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William Shakespeare’s “King Lear”, Essay Example

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Shakespeare’s “King Lear” and its Relation to Machiavelli’s “The Prince.”

Shakespeare’s King Lear is a tragedy play that was set some centuries ago in ancient Britain when there was no Christianity. It was written in the year 1605 and published by 1608 (Bevington, 1999 p.1). The play was written at the time when King James I reigned over both Scotland and England and had the intention to reunite the two kingdoms. This play seems to support James’ decision as Lear is used to showing how the separation of the two kingdoms is subject to tragedy and disaster. “King Lear”, like any other Shakespeare’s tragedy, is quite a complicated play that people can understand on various perspectives and different levels. As a result, it is hard to conclude that it has one specific message. It is a play that centres on a King-Lear and his three daughters, one of whom is known as Cordelia and is full of hunger for power at the expense of her father and family (Shakespeare, 2012, p. 115). Add to that a few noblemen both treasonous and loyal and the conflict is endless. The play is therefore replete with characters that exhibit Machiavellian qualities in their roles such as Edmund, Regan, Goneril, and Lear-just to mention but a few. Consequently, this essay focuses on the conflict, themes, and other literary devices in “King Lear” and how the play relates to Machiavelli’s “The Prince”.

There are many Machiavellian theories within William Shakespeare’s play “King Lear”. This is quite apparent when examining the characters of Lear, Regan, Goneril and Edmund. However, it is the last three characters namely Regan, Goneril and Edmund who Shakespeare used to exemplify the Machiavellian principles about virtue, ethics, and politics. The politics of Machiavelli entailed the acquisition of power to form an authoritarian government (Machiavelli 1984). In Machiavelli’s “The Prince” power means politics. Hence these three characters demonstrate the themes of ethics, morality and virtue based on their position of power in the kingdom. For instance, Edmund was the bastard son of Gloucester and had an elder brother called Edgar who was Gloucester’s legitimate son and beloved heir. However, due to Edmund’s envy, greed and avarice he kills his brother and father and seizes power. He blames nature for being a bastard when he says “Thou Nature art my goddess; to thy law…gods stand up for bastards” (Shakespeare 2012, Act 1: ii-22).

In his work “The Prince” Niccolo Machiavelli stated that “men ought either to be well treated or crushed because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries” (Machiavelli 2008, p.19). This principle is demonstrated well by Goneril and Regan with regards to their treatment of Lear. Although Lear has some Machiavellian traits, his qualities are often bound to disrupt his relationship with his daughters and members of the public. It is such weak qualities that define his tragic flaws and Regan and Goneril are quick to take advantage of them. In case Lear did not have such qualities, his relationship with his daughters and the society would have remained preserved. Lear’s situation is comparable to Machiavelli’s “The Prince” when the latter says “Men generally judge more by the eye than by the hand, for all can see, but few can feel” (Machiavelli 2008, p.71). Generally, “King Lear” focuses on Blindness in people like Lear for he was blind to others’ motivation and blind his true nature. He was also blind to the emptiness of privilege and power as well as blind to the significance of selfless love.

Symbolism provides meaning beyond what is being talked about. Shakespeare has used this art in the play “King Lear” to address some of the burning issues in the play. While drawing examples from the play, symbolism is illustrated by the following. The storm is one of the symbols used by William Shakespeare in this play. King Lear is roaming around the deserted grasslands in Act 3; a raging storm hovers overhead. The storm reflects on how much agitation that the king is going through. This is a physical reflection of his confusion; his inner self is not at peace. He has been in fighting with his daughters and now the old man is homeless. From this scene, Lear is powerless and can come to terms with his human mortality and for the first time embrace humility. From the events in the play, nature is furious with everything that is going on and the storm serves as some justice. The country is torn in a civil war, and the storm perfectly describes the political state in King Lear’s Britain (“Tragedy of King Lear: Plot Summary,” n.d.).

