Shakespeares King Lear - The Redemption of King Lear Essay -- King Le

The buyback of superpower Lear It is said that no other playwright illustrates the human conformation like William Shakespeare. Further much, it is said that no other play illustrates the human aim like King Lear. The story of a bad king who becomes a good man is truly one of the deepest analyses of humanity in literary history and it can be best seen through the evolution of Lear himself. In essence, King Lear goes through hell in order to compensate for his sins. Lears blood with his three daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia, is, from the bloodline, very uncharacteristic of the typical father-daughter relationship. Its clear that the king is more interested in words than true feelings, as he begins by asking which of his daughters loves him most. Goneril and Regans answers are descriptive and sound somewhat phony, but Lear is flattered by them. Cordelias response of nothing is honest but her father misunderstands the plea and banishes her. Lears raw ma terial flaw at the beginning of the play is that he values appearances supra reality. He wants to be treated as a king and to hump the title, but he doesnt want to fulfill a kings obligations. Similarly, his test of his daughters demonstrates that he values a flattering public display of love oer real love. He doesnt ask which of you doth love us most, but rather, which of you shall we assert doth love us most? (I.i.49). It would be simple to conclude that Lear is merely blind to the truth, but Cordelia is already his favorite daughter at the beginning of the play, so presumably he knows that she loves him the most. Nevertheless, Lear values Goneril and Regans fawning over Cordelias solemn sense of filial duty. ... ...e and determination to repair his life is evident at this point, and continues to show for the duration of the play. Perhaps Lears most difficult moment to hold up is when he discovers his youngest and most prized daughter, Cordelia, dead. His i nitial 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 love him. Its debatable whether Lear is completely conscious of his loss, but more plausible to mistrustful 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. Work Consulted Halio, J. The Tragedy of King Lear. Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 1992.