Traglear's Crucial Mistakes In King Lear

761 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Tragic flaw in King Lear

King Lear’s crucial mistakes “I disclaim all my paternal care, propinquity and property of blood and as a stranger to my heart And Me Hold thee from this forever” a quote said by King Lear. In this quote king Lear is telling his good daughter Cordelia that she is banished, and no longer has support from him. King Lear’s actions makes a huge effect on others especially, his daughter Cordelia. King Lear is very bossy and demanding. He has three daughters, and is trying to figure out whom to give his kingdom. King Lear wants people to flatter him and abide by his rules. His three daughters are Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. Cordelia is the good daughter, and Regan and Goneril are the treacherous ones. King Lear makes some very poor decisions, …show more content…

Lear banishes his Cordelia, because she refuses to speak about her love for her father. This is one of many of King Lear’s actions that effected another individual. King Lear fails to realize that Cordelia is the good daughter. The only thing Lear is worried about is which daughter loves him the most. Cordelia is the good daughter because even after her dad banished her, she still helped him out when Goneril and Regan was plotting his death. A person can love you but not like you, and when they don’t like you they try their very best to knock you down, which Goneril and Regan is trying to do to their father. Cordelia is a very delight person and needs some recognition; she doesn't need to be treated like …show more content…

The servants there are paying him no mind. When these unusual things start happening, the fool pops up at Goneril's castle and tells King Lear the mistakes he has made then King Lear then realizes that he was wrong and for he what he did. He gets ignored by Oswald and the king he very confused; he thought Goneril and Regan were good and loving. When Goneril enters she tells him to reduce the number of knight. In then King Lear packs up and leave. All of king Lear’s plans are being destroyed which leaves him in consternation. Sometimes in life you will always have people that will try and break you down to the fullest, but it is up to you to let them.
There will always be that one person that will be jealous. They try to top you in everything that you do. They can have natural hatred, you cannot do anything and they’ll still find a reason not to like you it’s just the way this world is set up. Act 1 scene 5 line 907 king Lear says “I will forget my nature. So kind a father! –be my horse’’ he saying inferring that he was a good father to Goneril and she shouldn’t of did that to him. The devil can come in any shape, size, or color always be aware of your surroundings. Reference page

"The Tragedy of King Lear." SparkNotes. SparkNotes. Web. 02 Mar. 2016. .
Shakespeare, William, and Jay L. Halio. The Tragedy of

Show More
Related

  • Essay Comparing King Lear And Frankenstein

    1827 Words  | 4 Pages

    With Cordelia declared as banished, Lear states, “With my two daughters’ dowers digest the third...Only we shall retain The name and all th’ addition to a king. The sway, revenue, execution of the rest, Beloved sons, be yours” (Shakespeare 17). Lear’s fault here is that he believes that he can divide up his kingdom to his daughters and still retain the title as king; he wants to retire his position and responsibilities as a king but still remain respected and treated as one. His flaw in wanting to be superior leads to his downfall, as he is so blinded by his greed that he decides to divide up his kingdom to his two daughters who are as hungry for power as he is. They only want to strip him of his position and respect to gain more influence. Lear, not realizing the impact of such an impulsive decision, descends into madness when his daughters force him out of his home. After being locked out of his only shelter by his daughters, he states, “Filial ingratitude!...In such a night To shut me out?...O Regan, Goneril, Your old kind father whose frank heart gave all! O that way madness lies. Let me shun that; No more of that” (Shakespeare 137). Lear becomes fully aware of the consequences of his actions. He realizes how ungrateful his daughters are and how they have treated him unfairly even though he has given them everything; much to his dismay, he is left with

    Read More

  • Essay on Blame in Shakespeare's King Lear

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    King Lear's hot temper and hasty decisions play a significant role in his fall from grace. His old age has caused him to behave impulsively, without any consideration for the consequences of his actions. When Lear asks his devoted daughter Cordelia to express her love for him, he becomes upset with her because she cannot put her feelings into words. He does not realize that she cares deeply for him and disowns her by saying, "Here I disclaim all my paternal care, propinquity and property of blood, and as a stranger to my heart and me hold thee from this for ever (1.1.120-123)." It is only later, when Cordelia has left him, that Lear realizes he had made a wrong decision. In another fit of rage, Lear ...

