-
King Lear
Cordelia is incredibly upset because of her father's implacable anger toward her. He demanded that she join with her other sisters in making a public profession of love toward him, but she wouldn't...
-
King Lear
In act 2, scene 4 of William Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear, Lear's daughters, Regan and Goneril, put unacceptable conditions on Lear to allow him to stay in their homes. Goneril demands that Lear...
-
King Lear
In King Lear, act 1, scene 3, Goneril complains of Lear’s disrespectful treatment in terms similar to, though less extravagant than, those he is later to use toward her: By day and night, he...
-
King Lear
At the beginning of the play, King Lear is planning to divide his kingdom between his three daughters so that he can retire. He asks each for a declaration of love. Cordelia listens while her two...
-
King Lear
Lear's relationships with his daughters are important to the overall meaning of the play. In his relationships with his three daughters, the nature of Lear's roles are developed: as king, as...
-
King Lear
At the opening of Shakespeare's King Lear, Lear's kingdom is at peace. There is some minor intrigue going on in Lear's court involving the Earl of Gloucester's eldest son, Edgar, and his younger,...
-
King Lear
To answer this question, we should examine some of the prominent themes in King Lear. Many of the themes are very human, so there are certainly a few that might apply to real-life scenarios. As we...
-
King Lear
Your question brought to mind the newspapers of a few weeks ago in which Kim Yong Il of North Korea announced the succession of his son, Kim Young-Nam as the new head of state to take over for him....
-
King Lear
They say there's no fool like an old fool, and King Lear certainly falls into that category. His advanced age appears to have played no small part in his fatefully foolish decision to divide his...
-
King Lear
In Shakespeare's King Lear, the Earl of Gloucester is a loyal friend to Lear. He provides a counterpoint to Lear, in that his problems with his two sons—Edgar (Lear's godson) and a bastard son,...
-
King Lear
In act one, scene 2 of King Lear (lines 1-23), Edmund reconfirms his life's creed and its goals. "Thou, nature, art my goddess": You, nature (natural selection, survival of the fittest, etc.) are...
-
King Lear
In Shakespeare's time, women didn't have the same legal rights to inheritance as men. Usually, after a father died, a daughter's husband would receive the inheritance and not the daughter. King...
-
King Lear
Yes, King Lear does fit Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero. Aristotle stated a tragedy must be a drama about persons and things of some importance, where the highly placed hero is brought low...
-
King Lear
Edgar in Act IV scene 1 has suffered a tremendous reversal in fortune. He has gone from being the favoured son of a member of the English aristocracy to finding himself expelled and exiled, and...
-
King Lear
Edgar adopts what critics call a southern stage dialect in his confrontation with Oswald: Edg. Chill not let go, zir, without vurther [cagion]. Osw. Let go, slave, or thou di'st! Edg. Good...
-
King Lear
One way of answering this question would be to point towards the thematic unity that exists between the main plot of Lear and his slow devolution into madness and the subplot of Gloucester and his...
-
King Lear
The theme of parent-child relations is so important to the meaning of King Lear that one could write a book about it. To name the heart of it, though, Lear shows that he misunderstands the way in...
-
King Lear
Like Shakespeare's other tragic heroes, Lear suffers from a fault, a fatal flaw in his character. His is vanity and pride--hubris. Despite this weakness, however, it is Lear's strength that makes...
-
King Lear
In Shakespeare's King Lear, Lear's youngest daughter, Cordelia, and Lear's Fool are the resident truth tellers. Both of them speak truth to power (that is, to Lear), and they also speak truth to...
-
King Lear
The storm in King Lear serves a dual purpose. First, it is intended to show how Lear, a frail old man, has been rendered homeless by his two daughters. Second, the storm is intended to represent...
-
King Lear
The Hero's Journey is a monomyth applied to many cultures and types of literature. Author and mythology expert Joseph Campbell offers a detailed explanation of the steps of the journey and many...
-
King Lear
This quote is from the first scene, and basically what Lear is saying is that he wishes to divest himself of his royal responsibilities ("care and business") because he is getting older. He would...
-
King Lear
In King Lear, Edmund says he is a victim of culture, not nature: he is not born evil, but made evil by society shunning him and all bastards. He is the foil for Edgar. Edmund is a Bastard, an...
-
King Lear
The mock trial in this play occurs in Act III scene 6, and is a moment that blends tragedy and comedy. The function of this mock trial overall is to shown the descent of Lear into a state of...
