Chris Clark
Mr. Dill
Literature & Composition
14 April 2016
King Lear Analytical Essay
Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj once said “Corruption is a true enemy to development”. This quote relates a lot to the play King Lear, and you’ll see why as it ravages through the story ultimately destroying everything in its path. It also happens to be extremely important to the plot and play as a whole. Apparently, no one in this play took the quote “With great power, comes great responsibility” all too seriously. Anyone who comes in contact with power becomes crazy for it and will stop at nothing to obtain complete control. From Edmund to King Lear’s very own daughters, corruption grows stronger and stronger until there is almost nothing else to destroy. Due to this corruption, authority is disregarded and thrown away. Even family bonds are broken, and corruption goes on to strike the unexpected. In the end of it all, only two are left to tell the tale of what happened. It all begins with King Lear’s very own creations.Corruption through obtaining power is a theme in the play.
Goneril and Regan turn courses in the very beginning of the play. We soon learn they don’t really love Lear, but instead they love the power that Lear has given them. After, the corruption grows even more to the point where it is obey, or die. “... Pray you, let’s
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Edmund’s power corrupts him into a dishonest, even dangerous person just to gain as much control as possible. His wrong-doings result in him paying the consequences in full. Even the brotherly bond isn't enough to stop the corruption. This power forces them into seeing nothing but total control. Regan and Goneril gain power over their father’s land and they in turn, banish Lear from their households, and leave him to fend for himself out in the storm. Edmund’s hunger for power doesn’t stop at anything, he goes as far as letting Cornwall take out Gloucester’s eyes for trying to kill
In King Lear, it is Lear’s abdication of his throne which acts as a trigger for the eldest daughters. They share the motives of ambition and greed in their quest to rule all of England which is made infinitely easier once their youngest sister, Cordelia, is banished by their father. Goneril and Regan are initially established as a single entity and, therefore, a single evil as Regan confirms early in the play when she declares:
Central to the plot and the themes developed in Shakespeare's Hamlet, are the varying elements of corruption which occur during the play. This is echoed in Marcellus' famous comment of 'Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,' when Hamlet is beckoned away by the Ghost (1.4.90). As the play continues and the story enfolds, it becomes apparent that there truly is 'something rotten in the state of Denmark,' and rather that it is not just one 'something,' but many things.
The first major betrayal seen is when Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia proclaim their love for their father when he asks them how much they love him. Their answers determine how much of Lear 's land they will be given. Goneril replies to Lear 's question with, “Sir, I love you more than word can wield the matter/ Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty…” (I.i.56-57). It is almost as though this response is vacant and well prepared. It shows her true intentions, which is to please her father and gain power through her dishonesty. Similarly, her wicked sister Regan responds just as flatteringly. It is quickly seen that Goneril and Regan do not truly love their father as their rise in power comes from their betrayal of Lear. Goneril states, “then must we look to receive from his age/ not alone the imperfections of long-engraffed condition” (I.i.297-298). Here, Goneril and Regan are plotting against Lear, they know that he is impulsive and aging which could play to their advantage in taking his power and all his land. Ultimately, the betrayal of their father helps them gain power that Lear never even had and soon they become greedy, wanting everything they desire. Evidently, the sister 's betrayal is the greatest in the play as they take all the power from Lear and cause irreversible suffering of their father and others. As the play progresses
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.
Power is a person’s capacity to influence and control. In Shakespeare’s time and in the modern world, power is something that is sought by many people. When used for good, power can inspire change, help society and unify a nation. However, in William Shakespeare’s play King Lear, it is a force strong enough to turn family against each other, and drive people mad. Goneril and Regan are corrupted by the power their father gives them. Edmund is corrupted by the power of his new position, Earl, and King Lear is blinded by his belief that he is the all-powerful King. The greed for power, plays an extensive role in the play because it corrupts most of the villainous characters and ultimately leads them to their demise.
A device which Shakespeare often utilized to convey the confusion and chaos within the plot of his plays, is the reflection of that confusion and chaos in the natural environment of the setting, along with supernatural anomalies and animal imageries. In King Lear, these devices are used to communicate the plot, which is summarized by Gloucester as:
In the play “King Lear” it describes how a king was at the top of his reign and his kingdom was so powerful, but soon it all went bad, his Kingdom along with King Lear himself came crashing down due to betrayal and lies. People usually think that lying is the easy way out to get out of trouble, but for King Lear it went bad for him. He lost his kingdom, land, and his family. Part of this was done by him but the one person that really wanted to get rid of him was Edmund.
Hatred and desire fueled Goneril, Regan, and Edmund to lie in order to obtain their parents’ power leading to destruction within their family. Edmund’s hatred was continued by the reminder that he was only the bastard son of Gloucester driving him to lie to both of them ultimately ruining his father’s eyesight and his brother’s identity. Goneril and Regan got rid of their father while retained his power by lying about who loved him the most and took away his knights. From King Lear, Shakespeare concluded that greed and power are capable of ruining a family.
