King Lear Essay Consequences
King Lear Essay - ConsequencesShakespeare’s tragedy King Lear is a detailed description of
the consequences of one man’s decisions. This fictitious man is
Lear, King of England, who’s decisions greatly alter his life and
the lives of those around him. As Lear bears the status of King he
is, as one expects, a man of great power but sinfully he surrenders
all of this power to his daughters as a reward for their
demonstration of love towards him. This untimely abdication of his
throne results in a chain reaction of events that send him through
a journey of hell. King Lear is a metaphorical description of one
man’s journey through hell in order to expiate his sin.
As the play opens one can almost immediately see that Lear
begins to make mistakes that will eventually result in his
downfall. The very first words that he speaks in the play are :-
“…Give me the map there. Know that we have
divided
In three our kingdom, and ’tis our fast intent
To shake all cares and business from our age,
Conferring them on younger strengths while we
Unburdened crawl to death…”
(Act I, Sc i, Ln 38-41)
This gives the reader the first indication of Lear’s intent to
abdicate his throne. He goes on further to offer pieces of his
kingdom to his daughters as a form of reward to his test of love.
“Great rivals in our youngest daughter’s love,
Long in our court have made their amorous
sojourn,
And here are to be answered. Tell me, my
daughters
(Since now we will divest us both of rule,
Interest of territory, cares of state),
Which of you shall we say doth love us most?
That we our largest bounty may extend
where nature doth with merit challenge.”
(Act I, Sc i, Ln 47-53)
This is the first and most significant of the many sins that he
makes in this play. By abdicating his throne to fuel his ego he is
disrupts the great chain of being which states that the King must
not challenge the position that God has given him. This
undermining of God’s authority results in chaos that tears apart
Lear’s world. Leaving him, in the end, with nothing. Following
this Lear begins to banish those around him that genuinely care for
him as at this stage he cannot see beyond the mask that the evil
wear. He banishes Kent, a loyal servant to Lear, and his youngest
and previously most loved daughter Cordelia. This results in Lear
surrounding himself with people who only wish to use him which
leaves him very vulnerable attack. This is precisely what happens
and it is through this that he discovers his wrongs and amends
them....
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