Blindness is another symbol that is evident in “King Lear”. Two men in the play are blind to the truth, Gloucester and Lear. Both have loyal and disloyal children, and they end up choosing the unfaithful children over the loyal ones. They make bad choices by making faithful children their heirs. They are blind from the truth, but their bad decisions later catch up with them. The truth dawns on Gloucester when he loses his physical sight and after Lear runs mad the consequences of his choices are now clear to him. He can see the truth, but evidently, it is too late. In Act 4 they come together near Dover as they reckon with their acts and how they have costed them dearly.

Some of the main themes that define this particular play include self-knowledge, justice, and authority with chaos. The lack of self-knowledge can be tragic to one’s life but the pain to achieve it may not be worth it. Regan, Lear’s daughter, identifies that her father lacks self-knowledge and this is seen in the opening scene: “he hath ever but slightly known himself” (I.i). At the expense of his sanity, wealth and power Lear comes to his self-knowledge. He learns something about himself: “I am a very foolish fond old man” (IV.VII.). Despite achieving self-discovery, Lear has to deal with his tragic fate. His daughter Cordelia still loves him, and her death is such a blow to Lear. Through Edmund who has self-knowledge from the beginning, it is essential to note that self-knowledge is of limited value, he dies before Lear.

The play has all forms of social injustice from the civil war too terrible disasters. From the sequence of events, the obvious question among the characters is, does the world have an ounce of justice? Is the world cruel to humankind? “As flies to the wanton are we to the gods: They kill us for their sport” (“King Lear: Entire Play,” n.d. 4.1.37-38). Gloucester realizes if foolish for humankind to assume that the natural world works in parallel with socially or morally convenient notions of justice. Edgar thinks that “The gods are just and individuals get what they deserve (Shakespeare 2012, 5.3.169).” As the wicked die, the good also dies along with them, and as Lear cradles the body of his daughter Cordelia, it is difficult to know what triumphs in the end, is it goodness or madness and death. Not only was Lear a king but also a father. He delivers power to his disloyal children Reagan and Goneril, and as a result, Britain is ushered into war and cruelty. As the power-hungry sister quench their thirst for power, Edmund begins his revolt, and the whole of Britain is torn into civil war. Not only has Lear destroyed his authority but the whole of Britain. As a result, the order is lost, and mayhem draws in.

In Conclusion, this play was based on quite a bleak, cruel, and unforgiving world as the characters literary denounced their morals and virtues in search of political power. There are many brutal killings across the entire play like the case of Edmund and his brother Edgar. Lear is also about to retire from his dominant position as the king and therefore decides to divide his kingdom into three sections based on his love for each of his daughters. However, Goneril and Regan spot their father’s weakness and use flowery yet fake praises to deceive him and gain power (“King Lear by William Shakespeare,” n.d.). Even though several aspects contribute to the impairment of their rapport, the main contributing factor to the dysfunction is the existence of Machiavelli’s theories as outlined in “The Prince”.

Bevington, D. (1999, May 4). King Lear. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/King-Lear

King Lear by William Shakespeare. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.williamshakespeare.net/king-lear.jsp

King Lear: Entire Play. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://shakespeare.mit.edu/lear/full.html

Machiavelli, N., 1984. The prince (1513). New York: Bantam .

Machiavelli, N., 2008. The prince . Hackett Publishing.

Shakespeare, W. (2012). King Lear . North Chelmsford, MA: Courier Corporation.

The Tragedy of King Lear: Plot Summary. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/kinglear/kinglearps.html

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Theme of Power in Shakespeare Play ”King Lear” Analysis

In the play “King Lear” written by Shakespeare, several themes are observable and easy to understand: love, ambition, power, betrayal, foolishness. One of the ideas that is important to understand and easy to grasp while reading the play is ‘’loyalty’’. In ‘’King Lear’’ loyalty is contrasted through the relationship Lear has with his three daughters especially the drive for power of Goneril and Regan, while Cordelia is a definition of the theme itself in that she demonstrates honesty and allegiance, to her father.

This essay will explain the importance of loyalty and its contrasts throughout the acts of Shakespeare’s masterpiece. The two oldest daughters of the King, Goneril and Regan are interesting when discussing the theme of loyalty in Shakespeare’s tragedy. They contrast this theme by lying to their father when they are asked how much they love him. Their ambition for power being greater than their sense of morality, they utter an expected speech to their father in order to get the most part of the land that he is giving away by reason of his old age.

