Unit 6 King Lear personality analysis

a) A fundamental aspect of any Greek tragedys opening is the transition from order to disorder. In order for this transition to effectively take place in the mind of the viewer however, the current state of the orderly world must be exhibited. This is successfully done by depicting character relationships which are consistent with an orderly world of that era. For example, King Lear is respected and obeyed by all initially, while in Gloucesters case it is made evident that his legitimate son Edgar will inherit all of his property (I,ii,0-22). These same character relationships, after having been established as orderly, are then distorted and left in an odd state to reflect a world similarly distraught. To achieve this, an act of hubris is committed by King Lear. This hubris is caused by his hamartia, which in this case is his inability to judge others or himself accurately. Due to this flaw, he disrupts the natural order by relinquishing his power to his daughters whilst retaining the title of King(I, ii, 124-141). King Lear thus throws himself into his peripeteia. Similarly, Gloucester is blind to the desires and manipulations of his son Edmund. Gloucester is thus deceived and by replacing Edward with Edmund as his legitimate son, he too distorts the natural order. b) The three motifs used in King Lear allow Shakespeare to convey the state of the world and its inhabitants through indirect means. This ability is used in Act I to portray Lears gradual loss of identity and decreasing social status. Lear loses his identity as a natural father when he curses Goneril to never bear a child, and if she does to bear an ill and weak one (I iv 236-250). In this scene two things are revealed. That King Lear is an

unnatural father due to his lack of care for his daughter and that he is an unnatural King, who maintains Kingly behaviour without the corresponding power. Sanity, as defined as the ability to understand the world and make accurate decisions based off that understanding, is a trait Lear often reveals to lack

c) Lear descent on the Chain of Being is portrayed through his relationship with his subjects. As Act I progresses, Lears subjects begin to grow ever more disdainful of their King, until he is reduced to a nothing. When Kent, Lear's most loyal protector, claims he is an old man and a fool, the first hint of Lears downward fall is made. While the King is expected to be held in high regard, it is made evident here that Lear is losing the respect of his subjects. Shortly afterwards, Cordelia and Goneril begin plotting a way to control their ill-tempered father (I i 300). Their speech reveals that they now believe to be in charge, while their father is no longer a king in anything but name. This belief is later revealed to be true when Goneril threatens the King to reduce his knights for him in (I iv 224-39). This threat to the King reveals that his position in society is now in drastic decline. The Fools speech however, serves as the final indicator of Lears societal declension. After having mocked him considerably, the Fool finally reveals that he believes himself to be above the King, who is now a nothing(I iv 176-85). Great! 30/30

UNIT 9 Justice, the Foundation of Order

Justice is the bond of men in states, for the administration of justice, which is the determination of what is just, is the principle of order in political society." Aristotle A society is a social contract which needs both justice and mercy to function optimally. In William Shakespeares play, King Lear, a society which has lost its justice and mercy is explored, revealing the catastrophic results of such a loss. Society requires trust between its members, a social construct such as justice and mercy which can act as crime deterrent and that any such construct operate consistently and effectively. Justice is an impartial crime deterrent where mercy is not. This allows justice to be consistent and predictable, which results in a mutual trust between individuals which strengthens their relationships and consequently their society. Thus, I believe justice to be the most important social construct in the foundation of a society. A societys social construct must be impartial so that it may operate consistently and predictably. This impartiality is necessary in a fair society because it allows for trust between its members. This trust incentivizes relationships with others, since the increased predictability granted by an impartial system allows for more accurate calculation of risk. Justice (in its ideal form), is defined as the upholding of fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law. Mercy in its legal context is the compassion and lenience shown by a figure or group in a position of power towards a criminal. Mercy, by definition can never be impartial. Its punishments and finding of guilt are dependent entirely on the whims and feelings of those who are judges. Justice on the other hand may be impartial when used appropriately but when that is not the case the results may be rather terrible. King Lear describes this potential outcome best when he describes the justice system of the world he lives in Through tattered
clothes great vices do appear; Robes and furred gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold, and the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks.( IV, vi, 156-58) In this quote, King Lear criticizes a common failing of the justice system,

