Self-discovery in King Lear
Through the course of the play, King Lear goes through a process of
attaining self-knowledge, or true vision of one's self and the world. With this
knowledge, he goes through a change of person, much like a caterpillar into a
butterfly. In the beginning, King Lear's vanity, and the image and exercise of
power dominate his person. But a series of losses (based on his own bad
decisions), a "fool" of a conscious, a powerful storm, a "supposed" crazy man,
and the death of the one who truly loved him, clear his vision and allow him to
see the himself and the world as they truly are. The pain and suffering endured
by Lear eventually tears down his strength and sanity. Lear is not as strong,
arrogant, and filled with pride as he was in the beginning of the play instead
he is weak, scared, and a confused old man. At the end of the play Lear has
completely lost his sanity with the loss of his daughter Cordelia and this is
the thing that breaks Lear and leads to his death.
In the beginning, King Lear shows his need for praise is how he chooses
to divide his kingdom among his daughters. The one who praises him with the most
"gusto" shall receive the largest area of land. This is even more evident when
you consider that he already has divided up the kingdom before the praising even
begins. As evident as he gives each daughter her land before hearing the next
daughter's praise. Thus the who thing is just a show and an ego boost to himself.
It is because of his love for praise that makes him react so strongly to
Cordelia and Kent when they do not act as he would like them to. It could be
said he is like a child who doesn't remember all that his family has done for
them, but only sees them saying no to a piece of candy. In the play, this is
shown in his banishment of Cordelia and Kent. Kent is probably one of the most
loyal people in the room (not to mention his kingdom), and it is Cordelia that
truly does love Lear. But because they choose not to contribute to this "ego
trip", they are banished. In fact, he threatens to kill Cordelia if she is found
in ten days. Lear says,
"Upon our kingdom; if, on the tenth day following,
Thy banished trunk be found in our dominions,
The moment of thy death.
Lear becomes blinded by his flaws, leading him to make irrational decisions which ultimately cause him to go mad. After Cordelia is unable to state how much she loves her father and outdo her sisters exaggerated professions of
life. To live to see his children grow up, to see his unborn child be
...e fact that Cordelia is deceased and the pain and guilt that his actions killed his daughter, is the catalyst of his apparent death.
The estimate of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein familiar to us from literary handbooks and popular impression emphasizes its macabre and pseudo-scientific sensationalism: properly enough, so far as either its primary conception or realized qualities are concerned. But it has the effect of obscuring from notice certain secondary aspects of the work which did, after all, figure in its history and weigh with its contemporary audience, and which must, therefore, be taken into consideration before either the book or the young mind that composed it has been properly assayed. One such minor strain, not too well recognised in criticism, is a thin vein of social speculation: a stereotyped, irrelevant, and apparently automatic repetition of the lessons of that school of liberal thought which was then termed philosophical.
Bronte’s main character, Jane Eyre, conforms to this unequal power dynamic throughout most of the novel. Therefore, Jane is portrayed as the direct product of Victorian society. Throughout the novel, the men Jane encounters hold the power and inevitably mold and shape her throughout the novel into their idealized standard of a woman. Mr. Brocklehurst, Mr. Rochester, and St. John each project their own image of the perfect woman upon Jane and each of them attempt to shape her to their idealized standards. Jane is left in the end to discover herself whilst in her search to be reunited with the love of her life, Mr. Rochester. Jane’s relationship with Mr. Rochester however focuses far more on romantic notions and brings to ...