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Goneril starts by making up elegant words to her father: ‘’ Sir, I love you more than word can wield the matter, Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty, Beyond what can be valued rich or rare, No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honour, as much as child e’er loved or father found; A love that makes breath poor and speech unable beyond all manner of ‘so much’ I love you. ’’ (I. i. 55) Impressed and blinded by the words spoken by his two daughters, the king decides then and there to give his kingdom to the both of them. This is a decision that he regrets shortly after.

Later in the play, the two daughters betray their father by taking away his power, forcing him to give up on his knights, and making him go mad; therefore, Lear becomes virtually homeless. Goneril, being the first one who has a visit from the king, she tells the king that he cannot have as many knights as he because of the knights’ unpredictable behavior. Frustrated, the king decides to leave Goneril’s kingdom and to visit Regan who, in order to run away from her father, decides to spend a night to Gloucester’s castle. Regan, the youngest of the two evil children, is not any better than Goneril.

The hypocritical daughter waits for her sister to confront her father about the number of knights he is allowed to have in Regan’s castle, and then she locks him outside of the castle. Lear before leaving responds: ‘’O, reason not the need! Our basest beggars Are in the poorest thing superfluous. Allow not nature more than nature needs – Man’s life is cheap as beast’s. Thou art a lady; If only to go warm were gorgeous, Why nature needs not what thou gorgeous wear’st, which scarcely keeps thee warm. But for true need – you heaves, give me that patience, patience I need!

You see me here, you gods, a poor old man as ful of grief as age, wretched in both; If it be you that stirs these daughters’ hearts against their father, fool me not so much To bear it tamely; touch me with noble anger, and let not women’s weapons, water drops, stain my man’s cheeks. No, you unnatural hags, I will have such revenges on you both that all the world shall – I will do such things – What they are yet I Know not; But they shall be the terrors of earth. You think I’ll weep. No, I’ll not weep. I have full cause of weeping; (storm and tempest)’’(II. 258-278)

At this point the king is homeless and his insanity becomes more evident as the tempest gets serious. At the end of the play, after many foolish and cruel actions of the two sisters they finally turn against one another and Goneril tries to poison Regan to secure the love of Edmund, the bastard son of Gloucester. Not caring about everything that happens to their father, Goneril and Regan show their true face and they continue to focus on their ambition for power. Cordelia at this moment is demonstrating the real meaning of loyalty and trueness.

The only daughter who is showing loyalty in the first act is Cordelia, the youngest daughter of King Lear, and the favorite one. She, when asked how much she loves her father, in order to get a part of the lands he is giving away to his daughters and wants to determine who loves him the most, speaks the truth and answers: ‘’Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave My heart into my mouth, I love your majesty according to my bond, no more nor less. ’’ (I. i. 92) Knowing that her father will not be happy about this answer, she decides to remain loyal and tell the truth to the king and to keep it that way, even after being disowned by Lear.

Unable to speak her love to her father, Cordelia is banished from the kingdom by the King then she leaves with the King of France, who is impressed by Cordelia’s honesty. Cordelia’s appearance in the play is very brief but crucial; after being banished from the kingdom she only returns in the act four where she shows how loyal she is to her father. After Lear’s rejection from his two other girls kingdom’s he goes mad. Cordelia decides to find him in the tempest to save his, life knowing what will happen to him. She finally finds him and meets him with hesitation and fear, but Lear’s madness has caused him to lose his reason.

When she arrives Lear does not recognize her. Despite the king’s behavior, she manages to forgive him. Eventually Lear finally realizes that she is not a ghost but Cordelia, his youngest daughter. Lear begins to recognize her loyalty and honesty. They reconcile and Lear admits his errors and understands the meaning of loyalty. ‘’Be your tears wet? yes, ‘faith. I pray, weep not: If you have poison for me, I will drink it. I know you do not love me; for your sisters Have, as I do remember, done me wrong: You have some cause, they have not. ’’(IV. 7 72-76) This is just before she is hanged by the decision of Edmund, Gloucester’s bastard son.

