King Lear | Lear

In the first excerpt, William Rosen demonstrates how the focus of dramatic interest in King Lear shifts from concern with a particular man to such universal issues as justice, order, and meaning in the world. In the second selection, Judd Arnold asserts that although other characters in the play—including Edgar, Gloucester, Albany, and Cordelia—are transformed, Lear's own progress toward self-knowledge and spiritual regeneration is never completed.

William Rosen
[Rosen demonstrates how the focus of dramatic interest in King Lear shifts from concern with a particular man to such universal issues as justice, order, and meaning in the world. Initially Lear is imperious, vain, and unwilling to consider any perspective other than his own, the critic notes. In subsequent scenes, Rosen asserts, his notions of himself are no longer valid, for the natural order of society has been subverted and Lear's stature has been stripped away. The critic asserts that on the heath, Lear's suffering becomes universalized: his...

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