Sunday, November 22, 2009

King Lear

In shakespeare's play King Lear, King Lear is a tragic Hero. Why is he a tragic character? What are King Lear's tragic flaws?

King Lear is a tragic character/hero because he became enraged by Cordelia's response and therefore, divided his kingdom between his two older daughters,Goneril and Regan. Due King Lear’s high position in society, he was supposed to be able to
distinguish the good from the bad but his inability to see prevented him.

Lear’s blindness also caused him to banish one of his loyal followers,
Kent who later created a disguise in which he seeked employment from the King. Lear’s inability to determine his servant’s true identity proved once again how blind he actually was. As the play progressed, he realized how wicked his two eldest daughters really were after they locked him out of the castle during a tremendous storm. Finally, Lear saw through Cordelia’s lack of flattery and
realized that her love for him was so great that she couldn’t express
it into words. Unfortunately, Lear’s blindness ended up costing
Cordelia her life and consequently the life of himself.

King Lear's inability to judge his surroundings accurately especially when it comes to the flattery portrayed by his two oldest daughters who later destroy his kingdom due to their irrational judgement is the determinant of him bieng a tragic character. His tragic flaws are his irrational decisions, unwise judgements, stagnant foresight and inability to see the flaws or through others in order to determine fiction versus reality. Lear's dreadful decision leads to his gradual fall into insanity, a war between the forces of Britain and France, and the eventual death's of Lear's entire family.

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