Analysis of the King Lear, Essay Example

The character King Lear has a multidimensional personality throughout much of the poem.  While he begins with a stern and sound countenance, he eventually falls into a state of lonesome despair, betrayed by most of those that he trusted, and abandoned, though by his own hand, by those who truly love him.  He begins the play by alienating himself from those who truly care for him, in favor of those who are using him to gain wealth and power.  His decline in mental faculty seems to distract him from the truth of the people around him.

Within the timeline of the play, his personality is somewhat changed by the betrayals and the deaths that he is exposed to. At the beginning of the play, King Lear is getting old and wishes to divide his kingdom up among his three daughters.  Contrary to his usual wisdom, he has asked his daughters to confess their love to him in order to receive their birth rights.  Two of the daughters, Regen and Goneril tell him exactly what he wants to hear.  These two lie in order to gain his favor, and increase their lots.  The third daughter, Cordelia acts differently, though.  She tells the truth, as she disagrees with her father’s approach.  He disagrees as well, and is expelled for speaking his mind.

One of the things that make King Lear strong is his ability to stick with a decision he has made.  H seems to be absolute in his judgments and has a loyal follower in Kent due to this.“My life I never held but as a pawn.  To wage against thine enemies; nor fear to lose it, Thy safety being the motive.” (9)  When Kent asks him to rethink his decision, he dismisses the man, although he is his most loyal subject, as he is solid in his decision.  While he may have regrets, he is not able to show them.  This sort of approach towards rule, though it can be dangerous, is also a necessary aspect of a king.  This is what makes King Lear strong.While he does, in the end, regret his decision, and curse his fate, while sitting upon the throne as the king he does not show any remorse.

Although it is not discussed in the context of the play, the impression is given that the king was, at one point in time, a wise ruler.  This is hinted at in the conversation at the beginning of the play after the king banishes his daughter.  Kent talks about how his recent decisions have not been in line with his usual judgments.  It seems that he was a strong leader, but his age has caused his ability to make sound judgments to slowly fade.  Throughout the story, he goes through various changes that affect the way that the strength of his rule is viewed.

While he did not waiver in it, his judgment was based in an emotional reaction.  His inability to see the corruption welling up around him, in his daughters’ and in his Duke’s bastard son, seems to have been partly due to his blind love for his daughters and his trust in the people around him.  While Cordelia deserved this love Regen and Gonerildid not, in the end, as they eventually came to betray even one another and those closest to them.  In this way, King Lear allowed his emotions to control his judgments concerning his daughters.  This is what makes King Lear weak.“We’ll no more meet, no more see one another.  But yet thou art my flesh, my blood, my daughter; Or rather a disease that’s in my flesh, Which I must needs call mine”. (34)  The betrayal of his two daughters essentially pushes Lear over the edge of both his health and sanity.

King Lear seems to be inspired mainly by the love of his daughters.  He seems to regret the loss of his mind and perhaps finds some amount of pleasure at the end of the play when he is able to be reunited with his daughter while he could still have his right mind.  It seems that what would have given King Lear pleasure would have been to live out his days in peace going among the three kingdoms that he had planned on distributing among his daughters.

After exiling his daughter Cordelia, and seeing her leave the country to be wed to the King of France, it seems that he wasn’t able to find pleasure.  The rift that was created within his family is a foreshadowing of the tumultuous events to come.  The loss of the favorite daughter, the seemingly cold nature of his other two daughters would have definitely kept him from being happy in his retirement.  This is only further strengthened by the series of events throughout the story.The end of his ability to find pleasure would have been fractured by the two daughter’s betrayal, and completely broken by the death of his favorite.“O, you are men of stone.  Had I your tongues and eyes, I’ld use them so That heaven’s vault should crack. She’s gone for ever!” (73)

The story of King Lear is a tragic tale of when a strong king allows his emotions to corrupt his judgment.  This corruption came due to his inability to rule with the absence of personal emotions.  While the blame cannot fall upon King Lear alone, his inability to see the issues going on around him put the kingdom in danger.  King Lear is a strong king, due to his soundness of judgment.  However, this inability for him to concede the decisions that he had already made drove the fall of his family, as none of his descendants lived to take the throne.

When looking at how the characters behave throughout the story, it becomes evident that the king is, essentially, a good person.  Although somewhat misplaced, his trust in his family seemed to be absolute.  Even as his first daughter betrayed him, he still held hope that they would make the right decision in the end.  King Lear was inspired mainly by the love he had for his daughters, and the succession of betrayals, both real and imagined, are what led to his eventual downfall, and the tragic story that played out in regards to the succession of his throne.

Works Cited

King Lear, William Shakespeare (Folger  Shakespeare Series) ISBN13: 9780743482769 ISBN10: 074348276x http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1128/pg1128.html