Once Goneril and Regan took complete control of the kingdom, it was evident that King Lear’s power and authority was tarnished. Goneril and Regan abuse of power lead to the madness and the crisis Lear experienced. For example, while Lear was outside in during the storm, he basically questioned who he was not only as king, but as a man. "Doth any here know me? This is not Lear: Doth Lear walk thus? speak thus? Where are his eyes?" (I..IV.218-222). this quote just shows the depth of Lear’s troubles and blindness. Now that Lear has lost all his power to the evil actions of his two daughters, he’s essentially in an identity crisis, and unable to see who he truly is anymore with the title of “king”, which all play a part in his tragedy and eventual
However, Regan discloses that the King has never really understood himself or his feelings. "Tis the infirmity of his age. Yet he hath ever but slenderly known himself" (1.1.294-295). Regan is implying that at no time in Lear's life has he ever been in his "right mind." Even prior to the announcement of his kingdom division, Lear was mentally disoriented. In fact, all throughout his life Lear was unstable, and with age his state is only deteriorating. As of now, Lear's old age is also affecting his ability to make sensible decisions and valuing the greater things in his life. This is demonstrated through Lear's rash decision of banishing the two people who love and care most for him; Cordelia and Kent. In addition to Regan's criticism on Lear, Goneril agrees with her sister in saying that Lear has always been hot-headed, and that matters will only worsen from this point onwards as Lear is not getting any younger. "The best and soundest of his time hath been but rash. Then must we look from his age to receive not alone the imperfections of long-engrafted condition, but therewithal the unruly waywardness that infirm and choleric years bring with them" (1.1.296-300). Goneril reluctantly asserts that King Lear has always been an impetuous and quick-tempered individual. Hence, this is not the first occurrence in which Lear has
William Shakespeare is recognized as the greatest of English writers. What set this story apart from others at the time was that the appearance of the ghost was used as a plot device but also as an untrustworthy character. This play is known as a “revenge-tragedy- a play in which the hero discovers that a close relative has been murdered, experiences considerable trouble in identifying the murderer, and, after overcoming numerous obstacles avenges the death by killing the murderer.”(Book). William Shakespeare uses the dramatic elements of plot, character, and dialogue to illustrate the theme of corruption in Hamlet.
In general terms, corruption is the act of corrupting or of impairing integrity, virtue, or moral principle. In politics, corruption is the misuse of public power and image.Whether it is realized or not, no country is wholly free of the disease of corruption, and if it is allowed to develop and become significantly strong, it can obstruct the good processes of governing and deteriorate the fabric of society. It can become a barrier to continual development and make it so that essentially no room remains for justice to succeed. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the destructive force of corruption is clearly exemplified through the abundance of imagery concerning decay, death, disease, sickness, and infection as the play progresses. The first and foremost example of this corruptionis the murder of King Hamlet and the resulting incestuous marriage of Gertrude and Claudius, which forms the foundation for corruption becoming a regular happening in the state of Denmark.The disease of corruption in the play stems from Claudius and slowly spreads through Elsinore and eventually results in the collapse of Denmark, which is signified by the takeover of the castle and land by Fortinbras, the nemesis of Hamlet and the Norwegian Crown Prince.Through the characters of Polonius, Claudius, Ophelia, and Hamlet, the evolution and disease-like spreading of this corruption can be observed.
In Shakespeare's King Lear, the actions of King Lear and of his daughters bring ruin and chaos to England. Social structures crumble, foreign invaders threaten the land, and, in a distinctly non-Hollywood ending, almost everyone dies tragically. The outlook is very bleak, as many of the problems are left unresolved at the end of the play: There is no one in line to assume sovereignty, and justice and virtue have not been restored to their proper places in the country's structure. All of these problems are catalogued by Edmund early in the play:
Charles Hanly, author of “Lear and his Daughters”, defends Goneril and Regan by revealing how, “Goneril and Regan have been placed in a situation of severe humiliation by their father...in the knowledge that they must lose to his favourite Cordelia” and how their deceit could stem from “their own chilling realization that nothing they can do or say could win for them an equal place in their father’s heart” (Hanly 214). With this in mind, while it may not look as if Goneril and Regan were at their father’s mercy, they truly were. Having a sister who is chosen as the favourite over and over, with no chance of becoming the favourite themselves must have been crushing to each of them. This could be the reason behind why they gave up, and decided to follow along with their father’s wishes before turning the tables on him. As the indirect cause of his daughter’s becoming power hungry women, Lear is at some fault for their deaths at the end of the play. Had Lear given all of his daughters an even ground to walk on, then perhaps they would not have been so spiteful towards him and
Lear is an old retired king who certainly doesn’t deserve to treated in the manner his two ungrateful daughters have done so. Lear might have lacked personal insight in banishing his two most beloved people around him, and lacked self-control and discipline in controlling his temper, but there could be no reason to justify the immoral actions that Goneril and Regan had casted upon them. They dejected, abandonned, hurted and even wanted to kill their own father. To Lear, maybe the thing that hurts him the most is the fact that his two evil daughters are his own flesh and blood. Not only has he been stripped of love, pride and honour, he has also been driven crazy by them. Lear might not have been sinless, yet the faults casted upon him is far greater than what he had wronged.