    Read More

  • Lear's Pride Creates his Madness

    1855 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... Lears blessing, and declared his daughter. Lear also realized that Kents speaking out was for Lear’s best and that he too was abused and banished. What stings Lear even more is that he is now completely dependent upon his two shameless daughters, Goneril and Regan. Plus that he must now beg them when he took care of them like a father when they were once children, to drive Lears further into madness he realizes that as king he was so ignorant and blind with power that he never took care of the homeless and let them suffer. All these realization and the fact that Lear is in his second childhood a tender stage drive him into the peak of madness.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's King Lear - Suffering of Cordelia in King Lear

    1509 Words  | 4 Pages

    The tragedy of Shakespeare’s King Lear is made far more tragic and painful by the presence and suffering of the king's youngest daughter, Cordelia. While our sympathy for the king is somewhat restrained by his brutal cruelty towards others, there is nothing to dampen our emotional response to Cordelia's suffering. Nothing, that is, at first glance. Harley Granville-Barker justifies her irreconcilable fate thus: "the tragic truth about life to the Shakespeare that wrote King Lear... includes its capricious cruelty. And what meeter sacrifice to this than Cordelia?"5 Yet in another passage Granville-Barker has come much closer to touching on the real explanation. I quote the passage at length.

    Read More

  • Analyzing Shakespeare´s Account of Human Nature in King Lear in Comparison With Other Authors

    1435 Words  | 3 Pages

    Let us begin by looking at the role of human nature in King Lear more closely. It is clear from the beginning of King Lear that Cordelia has an entirely good nature, she remains constant throughout the play, never wavering in her morals. The play begins with Lear deciding that he will have his daughters compete for their divisions of his kingdoms based on which of them can impress him the most with their proclamations of love. Cordelia, however, cannot express her love for her father in words, and refuses to deceive him by doing otherwise, stating that she is “sure [her] love's more richer than [her] tongue” (1.1.78-80). She realizes that by holding her tongue she is infuriating her father, but her nature cannot allow her to do otherwise. When King Lear asks her what she has to say, she states “Nothing, my lord” (1.1.86). A...

    Read More

  • What Are Our Duty To Our Father's Roles In King Lear

    971 Words  | 2 Pages

    King Lear had come so accustomed to his praise, that it is the sole thing he lived for, he needed it to survive, his treatment as a king was his Achilles heel in this play. He wanted to step down as king and divide his kingdom into 3 sections, giving them to his daughters to rule. Goneril and Regan were more than willing to accommodate his request to demonstrate their love for their father and king by professing their love to him in dramatic fashion combined with a good bit of exaggeration. While Cordelia on the other hand, found it a struggle to profess what she thought to be known by her father and king, she states, “Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave / My heart into my mouth. I love your majesty / According to my bond; nor more nor less (Scene 1.1, Lines 91-93).

    Read More

  • Disobedience in William Shakespeare's King Lear

    1686 Words  | 4 Pages

    Goneril and Regan commit many sins against their father, which in Jacobean times would have been seen as evil or against the natural order. Shakespeare portrays this theme with both outright and subtle actions throughout the play. It is only when Lear returns to himself that the audience sees how wrong his treatment was, with the return of Cordelia, who bears no grudge. Goneril and Regan, as it may be seen, were too spoilt by their father and the Fool's words to Lear summarize what has happened. "For you know, nuncle,