At this moment Lear starts regain his grasp on sanity. Loyalty is the principal theme in “King Lear”. While being contrasted by the two evil daughters of the king Goneril and Regan who finally turns out one against the other, Cordelia is, by her behavior an evidence of the true love of a daughter and of the loyalty owed in a family. A lot of other aspects subthemes are noticeable when regarding the subplot. The message that Shakespeare was trying to present in “King Lear” has much to do with the bonds of the family and the real meaning of loyalty, this transcends the significance of kingdoms such as those formerly belonging to Lear.

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Themes in “King Lear”: Power, Betrayal, Madness, Justice, and Tragedy

King Lear, one of William Shakespeare’s most renowned plays, holds a significant place in English literature. This tragic masterpiece explores the depths of human nature and the complexities of the human condition through its exploration of various themes. Understanding these themes is crucial to fully grasp the depth and messages conveyed by the play.

One of the central themes in “King Lear” is power and authority. The play begins with King Lear dividing his kingdom among his daughters, an act that sets off a chain of events leading to disastrous consequences. As the story unfolds, we witness how power corrupts characters like Goneril, Regan, and Edmund, revealing their true nature.

Betrayal and loyalty are also prominent themes in “King Lear.” The play showcases the heartbreaking betrayal between family members, particularly Lear’s daughters who betray their father’s trust for personal gain. However, amidst this treachery, characters like Kent and Edgar demonstrate unwavering loyalty.

Madness and sanity play a crucial role in the narrative as well. Lear’s descent into madness symbolizes the chaos and disorder that ensues when reason is abandoned. The Fool, through his apparent madness, provides wisdom and insight into the unfolding events.

Furthermore, “King Lear” delves into the theme of justice and injustice. The play reflects on human suffering and questions divine justice or its absence. The fate of characters serves as a commentary on moral order.

These themes contribute to the tragedy and moral complexity of “King Lear,” making it a timeless work that resonates with contemporary audiences. By understanding these themes, we can appreciate Shakespeare’s profound insights into human nature and society. Power and Betrayal in “King Lear”

Shakespeare’s “King Lear” is a renowned play in English literature, known for its complex characters and profound themes. Understanding the themes explored in the play is crucial to unraveling its depth and messages.

One of the central themes in “King Lear” is power and authority. The play begins with King Lear dividing his kingdom among his daughters, which sets off a chain of events leading to chaos and tragedy. This division of power exposes the corrupting influence it has on characters like Goneril, Regan, and Edmund. They manipulate and betray their loved ones to gain more power, ultimately leading to their downfall.

Betrayal and loyalty are also prominent themes in the play. Lear’s daughters betray him by falsely professing their love for him, causing him immense suffering. However, characters like Kent and Edgar demonstrate unwavering loyalty towards their king and family, even in the face of adversity.

These themes highlight the destructive nature of power and the importance of trust and loyalty within relationships. They showcase how betrayal can lead to tragic consequences while emphasizing the significance of remaining faithful.

By exploring these themes, Shakespeare delves into the complexities of human nature and morality. The play raises questions about justice and injustice, as well as the consequences of one’s actions. These universal themes continue to resonate with contemporary audiences, reminding us of the timeless relevance of “King Lear.”

In conclusion, understanding the themes of power, betrayal, madness, justice, and tragedy enriches our appreciation for Shakespeare’s masterpiece. These themes contribute to the play’s moral complexity and serve as a reflection on human nature that continues to captivate audiences today. Madness and Sanity in “King Lear”

In Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” the theme of madness and sanity plays a crucial role in unraveling the complexities of the characters and their actions. The protagonist, King Lear, descends into madness as he grapples with the consequences of his ill-fated decision to divide his kingdom among his daughters. This descent into madness serves as a symbolic representation of Lear’s loss of power, identity, and reason.

Furthermore, the Fool, a character who appears to be mad, provides wisdom through his seemingly nonsensical remarks. His role highlights the blurred line between sanity and madness and challenges the audience to question conventional notions of wisdom and foolishness.

