A detailed commentary on Act 3, Scene 4 of 'King Lear'.

When we read ‘King Lear’ for the first time we are presented, on the whole, with a pessimistic view of men and society. In other parts of the play Regan, Gonerill and Edmund define treachery, whereas the character of Kent creates a stark contrast, showing us a strong sense of loyalty by following and supporting Lear throughout his torment. Remembering that Kent was betrayed by Lear in the first scene of the play, this emphasises the goodness of Kent’s character. At the beginning of the extract Lear asks ‘Wilt break my heart?’ In response to this Kent declares ‘I had rather break mine own’. This is just one of many examples in the play where Kent is willing to take Lear’s suffering upon himself. Every time Kent enters we get a feeling of relief because he is there to fight evil, a personification of the rare goodness of mankind. Kent also shows his loyalty and steadfastness for his King in the way in which he tries to shelter him from the storm. When Kent says that ‘The tyranny of the open night’s too rough for nature to endure’, he is really trying to make Lear think it is the storm that is to blame for his discomfort, although Kent is fully aware of the t

. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
Shakespeare Lears, King Lear, Lear Wilt, Gonerill Edmund, Remembering Kent, , father frank, king lear, frank heart, father frank heart, beginning extract,
Approximate Word count = 806
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)