-
King Lear
"Caius," as he calls himself, first appears in Act I scene 4. Caius is actually the disguised Duke of Kent who, having been banished in Act I scene 1 after telling the truth to his king now...
-
King Lear
The Fool plays an important role in King Lear, particularly in telling the King the truth about his behavior. The role of the Jester or the Fool in the King's court permits him to say anything,...
-
King Lear
This play has been called the bleakest of all Shakespeare's tragedies, and it is certain that the play presents one of the most uncompromising and unequivocal of messages about the human condition....
-
King Lear
There are two principle themes in Lear's angry raging in this scene, and that is the injustice of the gods and Lear's own anger at his daughters and what they have done to him. What is key to...
-
King Lear
The answer to this is that the play starts with three men coming on to the stage. These three men are Kent, Gloucester, and Edmund. Kent is the Earl of Kent. He is a nobleman who is very devoted...
-
King Lear
Lear's Fool has many functions in the play. He serves as a sort of chorus. He provides some comedy. He is a companion to Lear and thereby enables Shakespeare to have the King express his thoughts...
-
King Lear
I would say that Lear achieves wisdom by truly understanding his own predicament and his own self of self in the middle of that awful storm. Prior to that point, Lear had believed that his own...
-
King Lear
You are right, of course. By rights, Albany would have the strongest claim to the crown by the end of the play. However, let us briefly consider the Duke of Albany and his role in the play. He is...
-
King Lear
The term “situational irony” is often used to describe a situation that does not turn out as expected and indeed even turns out in a way that is the opposite of what was expected. A person, for...
-
King Lear
When Lear regains consciousness in Cordelia's tent he thinks he is still dead and that she is an angel. His imagination of being dead and in hell is so vivid that he can still see the instruments...
-
King Lear
The Fool shows up late in Act I, after Lear has made his mistake and given his kingdom and his power to his two ungrateful daughters. He has also disowned the third daughter, Cordelia, who actually...
-
King Lear
The major negative role that these two sisters play is their role in destroying King Lear, their father. They manage to persuade him to give them the kingdom and to cut off their sister,...
-
King Lear
Albany is son-in-law to the King and husband to Goneril, and as such, holds much power. In the fight against the French armies, he holds authority and commands the troops. Edmund begins the play...
-
King Lear
In Act I, Scene III, Shakespeare shows Goneril in a frustrating situation which any housewife could relate to. Lear, in accordance with his original dispensation, has come to stay with his daughter...
-
King Lear
Examine the end of Act I scene 1 very carefully, when Goneril and Regan discuss Lear's decision to spend time with each of them for a month before moving on to the next daughter. They have just...
-
King Lear
I would take the expression "character is destiny" to mean that the person who you are will in some way dictate the future events of your life. This thought does apply to some extent in...
-
King Lear
Enotes has a wonderful "Sample Essay" topical outline that details the political struggle for power in the play. Here are some details: OutlineI. Thesis Statement: The emotional effect is...
-
King Lear
That King Lear appears as a flawed character in Act I should surprise no one. There are no perfect characters in this play, or indeed, in any of Shakespeare's plays. They are all flawed, as all...
-
King Lear
The two themes collide in this play in Act I scene 1, when Cordelia gives her truthful yet ill-fated answer to her father, in comparison with her sisters, whose responses to Lear show their...
-
King Lear
Labeling King Lear as a play of redemption rests in the evolution of the protagonist. It is difficult to see Shakespeare's drama as redemptive given its ending. Everyone dies. However, if we...
-
King Lear
The continuation of that quote, in reference to the line about heaven's vault cracking, speaks most to this question. Lear believes in divine justice, he believes - for example - that if he is...
-
King Lear
In act1, scene 4 of King Lear, Lear goes on a furious rampage after his eldest daughter, Goneril, refuses to follow the aging king's orders in her own home. Lear insults Goneril, telling Albany to...
-
King Lear
It shows deep thoughtfulness that you are considering the character of the Fool in this way, for this is the kind of questioning that has kept scholars discussing and analyzing this (and all of...
-
King Lear
King Lear is widely considered to be Shakespeare's greatest artistic achievement. One of the timeless themes of the play is Lear's failure to trust in Cordelia's love for him. Parents today can...
-
King Lear
Being an individual that appreciates situations where people get what they deserve, I find the end of the play unsatisfactory because there is no reason that Cordelia should die—her father should...
-
King Lear
Goneril is angry because her father seems to like her younger sister Cordelia more than her or her sister, Regan. She says, "He always loved our sister most; and with what poor judgment he hath...