The theme of madness also extends beyond Lear and the Fool. Characters like Gloucester’s illegitimate son, Edmund, manipulate others by feigning madness or using it to their advantage. This manipulation demonstrates how madness can be used as a tool for personal gain or to further one’s own agenda.

Additionally, “King Lear” explores the theme of justice and injustice. The play reflects on human suffering and questions whether divine justice exists or if it is merely an illusion. The ultimate fate of characters such as Goneril, Regan, and Edmund serves as a commentary on moral order and raises questions about the fairness of their punishments.

Overall, the themes of madness and sanity, as well as justice and injustice, contribute to the tragedy and moral complexity of “King Lear.” These themes resonate with contemporary audiences due to their universal appeal in exploring human nature, power dynamics, and the search for meaning in a chaotic world. Understanding these themes enriches one’s appreciation for Shakespeare’s profound insights into the human condition. Understanding the Themes of “King Lear” Enhances Appreciation for Shakespeare’s Work

In conclusion, the themes of power, betrayal, madness, justice, and tragedy in Shakespeare’s “King Lear” contribute to its profound impact and enduring relevance. These themes intertwine to create a complex web of human emotions and moral dilemmas that resonate with audiences across time.

The theme of power and authority is exemplified through King Lear’s ill-fated decision to divide his kingdom among his daughters. This act sets in motion a chain of events that exposes the corrupting influence of power on characters like Goneril, Regan, and Edmund. Their thirst for power leads to betrayal and ultimately contributes to their tragic downfall.

Betrayal and loyalty are central themes explored in the play. Lear’s daughters’ betrayal of their father showcases the devastating consequences of familial treachery. However, characters like Kent and Edgar demonstrate unwavering loyalty, providing a glimmer of hope amidst the chaos.

The theme of madness and sanity is symbolically significant in “King Lear.” Lear’s descent into madness reflects the disintegration of order in both his personal life and the kingdom. The Fool’s apparent madness serves as a source of wisdom, offering poignant insights into the human condition.

Justice and injustice are examined through the play’s reflection on human suffering and divine justice or lack thereof. The ultimate fate of characters serves as a commentary on moral order, highlighting the consequences of immoral actions.

These themes continue to captivate contemporary audiences due to their universal appeal. The exploration of power dynamics, betrayal within relationships, mental instability, questions of justice, and tragic outcomes remain relevant in our society today.

Understanding these themes enriches one’s appreciation for Shakespeare’s work by revealing its timeless relevance and moral complexity. By delving into these profound themes, readers gain deeper insights into human nature and are compelled to reflect upon their own lives.

In essence, “King Lear” stands as a testament to Shakespeare’s genius, showcasing his ability to explore profound themes that resonate with audiences throughout the ages.

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Essays on King Lear

Prompt examples for "king lear" essays, power and madness.

Examine the theme of power and madness in "King Lear." How do King Lear and other characters' quests for power lead to their descent into madness, and what does this reveal about the human condition?

Family and Betrayal

Analyze the dynamics of family and betrayal in the play. How do the relationships between Lear and his daughters, as well as Gloucester and his sons, illustrate themes of loyalty, deception, and trust?

Blindness and Insight

Discuss the symbolism of blindness and insight in "King Lear." How do characters gain or lose their sight, both literally and metaphorically, and what does this say about their understanding of the world?

Justice and Revenge

Examine the themes of justice and revenge in the play. How do characters seek retribution for perceived wrongs, and how does the concept of justice evolve throughout the story?

The Role of the Fool

Consider the significance of the Fool in "King Lear." What is the Fool's role in the play, and how does his character provide commentary on the events and characters?

Tragedy and Redemption

Analyze the tragic elements of the play and the potential for redemption. How do the characters' actions and fates contribute to the overall sense of tragedy, and is there room for redemption in the story?

