РефератыИностранный языкKiKing Lear 4 Essay Research Paper King

King Lear 4 Essay Research Paper King

King Lear 4 Essay, Research Paper


King Lear – Analyzing a Tragic Hero


Tragedy is defined in Websters New Collegiate Dictionary as:


1) a medieval narrative poem or tale typically describing the downfall


of a great man, 2) a serious drama typically describing a conflict


between the protagonist and a superior force (as destiny) and having a


sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that excites pity or terror. The


play of King Lear is one of William Shakespears great tragic pieces,


it is not only seen as a tragedy in itself, but also a play that


includes two tragic heroes and four villains. I felt that a tragic


hero must not be all good or all bad, but just by misfortune he is


deprived of something very valuable to him by error of judgment.


We must be able to identify ourselves with the tragic hero if


he is to inspire fear, for we must feel that what happens to him could


happen to us. If Lear was completely evil, we would not be fearful of


what happens to him: he would merely be repulsive. But Lear does


inspire fear because, like us, he is not completely upright, nor is


he completely wicked. He is foolish and arrogant, it is true, but


later he is also humble and compassionate. He is wrathful, but at


times, patient. Because of his good qualities, we experience pity for


him and feel that he does not deserve the severity of his punishment.


His actions are not occasioned by any corruption or depravity in him,


but by an error in judgment, which, however, does arise from a defect


of character. Lear has a “tragic flaw” – egotism. It is his egotism


in the first scene that causes him to make his error in judgment – the


division of his kingdom and the loss of Cordelia. Throughout the rest


of the play, the consequences of this error slowly and steadfastly


increase until Lear is destroyed. There must be a change in the life


of the tragic hero; he must past from happiness to misery. Lear, as


seen in Act I, has everything a man should want – wealth, power,


peace, and a state of well-being. Because a tragic character must


pass from happiness to misery, he must be seen at the beginning of


the play as a happy man, surrounded by good fortune. Then, the


disasters that befall him will be unexpected and will be in direct


contrast to his previous state.


In King Lear the two tragic characters, a king and an earl,


are not ordinary men. To have a man who is conspicuous endure


suffering brought about because of his own error is striking. The


fear aroused for this man is of great importance because of his


exalted pos

ition. His fall is awesome and overwhelming. When


tragedy, as in Lear, happens to two such men, the effect is even


greater. To intensify the tragedy of King Lear, Shakespeare has not


one but two tragic characters and four villains. As we have seen, the


sub-plot – concerning Gloucester, Edmund, and Edgar – augments the


main plot. Gloucester undergoes physical and mental torment because


he makes the same mistake that Lear does. Like Lear, Gloucester is


neither completely good nor completely bad. There is, for instance, a


coarseness in the earl, who delights in speaking of his adultery. But


he has good qualities as well. He shows, for instance, concern for


Kent in the stocks, and he risks his life to help Lear. Gloucester’s


punishment, his blindness, parallel’s Lear’s madness. These two


tragic stories unfolding at the same time give the play a great


eminence.


The important element in tragedy is action, not character. It


is the deeds of men that bring about their destruction. Lear calls


upon the “great gods,” Edgar and Kent blame Fortune, and Gloucester


says that the gods “kill us for their sport” (IV.i.37). But in


reality the calamities that befall both Lear and Gloucester occur


because of the actions of these men. Their actions, it is true, grow


out of their characters: both are rash, unsuspecting, and vengeful.


But the actions themselves are the beginnings of their agony, for


these actions start a chain of events that lead to ultimate


catastrophe.


A tragic hero gains insight through suffering. Neither Lear


nor Gloucester realizes he has committed an error until he has


suffered. Lear’s suffering is so intense that it drives him mad; it


is on the desolate health that he fully realizes his mistake in giving


the kingdom to his two savage daughters and disowning the one daughter


who loves him. It is not until Gloucester has been blinded that he


learns the truth about his two sons. These two characters learn to


endure their suffering. When Gloucester’s attempt to commit suicide


fails, he decides to bear his affliction until the end. In his


madness Lear learns to endure his agony. Later, when he knows he


is to be imprisoned, he maintains this misfortune with a passive


calmness. He has grown piritually through painfully achieved


self-knowledge and through Cordelia’s love. Tragedy in King Lear is


not only seen through itself but, also through the character of the


King and other characters. The Play of King Lear is a great tragic


play that many tragedies try to compare to.


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