Why is King Lear still popular today?

 I currently have: 

  • Human feelings are timeless
  • The core events/values are still relevant (family, power, etc.)

This is for an opinion speech and I'm just having trouble coming up with more ideas. Thank you!

Expert Answers

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King Lear remains popular today for reasons you've noted, but I will offer another one: appearances versus reality. Lear's flaw is his inability to discern who is telling him the truth and who is lying to him. He trusts the flattering words of his two older daughters, who use them to gain power over him, and he flies into fury and disowns the one daughter who tells the truth, because she refuses to exaggerate her love. Haven't all of us, at one time or another, preferred to believe what we want to believe is true, rather than the unvarnished truth? Don't we all, at least once in awhile, want to believe the person who mirrors back an exalted picture of ourselves? This play remains popular because it continues to act as a warning to be careful not to believe everything you hear (as the Fool says). This is especially important, perhaps, in an election year, when people high and low need to be cautious about what to believe.

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