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The theme of loyalty in king lear
King Lear Loyalty Essay
Analysis of loyalty and betrayal in king lear essay
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Devotion as a Theme in King Lear
The theme of loyalty is prevalent in Shakespeare’s King Lear. Many characters are often unreliable and will lie in order to receive their way. There were a select few who continued to be faithful, even if they were obligated to do so. Kent, Cordelia, and Edgar were the three people who remained honest either to their parent or master until the end. Their positions in life would cause those to assume that they only stay true to their superiors because of who they are. A king’s servant must remain by their master’s side, whilst children of them must listen and obey without question. Despite these social standards, these three characters were able to find true compassion for those above them. King Lear proves
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Kent, as a prominent character repeatedly proved his allegiance to King Lear. He was one of the only people in the play that stood by Lear’s side even when everyone else was opposed to him. When his power was diminishing day by day, Kent stood firmly by his master’s side. “It is entirely appropriate that it should be Kent who springs to Lear’s defense at this moment, for it is Kent, more than anyone else in the play, who is guided by a conception of Lear as someone who is inherently different from other men, someone who possesses an innate, indefeasible authority.” (Davis 60). Kent views Lear as more than a leader; he views him as an example of what is right with the world. Although their relationship is very one sided, it does not stop Kent from staying true to his master. He is able to listen to Lear and converse with him in a way that allows him to become a stronger individual. This does not always work well in Kent’s case, as his sharp tongue and honest voice ends up backfiring against him. In the play, we see King Lear banish Kent for giving his opinion on Cordelia's banishment, and how she did not deserve to be sent away. Instead of plotting against Lear like other characters would,
In his kingdom Lear was practically a god, but he was a god that knew nothing of morals, humanity, personal identity, or love. Lear forces his daughters into open displays of verbal affection for the sole purpose of flattery. Lear’s self-centered mindset is amplified in his speeches to Cordelia after she refuses to participate with hyperbolic love. In his rage Lear says, “he that makes his generation messes / To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom / Be as well neighbored, pitied, and relived / As thou my sometime daughter” (I.i.130-134). Lear feels closer to Satan than his own daughter since the cannibal that feeds on his children is Lear himself. Lear’s daughters are reduced to the status of food; they do not exist beyond the feeding of his ego. Lear continues with his tirade as he proclaims “I loved her most and thought to set my rest / On her kind nursery” (I.i.137-138). To Lear love is synonymous with being a caretaker. Lear does not understand love beyond utility. Before his tragic
In The Tragedy of King Lear, particularly in the first half of the play, Lear continually swears to the gods. He invokes them for mercies and begs them for destruction; he binds both his oaths and his curses with their names. The older characters—Lear and Gloucester—tend view their world as strictly within the moral framework of the pagan religion. As Lear expresses it, the central core of his religion lies in the idea of earthly justice. In II.4.14-15, Lear expresses his disbelief that Regan and Albany would have put the disguised Kent, his messenger, in stocks. He at first attempts to deny the rather obvious fact in front of him, objecting “No” twice before swearing it. By the time Lear invokes the king of the pagan gods, his refusal to believe has become willful and almost absurd. Kent replies, not without sarcasm, by affixing the name of the queen of the gods to a contradictory statement. The formula is turned into nonsense by its repetition. In contradicting Lear’s oath as well as the assertion with which it is coupled, Kent is subtly challenging Lear’s conception of the universe as controlled by just gods. He is also and perhaps more importantly, challenging Lear’s relationship with the gods. It is Kent who most lucidly and repeatedly opposes the ideas put forth by Lear; his actions as well as his statements undermine Lear’s hypotheses about divine order. Lear does not find his foil in youth but in middle age; not in the opposite excess of his own—Edmund’s calculation, say—but in Kent’s comparative moderation. Likewise the viable alternative to his relationship to divine justice is not shown by Edmund with his ...
"Love is whatever you can still betray. Betrayal can only happen if you love." (John LeCarre) In William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of King Lear, characters are betrayed by the closest people to them. The parents betray their children, mostly unintentionally. The children deceive their parents because of their greed and power hunger. Their parents were eventually forgiven, but the greedy children were not. Parents and their children betray one and other, and are only able to do so because they are family, however, the children betray for greed while the parents betray through the credulity caused by their children's greed.
When the audience is first introduced to Lear, he is portrayed as a raging, vain old man who can not see the purity of his daughter Cordelia's love for him from the insincerity of her sisters Goneril and Regan. In his fiery rage after disowning Cordelia, Lear commands to Kent, "Out of my sight!" (1.1.156). Kent fittingly implores the aging king to "See better, Lear; and let me still remain / The true blank of thine eye" (1.1.157-8). Kent recognizes love in its most noble form in the person of Cordelia, and is able to see through the hypocrisy of Lear's other two daughters. In beseeching Lear to "[s]ee better," Kent is, in effect, asking Lear to look beyond his vanity and inward pride to see the honesty of Cordelia, who refuses...
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.
William Shakespeare extensively explores central themes and issues in the play, King Lear. Shakespeare discusses fake and true filial love and the rarity of loyalty in King Lear. Shakespeare portrays the importance of fake and true filial love through Lear and his daughters. In King Lear, loyalty is portrayed through Kent 's service to King Lear. The central themes and issues are the focus of the play King Lear.
