King Lear, The Effect Of Suffering On Lear And Glouester

A detailed Summary of King Lear, The Effect Of Suffering On Lear And Glouester

Shakespeare's play "King Lear" is of a man's journey, from egotistical to spiritual, from folly to truth, from fear to love, from power over to power within. It is a vast journey, of a man's transformation. Suffering is one of the heavy themes in this play. Two of the major characters go through this process, Lear and Gloucester. For both characters suffering was a painful process. It was a time of confusion and loss of direction. It was a time of chaos.

At the beginning Lear is projected as an old but honorable man. He is strong in his authority and he is a man of order. But soon it is demonstrated that underneath Lear's robes he is insecure. Seeking flattery from his daughters in an artificial manner

Since now we will divest us both of rule,

Interest of territory, cares of state

Which of you shall we say doth love us most"

Lear believes that who he is, is his possessions, his clothing, his land, and most importantly he believes who he is his power. All this is personified in his use of the word "we". Beyond all this Lear uses his material power somehow a

Gloucester, being part of the subplot, is a mirror of Lear, yet his suffering derives more from his general gullibility. Like Lear, Gloucester fails to see things the way they really are and makes strong decisions from this point of view. Gloucester is blind in a figurative sense he fails to see Edmund's trickery and like Lear turns against his truly honest and loving son Edgar.

This is significant as Lear attempts to rip off his clothing. This is Lear's realisation that in fact he is not his possessions, his clothing, and his power. He sees that by nature, in truth, man is not these materialisms. He begins to see things differently; he sees how he has neglected the poor. Sees how he has mistaken appearance for reality. Lear's suffering brings him down to nature down to the truth and ultimately it releases him from his illusional reality.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Lear Gloucester, Edgar Gloucester, King Lear, Beyond Lear, Cordelia Setting, , lear suffering, king lear, lear gloucester, nature truth, possessions clothing, realm suffering,

Approximate Word count = 744
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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