The Tragic and Pitiful King Lear
The general plot of King Lear revolves mainly around the conflict between the King and his daughters, although there is a definite and distinct sub-plot dealing with the plight and tragedy of Gloucester as well. One of the main themes that Shakespeare chooses to focus on in King Lear is the dysfunctional nature of not only the royal family and Gloucester, but the heartache and emotional strain that goes along with being a parent and having to make a decision that will divide your children. This play focuses on not only the after effects of this decision, but the way in which it affects the King, his children and his subjects as well.
A strong case can be made for King Lear as Shakespeare's most tragic effort of his career. The fact that nearly the entire cast of this play either is murdered or dies with little to no redemption makes the strongest case for this. In nearly every other Shakespearian work, save perhaps Othello, at least some of the characters enjoy a bit of redemption or salvation with the resolution of the conflict. King Lear's characters are privy to neither of these. The bitterness, sadness, and reality of the human psyche that is contained throughout this work demonstrate its tragic nature best, however.
The tie emotionally and physically between a father and a daughter (or son, in relation to the Gloucester/Edmund/Edgar plot) is something entirely different than husband-wife or boyfriend-girlfriend in many of Shakespeares other plays. In the very beginning of the play, when Lear is foolishly dividing up his kingdom between his three daughters, and after he has asked Cordelia's two older sisters what they "think" of him, he turns to her and asks the same question. Her reply shows the true nature of her character, as she says, "Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave my heart into my mouth. I love Your Majesty according to my bond, no more, nor less." (1.1, ll. 91-93) His words could almost be considered threatening by declaring that her unwillingness to express her love in words might, "mar her fortunes." We are privy to definitive foreshadowing with Cordelia's reply of, "Good my lord, you have begot me, bred me, loved me. I return those duties back to you as are right fit, obey you, love you, and most honor you.
The play of "King Lear" is about a search for personal identity. In the historical period in which this play is set, the social structure was set in order of things closest to Heaven. Therefore, on Earth, the king was at the top, followed by his noblemen and going all the way down to the basest of objects such as rocks and dirt. This structure was set up by the people, and by going by the premise that anything that is man made is imperfect, this system cannot exist for long without conflict.
Located between the Moldovan-Ukrainian border and the River Dniester, the territory of Transnistria covers approximately 4160 km2 where over half million people live (Blakkisrud and Kolstø, 2013). In 1992, the civil conflict broke out in Transnistria (Cantir and Kennedy, 2015). When the former 14th Soviet Army interfered with the insurgent side, the Moldovans had to withdraw (Blackkisrud and Kolstø, 2013). It was thanks to Moscow that the attacks and fighting between Moldova and Transnistria were ended in July 1992 (Chamberlain-Creanga and Allin, 2010). Russia´s economic interest in Transnistria resulted in foreign direct investment from Kremlin and Russia also provided a huge financial aid to them. This was also the case of Moscow´s humanitarian
The big crisis in Ukraine is starting to get out of hand. The government cannot even figure out what to do, and is getting kicked out of office. There are street protests happening all over Ukraine especially at Kyiv’s Independence Square. There is civil unrest against Yanukovych because he did not do what the people wanted to have. After everything is starting to cool down, Russian troops start to enter the country. The crisis was getting so far out of hand that the US and the EU had to figure out how to help, so they got involved in the crisis. The Ukraine conflict was triggered by Yanukovych declining the EU deal, and when everything was getting settled down in Ukraine, Russia invades Ukraine.
King Lear has been in a position of authority and superiority. This position shapes King Lear into a man full of pride. However, as King Lear’s age grows, his emotional needs also grows. It is the false pride of Lear that blinded him with his emotional needs. King Lear behaved rashly and irresponsibly at the start of the play. Deep within Lear, he realizes that it is time for him to retired from this position of honor. Despite this realization, Lear’s pride keeps him from letting go of his power. King Lear wants the title and treatment of a king, but he does not want the work and obligations of the position. Therefore, when he makes the choice of letting his daughters to govern the kingdom, it foreshadows the strapping away of his p...
King Lear is often regarded as one of Shakespeare’s finest pieces of literature. One reason this is true is because Shakespeare singlehandedly shows the reader what the human condition looks like as the play unfolds. Shakespeare lets the reader watch this develop in Lear’s own decisions and search for the purpose of life while unable to escape his solitude and ultimately his own death. Examining the philosophies Shakespeare embeds into the language and actions of King Lear allows the reader a better understanding of the play and why the play is important to life today.
International politics as one may imagine includes foreign affairs. This is why the topic and focus of this paper revolves around the current event within Eastern Europe. It will focus on both Russia, Ukraine, and the world, and from it, it will be analyzed by using the resources provided within class. After all it is a International Politics course, and one of the best ways to effectively put the skills and knowledge to use is to focus on an event or current event. The paper will attempt to go over in a chronological order of the events that has happened, and what is happening currently over in Ukraine. Afterwards, an analyzed input will be implemented providing reasoning behind Russia's actions, and actions of the world, and potentially some solutions.
The longest river in Yugoslovia is the Sava, which flows from the Austrian border eastward for 584 miles to join the Danube at Belgrade. The Danube flows for 367 miles through Croatia and Serbia. Its major tributaries are the Sava, Dr...