The Great Chain of Being is defined as the order within a country which implies that every person and object is designed to play a role in the chain. Challenging this established order is the ultimate act of betrayal. In Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear, betraying the order within the kingdom is mandatory for a character who is not possessed with power to obtain leverage. As a result, the cause of betrayal leads to a disruption within various relationships such as with an individual, as well as with society and with oneself. In King Lear, Goneril and Regan betray the natural order in response to their upbringing which in result affects the relationship between each other. King Lear’s descent from the chain, due to the acts of betrayal committed
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...
Shakespeare's King Lear is a play which shows the consequences of one man's decisions. The audience follows the main character, Lear, as he makes decisions that disrupt order in his Kingdom. When Lear surrenders all his power and land to his daughters as a reward for their demonstration of love towards him, the breakdown on order in evident. Lear's first mistake is to divide his Kingdom into three parts. A Kingdom is run best under one ruler as only one decision is made without contradiction. Another indication that order is disrupted is the separation of Lear's family. Lear's inability to control his anger causes him to banish his youngest daughter, Cordelia, and loyal servant, Kent. This foolish act causes Lear to become vulnerable to his other two daughters as they conspire against him. Lastly, the transfer of power from Lear to his eldest and middle daughter, Goneril and Regan, reveals disorder as a result of the division of the Kingdom. A Kingdom without order is a Kingdom in chaos. When order is disrupted in King Lear, the audience witnesses chaotic events that Lear endures, eventually learning who truly loves him.
After Kent delightfully brings the two together and Lear realizes who he is talking to, he begs for forgiveness: “Pray, do not mock me. / I am a very foolish fond old man, / Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less /....Do not laugh at me, / For as I am a man, I think this lady / To be my child Cordelia.“ (IV.vii.68-79). Lear has finally achieved self-awareness regarding his mistaken banishment of Cordelia, and proclaims to her in a surprising display of humility that he is just a “foolish fond old man.” Shocking the audience, Lear does not hold back his newfound sense of shame. He goes on: “Be your tears wet? Yes, faith. I pray, weep not. If you have poison for me, I will drink it. I know you do not love me, for your sisters Have, as I do remember, done me wrong. You have some cause; they have not.” (IV.vii.81-85). In another case of both humility and misjudgment, Lear believes that Cordelia no longer loves him due to his mistakes. Lear could not be more wrong because Cordelia 's love for her father is unconditional and still lives. Cordelia virtuously accepts his apology and assures him “No, sir, you must not kneel,” (IV.vii.67). Although the two do not live much longer, Lear intends to live out the rest of their lives being the best a father can
King Lear is a play about loyalty. "Goodness" is portrayed by the characters as selflessness. Each "good" character displays loyalty through selfless actions. Cordelia selflessly does not attempt to rob Lear of his wealth by flattering him. Even though she risks banishment, she selflessly refuses to indulge her father's foolish wishes. Edgar, too, is selfless in his actions by leading his father to safety even when he knows Gloucester does not recognize him and will not appreciate that he was, in fact, the truly loyal son. Finally, Kent, Lear's Selfless servant, risks his life to protect his king even after he has been mistreated.
Cordelia and Kent speak the truth which Lear does not want to hear. Their behaviour is foolish as they confront Lear, a mighty fortress of pride, in their willingness to be true and loyal to a father and to a king. Cordelia cannot heave her heart into her mouth and speaks plain, “I love your majesty according to my bond no more nor less”. In doing this she risks displeasing her father, furthermore she continues to displease him when she tries to make him realize his foolish behaviour. In the end she is willing to give her life for a father who has wronged her (when she returns to rescue him). Likewise Kent is also wronged when he confronts Lear with the true reality of things. In doing this he sacrifices his identity as Earl. Kent again risks his life when in disguise he returns to serve Lear again. In the end there are suggestions that he will follow Lear, his master, to the grave.
Shakespeare expresses two major themes in King Lear: love and wisdom. King Lear’s struggle to recognize authentic love, love himself, and acknowledge the wisdom imparted on him, due to his weak emotional state, results in needless conflicts and the deaths of many. In the first scene of King Lear, Lear reveals his plan to split his kingdom between his daughters by asking them how much they love him. The daughter that proves she loves him the most receives the largest portion of the kingdom (1.1.46-50). Kent intends to calm Lear down, yet Lear’s unstable emotions at the time lead to him thrashing out against Kent, even threatening him.
The reader discovers Kent's willingness to protect his King in the first scene. After Lear has had his daughter's display their love in a pubic competition Kent tries to persuade him that Cordelia "does not love him least" and that Lear should think about banishing her. Kent is trying to protect the King from his emotions and the decision that they have led him to. But Lear does not listen and instead banishes Kent from the Kingdom. His banishment is a result of another emotional outburst on the part of the King. If Lear were to look rationally at his actions and what his daughters have said he would realize his folly. Instead he is enraged by Kent and thinks that he is challenging his authority.
Throughout most of King Lear, Lear's vision is clouded by his lack of insight. Since he cannot see into other people's characters, he can never identify them for who they truly are. When Cordelia angers Lear, Kent tries to reason with Lear, who is too stubborn to remain open-minded. Lear responds to Kent's opposition with, "Out of my sight," to which Kent responds, "See better, Lear, and let me still remain" (I.i.160). Here, Lear is saying he never wants to see Kent again, but he could never truly see him for who he is. Kent was only trying to do what was best for Lear, but Lear could not see that. Kent's vision is not clouded, as is Lear's, and he knows that he can remain near Lear as long as he is in disguise. Later, Lear's vision is so superficial that the physical garments and simple disguise that Kent wears easily dupe him. Lear cannot see who Kent really is. He only learns of Kent's noble and honest character just prior to his death, when his vision is cleared. By this time, however, it is too late for an honest relationship to be salvaged.