King Lear Group

Question:

duvet
duvet
Student
High School - 12th Grade

In the play "King Lear", how do the stories of Lear and Gloucester mirror one another in interesting ways?

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Posted by duvet on Sunday December 7, 2008 at 7:25 AM and tagged with compare, gloucester, king lear, lear, stories.

Answers:

  1. writergal06
    writergal06 Teacher

    eNotes Editor

    Lear and Gloucester are both fathers in prominent positions whose demise is brought about because of 1) trusting the wrong children and 2) allowing extremes to govern their emotions. Lear angrily banishes Cordelia, the one daughter that truly loves him, because she will not flatter him. Gloucester readily believes Edmund's slander against Edgar, exiling Edgar for supposedly seeking the life of his brother. Both men suffer the consequences of their poor decisions, as well. Gloucester's eyes are plucked out, symbolizing his blindness to the truth. Lear slowly loses his mind after being put out by his daughters. In the end, both Lear and Gloucester realize their mistakes and seek to set things right. Unfortunately, the damage already done leads to Lear and Gloucester both dying. Gloucester dies from the extreme joy and grief he feels when he is reunited with Edgar. Lear dies over Cordelia's corpse, heartbroken at her death.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/kl/king-lear-character-analysis

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    Posted by writergal06 on Tuesday December 9, 2008 at 11:41 AM