King Lear Analysis

The acquisition of knowledge is often a painful experience and through suffering, one can achieve various degrees of wisdom. One of the main components of knowledge acquisition is the assumption that people are born without knowledge, and that knowledge is gained during a person’s lifetime through a series of events and experiences. The protagonists of the two novels, 'King Lear' by William Shakespeare and 'Tuesdays with Morrie' by Mitch Albom, both had to go through life changing experiences in order to gain the acquisition of knowledge. Lear’s views on death, love and life were mostly negative while Morrie’s were positive. The following essay will compare how both characters acquire knowledge in their life.

Lear and Morrie share different views on death. Lear did not believe in preparing for death or saying goodbye to his loved ones; he believed he would die as a king, even after dividing all of his wealth. This is shown when he says " With reservation of an hundred knights/ By you to be sustained, shall our abode /Make with you by due turns. Only shall we retain/The name, and all th' additions to a king.” (I i 136-139). Lear decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters in order to avoid any conflict after his death and to be unburdened during his last years. This is shown when Lear says, “Give me the map there / Know that we have divided/ In three our kingdom: and tis' our fast intent / To shake all cares and business from our age, / Conferring them on younger strengths, while we / Unburden'd crawl towards death/ Our son of Cornwall/And you, our no less loving son of Albany/We have this hour a constant will to publish” (I i 35-42). Morrie on the other hand, accepted death with open arms. He believed that as soon as ...

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...devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning." (p. 43) Morrie created his own culture and centered it on love and compassion. He believed that human society would suffer if it was ruled by popular culture. Morrie lived his life with no regrets and filled every moment with purpose.

The above paragraphs have shown how both Lear and Morrie gained the acquisition of knowledge through painful life experiences. Lear gained insight and knowledge after he was betrayed by two of his daughters. Lear learned the importance of love and family through this experience. Morrie was deprived of love as a child but quickly learned of its importance as he grew up. In conclusion, both Lear and Morrie's life experiences have proven that the acquisition of knowledge is often a painful experience and through suffering one can achieve various degrees of wisdom.