Theme Of Suffering In King Lear

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“The worst is not / So long as we can say, “This is the worst.” (Shakespeare 4.1.28-29)" William Shakespeare’s famed play King Lear is set in 17th century England. This play follows the lives of Lear, the King of England, and the Earl of Gloucester. King Lear is faced with the task to divide his land between his daughters, while Gloucester, a friend of King Lear, is caught in a conflict between his two sons. In the Play King Lear, Despite the main characters’ continuous suffering they fail to gain much in return resulting in a true Shakespearean tragedy.
Some characters suffer more and some less, but King Lear arguably suffers the most out of any character throughout the course of the play. Lear suffers both morally and physically, brought …show more content…

The most consolation that any character receives is wisdom and truth, highlighting the theme that truth and wisdom can be gained only through suffering. For example, when Lear is kicked out into the harsh storm, it allows him to realize that Cordelia actually loves him and that Goneril and Regan do not. Lear is able to realize that all people suffer and that he should have done more for the poor as he now has insight into their lives. Similarly, Gloucester 's blindness allows him to see that Edgar is good and that Edmund has been lying to him. Though these characters gain wisdom it does not stop them from future suffering. All the suffering that occurs in the play revolves around love or a lack of. By the end of the play everyone pretty much dies except Edgar, Albany and Kent. The ending is somewhat unclear, the kingdom needs a ruler but no one wants to step up. No one is spared in the end from the tragic events creating a lack of hope. Especially when Cordelia dies, the main honesty and goodness in the play dies with her. "Howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones! / Had I your tongues and eyes, I 'd use them so / That heaven 's vault should crack. She 's gone forever. (Shakespeare 5.3.308-310)” All of this possibly leads into the idea that in this play human life and suffering are meaningless. Everyone dies and there is little

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