The eponymous heroine of Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre, is surrounded by a Victorian world and grows from an unruly child into a Victorian woman. At the beginning of the novel, Jane is passionate and flies into rages when injustices are committed against her. Her passion and unruliness are first shown in Chapter 1 when she vehemently fights back against her cousin John’s unprovoked attacks, hitting him and calling him a “wicked and cruel boy!” (30). Through her actions, Jane demonstrates her inability to control her anger and her desire to make others pay for the sins that they have committed against her. Jane’s lack of self-control is shown again before she leaves for the Lowood School, as she yells at her Aunt Reed for one final time, telling her, “I am glad you are no relation of mine…I will say the very thought of
Following this Lear begins to banish those around him that genuinely care for him as at this stage he cannot see beyond the mask that the evil wear. He banishes Kent, a loyal servant to Lear, and his youngest and previously most loved daughter Cordelia. This results in Lear surrounding himself with people who only wish to use him which leaves him very vulnerable attack.
In “Jane Eyre,” Charlotte Bronte depicts the helplessness of children who lack the ability to speak up for themselves. Being an orphan and living in the mercy of her relatives who mistreat her, Jane is unable to vent out her feelings of loneliness and her longing for a family because she has nobody to turn to. Jane, beaten by John, is locked up in the red room all by herself. Though engulfed with rage, Jane has no power to reason out for herself causing her to feel that she is not wanted to live at Gateshead.
In her book entitled “Frankenstein”, Mary Shelley strongly opposes the progress enriched by the Industrial Age in the nineteenth century and develops her argument throughout it to show the consequences led by the thirst for knowledge and discoveries. She demonstrates a person can dramatically change due to the danger he is exposed when questioning supernatural forces and experimenting with science, which may play an enormous role on the moral, ethical, and religious aspects of his life later on. With this intention, Shelley portrays the three main characters: Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and the creature to exhibit the theme of dangerous knowledge that becomes more observable as the story is progressing. At first she studies their desires
The novel starts with giving an outlook on how the lower classes were being treated. The young Jane Eyre lives with Mrs Reed, who was the woman married to her uncle. Jane’s uncle adopted her, and when he died she had to take care of her. Jane is ambiguous i...
The first flaw in King Lear is his arrogance, which results in the loss of Cordelia and Kent. It is his arrogance in the first scene of the play that causes him to make bad decisions. He expects his favorite, youngest daughter to be the most worthy of his love. His pride makes him expect that Cordelia’s speech to be the one filled with the most love. Unfortunately for King Lear’s pride, Cordelia replies to his inquisition by saying, “I love your majesty/According to my bond and nothing less';(1.1.100-101). Out of pride and anger, Lear banishes Cordelia and splits the kingdom in half to the two evil sisters, Goneril and Regan. This tragic flaw prevents King Lear from seeing the truth because his arrogance overrides his judgement. Lear’s arrogance also causes him to lose his most faithful servan...
Brontë suggests that Jane has no family and nobody who loves her. Jane’s lack of love in her life makes her stronger and tougher. She learns not to always have to depend on anybody, but then again, it is upsetting that she has nobody to reach out to in a time of need. Brontë reveals Jane’s lack of love through Mrs. Fairfax and her questions about Jane’s family background.
Mary Shelley`s Frankenstein was a standout due to its depiction of science and it, influences on the known aspects of society. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Europe was fascinated with scientific exploration and experimentation. Scientific discoveries were growing at a fast pace, and the discovery of concepts like electricity shook society from it set roots. In the age of discovery, Shelley shows the danger of society interaction with science and knowledge that comes with discovery with the absences of rational decisions and women.
In Shakespeare’s the dramatic tragedy which is King Lear, we are introduced to the Earl of Kent, earl of Gloucester and his illegitimate son, Edmund. In the mist of Gloucester’s mockery of his adultery and youngest son’s conception, the reason for the season is revealed: King Lear will be dividing his kingdom amongst his three daughters, before his death, in order to avoid strife. This is also the day that the princes of France and Burgundy will rival for the youngest daughter, Cordelia’s, hand in marriage. “Which of you shall we say doth love us most?” ignited the sparks, soon to turn ablaze of the kingdom. Using bombastic speeches, Goneril and Regan proclaim their love for Lear which, seemed to more than life itself. For Cordelia, when asked,
husbands. His daughters start to turn against him. While this happened, Edmund was trying to