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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 lies
of those around him. !s Lear "ears the status of King he is, as one e#pects, a man of great
power "ut sinfully he surrenders all of this power to his daughters as a reward for their
demonstration of loe towards him. This untimely a"dication of his throne results in a
chain reaction of eents that send him through a $ourney of hell. King Lear is a
metaphorical description of one man's $ourney through hell in order to e#piate his sin. !s
the play opens one can almost immediately see that Lear "egins to ma%e mista%es that
will eentually result in his downfall. The ery first words that he spea%s in the play are &'
(...)ie me the map there. Know that we hae diided *n three our %ingdom, and 'tis our
fast intent To sha%e all cares and "usiness from our age, +onferring them on younger
strengths while we ,n"urdened crawl to death...( -!ct *, .c i, Ln /8'011 This gies the
reader the first indication of Lear's intent to a"dicate his throne. 2e goes on further to
offer pieces of his %ingdom to his daughters as a form of reward to his test of loe. ()reat
rials in our youngest daughter's loe, Long in our court hae made their amorous
so$ourn, !nd here are to "e answered. Tell me, my daughters -.ince now we will diest
us "oth of rule, *nterest of territory, cares of state1, 3hich of you shall we say doth loe
us most4 That we our largest "ounty may e#tend where nature doth with merit challenge.(
-!ct *, .c i, Ln 05'6/1 This is the first and most significant of the many sins that he
ma%es in this play. 7y a"dicating his throne to fuel his ego he is disrupts the great chain
of "eing which states that the King must not challenge the position that )od has gien
him. This undermining of )od's authority results in chaos that tears apart Lear's world.
Leaing him, in the end, with nothing. 8ollowing this Lear "egins to "anish those around
him that genuinely care for him as at this stage he cannot see "eyond the mas% that the
eil wear. 2e "anishes Kent, a loyal serant to Lear, and his youngest and preiously
most loed daughter +ordelia. This results in Lear surrounding himself with people who
only wish to use him which leaes him ery ulnera"le attac%. This is precisely what
happens and it is through this that he discoers his wrongs and amends them. 8ollowing
the committing of his sins, Lear "ecomes a"andoned and estranged from his %ingdom
which causes him to loose insanity. 3hile lost in his grief and self'pity the fool is
introduced to guide Lear "ac% to the sane world and to help find the lear that was ounce
lost "ehind a hundred Knights "ut now is out in the open and scared li%e a little child. The
fact that Lear has now "een pushed out from "ehind his Knights is dramatically
represented "y him actually "eing out on the lawns of his castle. The terrified little child
that is now unsheltered is dramatically portrayed "y Lear's sudden insanity and his rage
and anger is seen through the thunderous weather that is "eing e#perienced. !ll of this
contri"utes to the suffering of Lear due to the gross sins that he has committed. The
pinnacle of this hell that is e#perienced "e Lear in order to repay his sins is at the end of
the play when +ordelia is %illed. Lear says this "efore he himself dies as he cannot lie
without his daughter. (2owl, howl, howl9 :, you are men of stones. 2ad * your tongues
and eyes, *'d use them so That heaen's ault should crac%. .he's gone for eer9 * %now
when one is dead, and when one lies. .he's dead as earth. Lend me a loo%ing glass. *f
that her "reath will mist or stain the stone, 3hy, then she lies.( -!ct ;, .c iii, Ln /0<'
/1=1 !ll of this pain that Lear suffered is traced "ac% to the single most important error
that he made. The choice to gie up his throne. This one sin has proen to hae massie
repercussions upon Lear and the lies of those around him eentually %illing almost all of
those who were inoled. !nd one is left to as% one's self if a single wrong turn can do
this to Lear then what difficult corner lies ahead that ma cause similar alterations in one's
life. >eference List .ha%espeare, 3illiam. King Lear. Eric !. ?c+ann, ed. 2arcourt
7race @oanoic% +anada *nc., +anada. 1A88. There has "een many different iews on
the plays of 3illiam .ha%espeare and definitions of what %ind of play they were. The two
most popular would "e the comedy and the tragedy. King Lear to some people may "e a
comedy "ecause they "eliee that the play has "een oer e#aggerated. :thers would say
King Lear was a tragedy "ecause there is so much suffering and chaos. 3hat ma%es a
.ha%espearean play a comedy or a tragedy4 King Lear would "e a tragedy "ecause it
meets all the requirements of a tragedy as defined "y !ndrew +ecil 7radley. 7radley
states that a .ha%espearean tragedy must hae to "e the story of the hero and that there is
e#ceptional suffering and calamity slowly "eing worn in as well as it "eing contrasted to
happier times. The play also depicts the trou"led parts in his life and eentually his death
that is instantaneous caused "y the suffering and calamity. There is the feeling of fear in
the play as well, that ma%es men see how "lind they are not %nowing when fortune or
something else would "e on them. The hero must "e of a high status on the chain and the
hero also possesses a tragic flaw that initiates the tragedy. The fall of the hero is not felt
"y him alone "ut creates a chain reaction which affects eerything "elow him. There must
also "e the element of chance or accident that influences some point in the play. King
Lear meets all of these requirements that has "een laid out "y 7radley which is the most
logical for a definition of a tragedy as compared to the definition of a comedy "y ).
