King Lear - character
Who is King Lear?
Lear is a king of ancient Britain who plans to retire in his old age
In a moment of anger he exiles his loving daughter Cordelia and his loyal adviser Kent and puts the kingdom into the hands of his two evil daughters
Humiliated by Goneril and Regan, he suffers a mental breakdown, but through his 'madness' he begins to see life more clearly
An irresponsible character
Lear is a complex tragic hero, who excites a variety of responses. Watching his disastrous actions of Act 1 scene 1, it is hard not to feel that Lear deserves punishment for his folly. Quick to abusive anger and too arrogant to take advice, Lear is blind and irresponsible as a father and ruler.
His 'darker purpose', to divide the kingdom into three, would have alarmed the Jacobean audience, who remember how the question of the succession had loomed large during the reign of Elizabeth 1
Lear attempts to separate power from responsibility. He is preoccupied with appearances. If he can retain the trappings of majesty without the 'cares and business' of ruling, he is content.
It is also possible to see his desire to rely on Cordelia's 'kind nursery' as selfish. He intends on marrying her off in Act 1 scene 1 but expects to be nursed while he crawls 'unburdened' towards death.
At the start of the play, Lear is both tyrannical patriarch and demanding child
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A character who inspires some sympathy
Yet we do sympathise with this egotistical autocrat. In Act 2. Lear's better qualities are revealed
His hiring of Kent is a sign that Lear inspires loyalty, and his interaction with the Fool shows a more tolerant side to his nature
It also becomes clear that Lear is trying to remain calm even when he feels he is being wronged. In the next scene Lear recognises that he has behaved foolishly and treated Cordelia unkindly. As his insight and troubles grow, so does our concern
We begin to share his outrage as Goneril and Regan become more repugnant. There is desperation as well as egotism in his confrontation with his 'dog-hearted' daughters in Act 2 scene 4
Gradually Lear's rages become signs of impotence, not authority. by the time he rushes out into the storm, our sympathies are likely to lie - and remain - with the beleaguered king
A LEARNING PROCESS?
Many critics see Lear's breakdown as a learning process. Lear needs to suffer to improve his understanding of himself and the society in which he lives
He considers a number of topics he had previously paid little attention to: the wretched condition of the poor, the corrupt justice system, true necessity.
He learns to distinguish between appearances and reality and considers the sufferings of those close to him. Lear also becomes much more self-critical. He emerges from his torment a more humble, loving and appealing character
However, other commentators suggest that Lear remains self obsessed and vengeful. His reflections on the heath are punctuated by thoughts of punishing Goneril and Regan. He struggles to accept responsibility for his elder daughters' cruel natures and never fully acknowledges the folly of his earlier actions
AO3 - Today, more people are living into old age than ever before. Because of this, it seems likely that a modern audience will be particularly fascinated by Lear's struggle to make sense of his life in his declining years and by apparent symptoms of dementia with which he seems to struggle with in the process
Creates sympathy
Reconciliation
Shakespeare doesn't allow us to remain too critical of Lear. We see the king in his best light in his reconciliation with Cordelia. Ashamed of his former unkindness, he humbles himself before his youngest daughter
By the end of the play he seems almost to move beyond himself. He has certainly accepted his powerless, diminished status and now sees himself primarily as Cordelia's father
His language reflects his progress. Gone is the royal 'we'. Now Lear uses first person when he speaks of himself and his feelings. Cordelia is reclaimed lovingly as 'my Cordelia'. In Act 5 Lear clings to his 'best object' protectively.
He revenges her death by killing the 'slave' responsible for hanging her
In all of his speeches in Act 5 scene 3, the dying king focuses on Cordelia and the overwhelming grief he feels at her passing. Lear's love for and defence of Cordelia go a long way to redeeming him from charges of egotism. He has clearly learned the value of true emotion. His recognition of the injustice of Cordelia's death suggests that his judgement has been restored. But wisdom comes too late. Watching the final bleak moments of the play, it is easy to feel that Lear's sufferings have been in vain
Key quotation
Exposed to the storm in Act 3, Lear's feelings of abandonment and vulnerability lead him to sympathise with the poor and outcast, and to feel anger at powerful people who exploit others. At first he tries to exempt himself claiming:
'I AM A MAN MORE SINNED AGAINST THAN SINNING'
But as his mind struggles to come to terms with his loss of privilege and the insights that his new situation gives him, he is forced to admit that as a ruler he has failed in his responsibility to the most vulnerable. While Lear's suffering may be terrible, we see here that it also has some benefit in breaking down his self-centred view of life so that he is able to start to feel humility and compassion
The writer Charles Lamb believed the part of King Lear could not be brought fully to life in the theatre, complaining in 1811 that 'an old man tottering about the stage with a walking stick' was inadequate to the great and complex vision that Shakespeare's words created
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