Blindness Vs The Ability to Perceive in King Lear

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The Impact of Anger on Characters in King Lear

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King Lear Character Analysis: Representation of Responsibility

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Analysis of Humanistic Themes Resolved in King Lear

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Home › Drama Criticism › Analysis of William Shakespeare’s King Lear

Analysis of William Shakespeare’s King Lear

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on July 25, 2020 • ( 1 )

There is perhaps no play which keeps the attention so strongly fixed; which so much agitates our passions and interests our curiosity. The artful involutions of distinct interests, the striking opposition of contrary characters, the sudden changes of fortune, and the quick succession of events, fill the mind with a perpetual tumult of indignation, pity, and hope. There is no scene which does not contribute to the aggravation of the distress or conduct of the action, and scarce a line which does not conduce to the progress of the scene. So powerful is the current of the poet’s imagination, that the mind, which once ventures within it, is hurried irresistibly along.

—Samuel Johnson, The Plays of William Shakespeare

For its unsurpassed combination of sheer terrifying force and its existential and cosmic reach, King Lear leads this ranking as drama’s supreme achievement. The notion that King Lear is Shakespeare’s (and by implication drama’s) greatest play is certainly debatable, but consensus in its favor has gradually coalesced over the centuries since its first performance around 1606. During and immediately following William Shakespeare’s lifetime, there is no evidence that King Lear was particularly valued over other of the playwright’s dramas. It was later considered a play in need of an improving makeover. In 1681 poet and dramatist Nahum Tate, calling King Lear “a Heap of Jewels unstrung and unpolish’d,” altered what many Restoration critics and audiences found unbecoming and unbearable in the drama. Tate eliminated the Fool, whose presence was considered too vulgar for a proper tragedy, and gave the play a happy ending, restoring Lear to his throne and arranging the marriage of Cordelia and Edgar, neatly tying together with poetic justice the double strands of Shakespeare’s far bleaker drama. Tate’s bowdlerization of King Lear continued to be presented throughout the 18th century, and the original play was not performed again until 1826. By then the Romantics had reclaimed Shakespeare’s version, and an appreciation of the majesty and profundity of King Lear as Shakespeare’s greatest achievement had begun. Samuel Taylor Coleridge declared the play “the most tremendous effort of Shakespeare as a poet”; while Percy Bysshe Shelley considered it “the most perfect specimen of the dramatic art existing in the world.” John Keats, who described the play as “the fierce dispute / Betwixt damnation and impassion’d clay,” offered King Lear as the best example of the intensity, with its “close relationship with Beauty & Truth,” that is the “Excellence of every Art.” Dissenting voices, however, challenged the supremacy of King Lear . Essayist Charles Lamb judged the play to have “nothing in it but what is painful and disgusting” and deemed it “essentially impossible to be represented on a stage.” The great Shakespearean scholar A. C. Bradley acknowledged King Lear as “Shakespeare’s greatest achievement” but “not his best play.” For Bradley, King Lear , with its immense scope and the variety and intensity of its scenes, is simply “too huge for the stage.” Perhaps the most notorious dissenter against the greatness of King Lear was Leo Tolstoy, who found its fable-like unreality reprehensible and ruled it a “very bad, carelessly composed production” that “cannot evoke amongst us anything but aversion and weariness.” Such qualifications and dismissals began to diminish in light of 20thcentury history. The existential vision of King Lear has seemed even more pertinent and telling as a reflection of the human condition; while modern dramatic artistry with its contrapuntal structure and anti-realistic elements has caught up with Shakespeare’s play. Today King Lear is commonly judged unsurpassed in its dramatization of so many painful but inescapable human and cosmic truths.

