: “… by the sacred radiance of the sun, The mysteries of Hecat and the night; By all the operations of the orbs From whom we do exist and cease to be” . Lear casts Cordelia from his heart referring to her as a “barbarous Scythian.” His hatred surpasses the notion of equality in love, it shows self-centred love that asks more of the other then of oneself. With Lear’s actions we can see that he can’t recognise treachery and loyalty and falsehood and truth, and no one can tell him about it. Here his lack of self-knowledge is the biggest in the play.
In Shakespeare's classic tragedy, King Lear, the issue of sight and its relevance to clear vision is a recurring theme. Shakespeare's principal means of portraying this theme is through the characters of Lear and Gloucester. Although Lear can physically see, he is blind in the sense that he lacks insight, understanding, and direction. In contrast, Gloucester becomes physically blind but gains the type of vision that Lear lacks. It is evident from these two characters that clear vision is not derived solely from physical sight. Lear's failure to understand this is the principal cause of his demise, while Gloucester learns to achieve clear vision, and consequently avoids a fate similar to Lear's.
This new Lear is certainly a far cry from the arrogant king we saw at the beginning of the play. Shakespeare has transformed Lear from an ignorant old king into some sort of god, using a seven stage process: resentment, regret, recognition, acceptance and admittance, guilt, redemption, and optimism. Lear’s transformation can be simply described as a transition from blindness into sight, he did not see the value in listening to others, but in the end he gained a sense of optimism and idealism. There is no doubting that Shakespeare has portrayed Lear as a flawed figure, who, through his misfortune and suffering, goes from a contemptuous human being to one who has been purified into an omniscient, godly type character, proving that ignorant people can truly change to become caring individuals.
Lear's vision is marred by lack of direction in life, poor foresight and his inability to predict the consequences of his actions. He cannot look far enough into the future to see the consequences of his actions. This, in addition to his lack of insight into other people, condemns his relationship with his most beloved daughter, Cordelia. When Lear asks his daughters, who loves him most, he already thinks that Cordelia has the most love for him. However, when Cordelia says: "I love your Majesty according to my bond, no more nor less." (I, i, 94-95) Lear cannot see what these words really mean. Goneril and Regan are only putting on an act. They do not truly love Lear as much as they should. When Cordelia says these words, she has seen her sister's facade, and she does not want to associate her true love with their false love. Lear, however, is fooled by Goneril and Regan into thinking that they love him, while Cordelia does not. This is when Lear first shows a sign of becoming blind to those around him. He snaps and disowns her:
Most readers conclude that Lear is simply blind to the truth. As a result, he grants his inheritance to Goneril and Regan because they flatter him with the words he wants to hear, at the same time, he banishes Cordelia, the only daughter who really loves him. also when his advisor, Kent, warns him that this is a poor idea, Lear throws him out, too. So Lear has to deal with the power struggle his retirement sparked without two of the people who could have smoothed the...
Perhaps Lear's most difficult moment to endure is when he discovers his youngest and most prized daughter, Cordelia, dead. His initial reaction is of unbearable pain, but, being in his current state of madness, some of the anguish is alleviated when he "realizes" that she is alive. The king overcomes his earlier mistakes only after losing the one daughter who truly loved him. It's debatable whether Lear is completely conscious of his loss, but more plausible to suspect he is not fully affected by it as he is no longer in his right mind. Finally, Lear has dealt with the consequences of his decisions and is redeemed.
King Lear gives the reader a bleak and lonely impression. People suffer unjustly and are killed by heartbreak. Albany points out that if left alone by the gods, "Humanity must perforce prey on itself / like monsters of the deep," expressing that justice and humanity do not house comfortably together. And how can there be meaning or purpose in life if there is no justice? Lear himself alludes poetically to this when upon Cordelia's death he asks, "Why should a dog, a horse, a rat have life / And thou no breath at all?" He also realizes that "I am a man more sinned against than sinning" when it is made obvious that the punishment for his mistake in scene one is harsher than it should be, making it unjust...
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...
" King Lear was egotistic in the first act where he asked his daughters who loved him most. When he found out his favorite daughter Cordelia did not have much to say about his love for him he disowned her and divided his land to his two evil daughters Regan and Goneril, "From whom we do exist, and cease to be; 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. " This was also the error in King Lear's judgement.