King Lear | The Tragic Ending of King Lear
In this essay, R. Moore examines how and why Shakespeare imbued the story of Lear with a tragic ending. Moore discusses how the play must be a tragedy in order to illustrate certain poetic truths about life.
The story of King Lear is a mythic one which existed in the folklore of England long before Shakespeare was born. It seems that only Shakespeare, however, imbued the story with its tragic ending. Even Shakespeare's followers resorted to the optimistic resolve of the Lear tale. In a 1680 adaptation of King Lear, Nahum Tate not only allows Lear and his most-loving daughter Cordelia to live, but restores Lear to his throne. He also abolishes the character of the Fool from his adaptation altogether. The hopeful ending of Tate's adaptation ignores what Shakespeare interpreted as the...
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