King Lear is based on a well-known story from ancient Celtic and British mythology, first given literary form by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his History of the Kings of Britain (c. 1137). Raphael Holinshed later repeated the story of Lear and his daughters in his Chronicles (1587), and Edmund Spenser, the first to name the youngest daughter, presents the story in book 2 of The Faerie Queene (1589). A dramatic version— The True Chronicle History of King Leir and his three daughters, Gonerill, Ragan, and Cordella —appeared around 1594. All these versions record Lear dividing his kingdom, disinheriting his youngest daughter, and being driven out by his two eldest daughters before reuniting with his youngest, who helps restore him to the throne and bring her wicked sisters to justice. Shakespeare is the first to give the story an unhappy ending, to turn it from a sentimental, essentially comic tale in which the good are eventually rewarded and the evil punished into a cosmic tragedy. Other plot elements—Lear’s madness, Cordelia’s hanging, Lear’s death from a broken heart, as well as Kent’s devotion and the role of the Fool—are also Shakespeare’s inventions, as is the addition of the parallel plot of Gloucester and his sons, which Shakespeare adapted from a tale in Philip Sidney’s Arcadia . The play’s double plot in which the central situation of Lear’s suffering and self-knowledge is paralleled and counterpointed in Gloucester’s circumstances makes King Lear different from all the other great tragedies. The effect widens and deepens the play into a universal tragedy of symphonic proportions.

King Lear opens with the tragic turning point in its very first scene. Compared to the long delays in Hamle t and Othello for the decisive tragic blow to fall, King Lear , like Macbeth , shifts its emphasis from cause to consequence. The play foregoes nearly all exposition or character development and immediately presents a show trial with devastating consequences. The aging Lear has decided to divest himself of kingly responsibilities by dividing his kingdom among his three daughters. Although the maps of the divisions are already drawn, Lear stages a contest for his daughters to claim their portion by a public profession of their love. “Tell me, my daughters,” Lear commands, “. . . Which of you shall we say doth love us most.” Lear’s self-indulgence—bargaining power for love—is both a disruption of the political and natural order and an essential human violation in his demanding an accounting of love that defies the means of measuring it. Goneril and Regan, however, vie to outdo the other in fulsome pledges of their love, while Cordelia, the favorite, responds to Lear’s question “what can you say to draw / A third more opulent than your sisters” with the devastatingly honest truth: “Nothing,” a word that will reverberate through the entire play. Cordelia forcefully and simply explains that she loves Lear “According to my bond, no more nor less.” Lear is too blind and too needy to appreciate her fidelity or yet understand the nature of love, or the ingenuous flattery of his older daughters. He responds to the hurt he feels by exiling the one who loves him most authentically and deeply. The rest of the play will school Lear in his mistake, teaching him the lesson of humanity that he violates in the play’s opening scene.

The devastating consequences of his decision follow. Lear learns that he cannot give away power and still command allegiance from Goneril or Regan. Their avowals of love quickly turn into disrespect for a now useless and demanding parent. From the opening scene in which Lear appears in all his regal splendor, he will be successively stripped of all that invests a king in majesty and insulates a human being from first-hand knowledge of suffering and core existential truths. Urged to give up 50 of his attending knights by Goneril, Lear claims more gratitude from Regan, who joins her sister in further whittling down Lear’s retinue from 100 knights to 50, to 25, 10, 5, to none, ironically in the language of calculation of the first scene. Lear explodes:

O, reason not the need! Our basest beggars Are in the poorest thing superfluous. Allow not nature more than nature needs, Man’s life is cheap as beast’s .

Lear is now readied to face reality as a “poorest thing.” Lear’s betrayal by his daughters is paralleled by the treachery of the earl of Gloucester’s bastard son, Edmund, who plots to supplant the legitimate son, Edgar, and eventually claim supremacy over his father. Edmund, one of the most calculating and coldblooded of Shakespeare’s villains, rejects all the bonds of family and morality early on in the play by affirming: “Thou, Nature, art my goddess, to thy law / My services are bound.” Refusing to accept the values of a society that rejects him as a bastard, Edmund will operate only by the laws of survival of the fittest in a relentless drive for dominance. He convinces Edgar that Gloucester means to kill him, forcing his brother into exile, disguised as Tom o’ Bedlam, a mad beggar. In the play’s overwhelming third act—perhaps the most overpowering in all of drama—Edgar encounters Lear, his Fool, and his lone retainer, the disguised Kent, whom Lear had banished in the first scene for challenging Lear’s treatment of Cordelia. The scene is a deserted heath with a fierce storm raging, as Lear, maddened by the treatment of his daughters, rails at his fate in apocalyptic fury:

Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage, blow You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks! You sulphurous and thought-executing fires, Vaunt-couriers to oak cleaving thunderbolts, S inge my white head; and thou all-shaking thunder, Strike fl at the thick rotundity o’ th’ world, Crack nature’s mould, all germens spill at once, That makes ingrateful man.

