Good And Evil Characters In Shakespeare's King Lear

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King Lear Thesis Paper

The world in King Lear is unjust, the ‘good’ characters suffer in order for the evil characters to prevail. It is the responsibility of the individual, not the gods, to create a just world through their own actions, even if they had previously acted with bad intentions. It could be argued that some people are inherently good or evil & can never truly change, but King Lear is initially portrayed as a ‘bad guy’, yet becomes a ‘good guy’. In King Lear, Shakespeare demonstrates through the character King Lear that every person has the capability to show compassion and establish loyalty, in other words, a person is capable of reassessing their outlook on life/ their morals and decisions, even if they might seem to have been …show more content…

Take physic, pomp. Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel, that thou mayst shake the superflux to them and show the heavens more just. “ (Act 3 Scene 4) Through this act and speech, it demonstrates the human capability to improve themselves as a person, especially after having previously acted …show more content…

Cordelia returns to his kingdom, despite being disowned and knowing ‘he didn’t love her’, to fight for him to attain his rightful power back as king. Even after losing, She wants to assure his health and well being by bringing a doctor and even forgives him for having disowned her for his own selfish reasons. She also stays in touch with those allied with King Lear to assure his well being, she even resents her sisters for being so cruel. “Mine enemy’s meanest dog, though he had bit me, should have stood that night against my fire.” (Act IV, scene

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