which is its tendency to be lenient towards the powerful and harsh towards the weak. Although this critique does reveal a pitfall of justice which can appear frequently, in regard to impartiality justice remains superior. This is due to the fact that while both justice and mercy can be corruptible and manipulated, justice is capable of becoming impartial through the implementation of laws which may be used to punish all members of a society equally for an equal crime. Mercys only feasible approach to impartiality is to

give mercy to every single wrong-doer, while this may sound appealing at first, in the third paragraph it will be shown that this approach may quickly cause the collapse of a society.

A society which needs a criminally preventative social construct requires that the construct be capable of effectively preventing crime. Without those traits a society is incapable of maintaining a correlation between the actions that pervade it and the beliefs that it ascribes to. The need for punishment in a society is expressed by Albany, who in despair laments on the lack of punishment in his world : If that
the heavens do not their visible spirits Send quickly down to tame these vile offenses, It will come: Humanity must perforce prey on itself Like monsters of the deep.(IV ii 45-51) In these lines, Albany explains that a society with

uninhibited crime will fail and its members will resort to animalistic tendencies in order to survive. Justice provides a very powerful approach regarding crime prevention. If a member of a society is found guilty of committing a crime, then justice is capable of preventing future crime from occurring through jails and other methods of societal removal and reformation. This allows for the behavioral homeostasis of a society. Mercys approach is conducive to the mental health of its society and allows for a strongly reformative approach towards criminals. Although mercys approach is conducive to the mental health of its society, it suffers from a substantial flaw, its inability to prevent repeat offenders from existing. This inability to punish leaves a society helpless against those unmoved by mercy. It is due to the failing of mercy that I believe justice to be superior in terms of criminal prevention. Although justice may be crueller than mercy in some circumstances, it is also more capable of handling people who have no regard for the plight of others. However, being able to stop crime is not the only pre-requisite for a society. It must also be stopped consistently.
A necessity for consistency arises out of a need for trust to exist between members of a society. If a member of a society cannot be confident that a wrong-doer will be punished, it becomes difficult to trust in the system of crime prevention and the behaviours of others A belief that crime cannot be prevented consistently by the societys construct results in vigilantism. This is most evident in the behaviour of Goneril. Because she fears the inconsistency of her King (I v 296-300), who is the embodiment of justice, she resorts to conspiring against her father. When Albany

complains of Gonerils attitude to those around her, she says the following: Fools do those villains pity who are punished Ere they have done their mischief. Wheres thy drum? ( IV ii 55-6). This reveals how strongly Goneril is motivated by fear. Though King Lear and Cordelia had committed no crime against her, having seen how inconsistent the justice system of the world was under King Lears reign, she became paranoid of those around her and decided to take justice into her own hands. This sort of behavior exemplifies the need for a consistent and fair approach to punishment. Attributes of a society based off justice. What if Mercy were to be used, however? As shown previously, mercys innate bias makes it difficult to be consistent. As Albany says : Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile. Filths savor but themselves. (IV ii 39-40) In a world where only mercy exists, human beings cannot be confident that crimes against them will not be prevented. More importantly however, those who are unmoved by mercy would become the most powerful members of a society. Goneril and Reagan are prime examples of such people. Although their fear of their father and subsequent attempt to remove him of his power are understandable, they then proceed to abuse that power to punish all who oppose them. A world with Mercy and no Justice is a world without order. Justice

however, can be consistent and predictable. A society is a social construct which needs both justice and mercy to function optimally. But without justice it cannot function at all. Although mercy has many merits it cannot stand on its own regarding fundamental aspects of society such as impartiality, prevention of repeat offenses and consistency. As such I believe that justice is the foundation of a society. Well done! 50/50