On March 18, 2014, Russian President Valdimir Putin announced the annexation of Crimea, two days after voters in this semi-autonomous territory approved a referendum on separating from Ukraine. Crimea is an eastern Ukrainian peninsula located on the Black Sea. It’s connected to the rest of the Ukraine by a small strip of land. “Ukraine screams ‘robbery’ while Russians and Russian Crimeans feel Crimea is ‘coming back home’,” (Hodgman, 3/28/2014). Cremia was absorbed into the Russian empire along with most of ethnic Ukrainian territory by Catherine the Great in the 18th century. In 1921, the peninsula became part of the Soviet Union. Crimea only became part of the Ukraine when Soviet leader Njkita Khruschchev gave the peninsula to his native country in 1954. However, in 1991, the Soviet Union broke up and Crimea ended up in an independent Ukraine. Sixty percent of Crimea’s population of two million identify themselves as Russians. Today, Crimea’s population is divided on the issue of being annexed to Russia. Geographically, Crimea is an extension of Ukraine; however, demographically and politically, it had become Russian. Ethnic Russians in Crimea support the annexation while the Crimean Tatars, originally a Mongol-led ethnic group who also claims Crimea as home, and Ukrainians express pro-Ukrainian sentiments.
It was quite a shock when Ukraine was voted, along with Poland, a host country for Euro 2012 in 2007: could the championship really be held in this eastern European country, a former Soviet state, lacking a good infrastructure and an efficient administration? Nevertheless, the country started the preparations of the biggest sporting event it has yet organised. Only the future can tell us whether the transformation has been successful, but the assignment was not completely random, as Ukraine has been described as a “frontrunner” in Europeanisation, when compared to the oth-er countries in the Eastern Partnership. It is obvious that the proximity of the country to the EU plays an important role in this. The highly mobile population is certainly another factor. But it is perhaps the complex relationship with Moscow that has made the country explore other options.
King Lear is a play about a tragic hero, by the name of King Lear, whose flaws get the best of him. A tragic hero must possess three qualities. The first is they must have power, in other words, a leader. King Lear has the highest rank of any leader. He is a king. The next quality is they must have a tragic flaw, and King Lear has several of those. Finally, they must experience a downfall. Lear's realization of his mistakes is more than a downfall. It is a tragedy. Lear is a tragic hero because he has those three qualities. His flaws are his arrogance, his ignorance, and his misjudgments, each contributing to the other.
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe, that borders Russia north and northeast. Lately Ukraine has been making international headlines; the country is in complete and total turmoil or for lack of better words a crisis. What started as a request from the Ukrainian citizens for a change in government, limit the powers of the president, restore the country constitution back to its original form from 2004-2010, and get closer ties to the EU. Peaceful protesting turned in to a nightmare, when the then president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych failed to make good on his word. Instead, he made a deal with Russian president and late sought refuge in Russia. A few weeks later, he was ousted from this prompted the Ukraine revolution and the annexation of Crimea also known as the Crimean crisis. A revolution in Ukraine took place in February 2014 for a period of 5 days in Kiev the capital of Ukraine, after a series of violent events in the capital culminated with the ousting of the then-President of Ukraine. Immediately following the ousting of Yanukovych, immediate changes took place in Ukraine’s sociopolitical system. Starting with the a new interim government being installed and the constitution was restored to its original state, and plans to hold impromptu presidential elections in the months to follow. Before the revolution, Ukraine had been sunken by years of corruption, mismanagement, lack of growth economically , their currency value had dropped , and they had the inability to secure funding from public markets. Because of this, president Yanukovych wanted to establish closer relationship with the European Union (EU) and Russia in order to attract the money necessary to maintain Ukraine's standard of living without a...
When Lear tells Gloucester “A man may see how this world /goes with no eyes” (4.6.146-47) he displays both of their misfortunes, but it is too late to prevent ultimate tragedy. Shakespeare proposes that their tragic saga is a mere game to the heavens. “As flies to wanton boys, are we to th’ gods,/They kill us for their sport” (4.1.37-38). This line generalizes the overall simplicity behind the tragedy of King Lear. Even though Gloucester and Lear made terrible, fatal errors the reader feels at the end as if it is intended to be their destiny.
The tragedy King Lear by William Shakespeare ought to be seen as a lesson on what not to do as a parent. By picking favorites, King Lear and the Earl of Gloucester leave a lasting impact on their children 's psyche, ultimately leading to them committing horrible crimes. The rash judgments, violent reactions, and blindness of both Lear and Gloucester lead to both their and their children 's demise. As a result, all of the father-child relationships in the play begin to collapse.
Despite its undeniable greatness, throughout the last four centuries King Lear has left audiences, readers and critics alike emotionally exhausted and mentally unsatisfied by its conclusion. Shakespeare seems to have created a world too cruel and unmerciful to be true to life and too filled with horror and unrelieved suffering to be true to the art of tragedy. These divergent impressions arise from the fact that of all Shakespeare's works, King Lear expresses human existence in its most universal aspect and in its profoundest depths. A psychological analysis of the characters such as Bradley undertook cannot by itself resolve or place in proper perspective all the elements which contribute to these impressions because there is much here beyond the normal scope of psychology and the conscious or unconscious motivations in men.
In King Lear William Shakespeare gives king Lear a very kind personality and a very caring father towards his daughters. King Lear possesses traits that make him a soft person one that is very, calm and gentle hearted. His softness comes out in the beginning when he exclaims he tells his daughters she who loves him the most will get all the land. Lear falls victim to the lies of Reagan and Goneril while he casts out Cordila his only daughter that did not sweet talk him and loves him truly. You learn that his daughters Goneril and Reagan want to betray him so they get the kingdom to themselves. The two evil sisters plot to kill Lear seeing that he is blinded by his love for them and his willingness to help them in times of need. The author betrays lear as king but the reader knows the plot from the beginning on to the end on what his daughters plans are for their father and how it leads into the later parts of the story.