Analyzing King Lear's Tragic Flaws
King Lear is a play about a tragic hero, by the name of King Lear, whose flaws get the best of him. A tragic hero must posess three qualities. The first is they must have power, in other words, a leader. King Lear has the highest rank of any leader. He is a king. The next quality is they must have a tragic flaw, and King Lear has several of those. Finally, they must experience a downfall. Lear's realization of his mistakes is more than a downfall. It is a tragedy. Lear is a tragic hero because he has those three qualities. His flaws are his arrogance, his ignorance, and his misjudgments, each contributing to the other. 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 t
Reserve thy state,/And in thy best consideration check/This hideous rashness. Answer my life/My judgement,/The youngest daughter does not love thee least"(1.1.167-71). In conclusion, King Lear's flaws contribute to one another. First, King Lear allows his arrogance to prevent him from seeing the true faces of his children. He also allows his pride to banish Cordelia and Kent while dividing his kingdom to the wrongful daughters. Secondly, King Lear's arrogance causes him to make ignorant decisions like the ones stated previously. Finally, both arrogance and ignorance pay tribute to his poor judgements. At the end of the play, King Lear stares his tragedy face to face. Soon after his startling mistakes, he dies. To sum it up, King Lear's flaws, arrogance, ignorance, and misjudgments, leads to his destruction in this Shakespearean tragedy. King Lear's other flaw is his ignorance, which is seen through his carelessness and foolishness. King Lear is a story of the consequences caused by the foolish decisions of the main character. His other flaw, arrogance, contributes to his ignorance. He is carelessness in making decisions causes him to make ignorant choices. The king believes only what appeals to him and nothing less. When his daughter tells him how she feels, he quickly begins to make choices that are full of mistakes. Ke
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Approximate Word count = 906
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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