3ilson Knight. The main character of the play would "e King Lear who in terms of
7radley would "e the hero and hold the highest position is the social chain. Lear out of
Bride and anger has "anished +ordelia and split the %ingdom in half to the two older
sisters, )oneril and >egan. This is Lear's tragic flaw which preents him to see the true
faces of people "ecause his pride and anger oerrides his $udgement. !s we see in the
first act, Lear does not listen to Kent's plea to see closer to the true faces of his daughters.
Kent has hurt Lear's pride "y diso"eying his order to stay out of his and +ordelia's way
when Lear has already warned him, (The "ow is "ent and drawn, ma%e from the shaft.(
Kent still diso"eys Lear and is "anished. 7ecause of this flaw, Lear has initiated the
tragedy "y distur"ing the order in the chain of "eing "y diiding the %ingdom, "anishing
his "est serant and daughter, and giing up his thrown. Cue to this flaw, Lear has gien
way to the two older daughters to conspire against him. Lear is finally thrown out of his
daughters home and left with a fool, a serant and a "eggar. This is when Lear realiDes
the mista%e that he has made and suffers the "anishment of his two eldest daughters. Lear
is caught in a storm and "egins to lose his sanity "ecause he can not "ear the treatment of
his two daughters as well as the error he has made with +ordelia and Kent. Lear also
suffers from rest when he is moing all oer the place and the thing that "rea%s him is the
death of his youngest daughter +ordelia. This suffering can "e contrasted with other
happier times li%e when Lear was still %ing and when he was not "anished "y his two
daughters. The feeling of fear is when Lear is in the storm raging against the gods, (* ta#
not you, you elements, with un%indness. * neer gae you %ingdom, called you children,
you owe me no su"scription.(, telling them to rage harder since he has not done anything
for them and that he didn't desere what he has receied from his two daughters. The fear
is how Lear in a short period of time went from %ing to $ust a regular peasant and from
strong and prideful to wea% and unconfident. This shows that men do not hold their own
destiny and that een though things may "e great now you can "e struc% down $ust as fast
as was to Lear. The fall of Lear is not $ust the suffering of one man "ut the suffering of
eeryone down the chain. )loucester loses his status and eyes, +ordelia and Kent
"anished, and !l"any realiDing his wife's true heart. Eerything that happened to these
characters are affected "y Lear in one way or another and that if Lear had not "anished
+ordelia and Kent then the two sisters would not "e a"le to plot against their father.
3ithout the plot of the two sisters then )loucester would not of lost his eyes to +ornwall
and his status "ecause he was guilty of treason. There is an element of chance in the play
in which Edgar meets :swald trying to %ill his father "ecause he is a traitor. :swald is
slain as%s Edgar, (!nd gie the letters which thou find'st a"out me to Edmund Earl of
)loucester. .ee% him out upon the English party.( Edgar finds a letter to Edmund from
)oneril a"out the conspiracy to %ill !l"any. This part in the play affects the outcome of
)oneril and Edmund in which will lead to "oth of their deaths. The pain and suffering
endured "y Lear eentually tears down his strength and sanity. Lear is not as strong,
arrogant, and prideful as he was in the "eginning of the play instead he is wea%, scared,
and a confused old man. !t the end of the play Lear has completely lost his sanity with
the loss of his daughter +ordelia and this is the thing that "rea%s Lear and leads to his
death. Lear dies with the %nowledge that +ordelia is dead and dies as a man in pain. (!nd
my poor fool is hanged9 Eo, no, no life9 3hy should a dog, a horse, a rat, hae life, !nd
thou no "reath at all4 Thou'lt come no more, neer, neer, neer, neer, neer9( King
Lear has met all the requirements that 7radley has stated as a .ha%espearean tragedy.
Lear has a tragic flaw which is his pride that preents him to see the true faces of people.
2e also initiates the tragedy "y the "anishment of +ordelia and Kent as well as diiding
the %ingdom. Lear has also suffered and endured the pains of his error which leads to his
death and which is contrasted to that of happier times. There is the feeling of fear in the
play which is of a King losing his crown and "ecoming a peasant. Lear has also created a
chain reaction that affects eerything down the chain. The element of chance is also
introduced in the play with Edgar and :swald, :swald possessing the letter to Edmund.
!nd the final part is the death of King Lear dying in suffering of the death of his daughter
+ordelia.