    Read More

  • The Significance of a Violent Climax in William Shakespeare's King Lear

    480 Words  | 1 Pages

    One purpose for such a violent scene is to define the villains of the story. The play opens with King Lear retiring and deciding to split his land between his three daughters Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. The size of the land plot each daughter will receive will be proportionate to their love for their father. The older two daughters Goneril and Regan eloquently announce their undying love for Lear, and are rewarded generously. The third daughter Cordelia, who truly does love her father, refuses to participate in such a display of flattery and lies. Cordelia announces, in front of all Lear's subjects, that she loves her father, "according to her bond, no more nor less." Insulted and hurt by Cordelia's harsh denouncement of love, Lear disowns her. And Lear's best friend of thirty years Kent defends Cordelia, Lear banishes Kent too. Having given away his land, Lear decides that he's going to take turns living with Goneril and Regan. To remind him of his kingship Lear kept a hundred knights. But when Lear shows up with his army at Goneril and Regan's houses, his "loving" daughters kick him out.

    Read More

  • King Lear - Disruption Of Order In King Lear And The Causes

    880 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Loyal Characters in Shakespeare's King Lear

    864 Words  | 2 Pages

    What makes Cordelia a good character here is not only that she refuses to flatter her father in order to deceive him out of his wealth, but also because she accepts her father's punishment and leaves willingly even though she knows it is not a just punishment. Additionally, she expresses no animosity toward Lear, instead she asks her sisters to care for him. This unwavering loyalty is also exhibited later in the play when Cordelia finds Lear and she realizes he is mad. She cares for him and gives him medicinal herbs until he is well again. Even when Lear begs for her forgiveness she insists that she has no cause to be offended.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare’s King Lear Philosophy

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning of the play the reader learns that Lear is ready to give up his kingdom and retire from a conversation that two noblemen, Gloucester and Kent, are having. He asks his three daughters; Cordelia, Goneril, and Regan to express their love for him to help him make his decision as to who would inherit his kingdom. Cordelia has always been his “favorite” daughter and when asked how much she loved her father she does not lie to him and tells him “I am sure my love’s more ponderous than my tongue” (1363). Rather than being grateful for such love and honesty, Lear banishes her to France and divides his kingdom to his two other daughters. Kent does not agree with Lear’s decision and Lear banishes him too.

    Read More

  • Tragic Mistake In King Lear

    1374 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Feminine Evil in William Shakespeare's Macbeth and King Lear

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    The plot of King Lear is set in motion by the conversation between Lear and his daughters. In return for their love and honour, he will give them land and power. The fact that they are daughters and not sons is significant because Lear demands their total love, trying to put them into a mother role: something he would not do if they were men. Goneril and Regan are neither noble nor truthful and they have no problem lying to their father for their own personal gain. While Regan claims "I am alone felicitate/ In your dear Highness' love." (I.i.75-76) and later treats her father in the most reprehensible manner, Cordelia denies Lear's unnatural request saying, "Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters/ To love my father all" (I.i.103-104). Her truthful refusal to proclaim total love for her father proves her to be the actual loving daughter but results in her banishment. From this first scene, the characters' alliances and allegiances are forged and all that follows is directly resultant.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis of King Lear

    598 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most readers conclude that Lear is simply blind to the truth. As a result, he grants his inheritance to Goneril and Regan because they flatter him with the words he wants to hear, at the same time, he banishes Cordelia, the only daughter who really loves him. also when his advisor, Kent, warns him that this is a poor idea, Lear throws him out, too. So Lear has to deal with the power struggle his retirement sparked without two of the people who could have smoothed the...

    Read More

  • The Role Of Women In Shakespeare's King Lear

    1536 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare 's King Lear is a story of a king who sets out to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, with only Goneril and Regan reaping in his fortune. The family unit becomes torn as conflicts between personalities emerge between King Lear and his three daughters, thus creating a tragic end for many. King Lear 's two eldest daughters, Goneril, and Regan defy the roles and rights of women of the eight-century, displaying behavioral traits that are less desirable. Whereas King Lear 's youngest beloved daughter, Cordelia, embodied the warmth and true spirit of women that one would up most expect during this time period, one who showed loyalty, respect, and honesty, but remained strong and noble (Phillis). William Shakespeare skillfully

    Read More

More about Traglear's Crucial Mistakes In King Lear

Open Document