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King King Lear King Lear King Lear is the tale of a vain, prideful, and foolish old man who is blinded by his rage and too stubborn to mend his ways. The self of Lear is overwhelmed by the authority of the King, in the grip of the most primitive of emotions, a human being dying inside a model. By the time of Lears redemption, however, from this honorable self, what is mortal in him has been lost to any role that might be accommodated in the structured world of man. Lear is a fool and it is not Lears tragedy but his fate because he was nothing more than a fool. As King Lear opens, Lear presents his three daughters with a planned meeting that allows them to make a public announcement of their love for him.
He is delighted when Goneril says hers is Dearer than eyesight, space and liberty (1. 1. 56). He is also pleased with Regan's praises. Lear foolishly believes that Goneril and Regan love and respect him the way they say they do; he is oblivious to the fact that his daughters, or anyone for that matter, may lie for their own benefit. Because he believes his eldest daughters insincere adulation, Lears trial proves him a fool. In addition, Lear senselessly concludes that Cordelia is a disrespectful daughter and not worthy of her share of the kingdom. He is displeased when she states simply that she loves her father as a daughter should, no more and no less: I love your majesty/According to my bond, no more nor less (1. 1. 92 - 93).
Angry and humiliated at her lack of honor, Lear immediately exiles Cordelia from the country. Through banishment, Lear intends to reduce her to nothing, this being the payment that she had earned by not pleasing him wiht her answer. He then orders her to marry the King of France and finally divides the kingdom between his two eldest daughters and their husbands. Furthermore, Lears foolishness is again evident when both Goneril and Regan later shun him. As he ventures into the nights storm, he tells the Fool, O fool, I shall go mad (2. 2. 475). He later remarks, My wits begin to turn (3. 2. 68).
Here, Lear begins his downward spiral toward madness. But in his madness, he discovers the essence of humanity; he descends from his majestic position to a ranking of lower class. He declares, When we are born we cry that we are come/To this great stage of fools (4. 6. 182 - 83). The Fool accurately comments, this cold night will turn us all to fools and mad / men (3. 4. 79 - 80).
Ironically, the Fool and the king begin to swap positions. Up until this point, the Fool has granted Lear helpful understanding of his decisions; this establishes the question of which of the two is now the real fool. Lear asks, Dost thou call me a fool, boy? The Fool replies, All thy other titles thou hast given away; that thou/ wast born with (1. 4. 145 - 147). The king has been openly told by the fool that he has diminished to the level of the Fool. Moreover, when Lear is reunited with Cordelia at the end of the play, it is not as the petty unjust king who has banished her but as a fool who has himself been banished by such a king.
Lear is fooled a final time by Cordelia's death. As Lear falls to his death, he has a glimmer of hope. He asks, Do you see this? Look on her: look, her lips, /Look there, look there (5. 3. 317 - 318). Rather than part in misery, Lear journeys to his final rest content for he is fooled into thinking Cordelia still lives.
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Research essay sample on Goneril And Regan Eldest Daughters