The storm is a brilliant expressionistic projection of Lear’s inner fury, with his language universalizing his private experience in a combat with elemental forces. Beseeching divine justice, Lear is bereft and inconsolable, declaring “My wits begin to turn.” His descent into madness is completed when he meets the disguised Edgar who serves as Lear’s mirror and emblem of humanity as “unaccommodated man”—a “poor, bare, forked animal”:

Poor naked wretches, wheresoe’er you are, That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides, Your looped and windowed raggedness, defend you From seasons such as these? O, I have ta’en Too little care of this. Take physic, pomp, Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel, That thou mayst shake the superflux to them And show the heavens more just.

Lear’s suffering has led him to compassion and an understanding of the human needs he had formerly ignored. It is one of the rare moments of regenerative hope before the play plunges into further chaos and violence.

Act 3 concludes with what has been called the most horrifying scene in dramatic literature. Gloucester is condemned as a traitor for colluding with Cordelia and the French invasion force. Cornwall, Regan’s husband, orders Gloucester bound and rips out one of his eyes. Urged on by Regan (“One side will mock another; th’ other too”), Cornwall completes Gloucester’s blinding after a protesting servant stabs Cornwall and is slain by Regan. In agony, Gloucester calls out for Edmund as Regan supplies the crushing truth:

Out, treacherous villain! Thou call’st on him that hates thee. It was he That made the overture of thy treasons to us, Who is too good to pity thee.

Oedipus-like, Gloucester, though blind, now sees the truth of Edmund’s villainy and Edgar’s innocence. Thrown out of the castle, he is ordered to “smell / His way to Dover.”

Act 4 arranges reunions and the expectation that the suffering of both Lear and Gloucester will be compensated and villainy purged. Edgar, still posing as Poor Tom, meets his father and agrees to guide him to Dover where the despairing Gloucester intends to kill himself by jumping from its cliffs. On arriving, Edgar convinces his father that he has fallen and survived, and Gloucester accepts his preservation as an act of the gods and vows “Henceforth I’ll bear / Affliction till it do cry out itself / ‘Enough, enough,’ and die.” The act concludes with Lear’s being reunited with Cordelia. Awaking in her tent, convinced that he has died, Lear gradually recognizes his daughter and begs her forgiveness as a “very foolish, fond old man.”

The stage is now set in act 5 for a restoration of order and Lear, having achieved the requisite self-knowledge through suffering, but Shakespeare pushes the play beyond the reach of consolation. Although Edmund is bested in combat by his brother, and Regan is poisoned by Goneril before she kills herself, neither poetic nor divine justice prevails. Lear and Cordelia are taken prisoner, but their rescue comes too late. As Shakespeare’s stage directions state, “Enter Lear with Cordelia in his arms,” and the play concludes with one of the most heart-wrenching scenes and the most overpowering lines in all of drama. Lear, although desperate to believe that his beloved daughter is alive, gradually accepts the awful truth:

Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, And thou no breath at all. Thou’lt come no more, Never, never, never, never, never!

Lear dies with this realization of cosmic injustice and indifference, while holding onto the illusion that Cordelia might still survive (“Look on her, look, her lips / Look there, look there!”). The play ends not with the restoration of divine, political, or familial order but in a final nihilistic vision. Shakespeare pushes the usual tragic progression of action leading to suffering and then to self-knowledge to a view into the abyss of life’s purposelessness and cruelty. The best Shakespeare manages to affirm in the face of intractable human evil and cosmic indifference is the heroism of endurance. Urging his despairing father on, Edgar states in the play’s opposition to despair:

. . . Men must endure Their going hence, even as their coming hither; Ripeness is all. Come on.

Ultimately, King Lear , more than any other drama, in my view, allows its audience to test the limits of endurance in the face of mortality and meaninglessness. It has been said that only the greatest art sustains without consoling. There is no better example of this than King Lear .