How Far Do You Agree That “the Play of King Lear Presents Us

How far do you agree that The play of might Lear presents us with a bleak and cruel world and offers us no comfort at the end Much of Shakespe ars King Lear follows themes such as betrayal on the part of the antagonists and the protagonists blindness of the events which have befallen them. For example in a rage with Kent Lear exclaims Out of my sight with Kents retort simply being See better Lear this motif of a characters blindness continues throughout the play.Some of the characters brush aside be seen to be prolifically cruel throughout the play and while many of the these characters die by the end of the play their actions tacit have ramifications. Gonerill and Regan for example strip their father of his self awareness and leave him to scrabble for his sanity on an unwelcoming and bleak heath. Lear is not exempt from blame for his deal but the disastrous and tragic consequences seem to out balance the flaws in his fragile mind.This is a tragedy however so Lears downfall as the result his hamartia was packed for the katharsis of the Jacobean audiences to be achieved. The play has a sinister atmosphere but Shakespeare may have tried to take moments of comfort either for the tension of the drama or to give the audience a sense of hope. In Act 1 of King Lear Shakespeare seems to foreshadow the rouge themes of the play which often have sorrowful consequences for many of the characters.For example when Lear decides that he will test his daughters flattery in ex transmute for their appropriate of the kingdom, Which of you shall we say doth delight us closely, that we our largest bounty may extend the contest seems to be an empty gesture as Gloucester and Kent had already discussed that both dukes could already expect an equal share of England for qualities are so weighed that curiosity in neither can make choice of eithers moiety.The kings empty talking to are soon mirrored by his childrens as Gonerill remarks that Sir, i love you more that word can w ield the matter and A love that makes breath poor, and speech unable her hyperbole contradicts her when she goes on to explain further. Regan too expresses her true feelings poorly by simply agreeing with her sister I am do of that self-mettle as my sister this sounds as if it were just a shallow echo of Gonerill without out conviction of love Lear expected.However Lear does not recognise this as the audience great power and so when Cordelia decides that she must Love, and be silent and says zippo my lord Lear indicates his own future Nothing will come of nothing Because of Gonerills lack of seniority her expressions of love are devalued and mean nothing so that when Cordelia characterises her feelings towards Lear as loving him According to my bond, no more nor less she reestablishes the verbal integrity. To a Jacobean audience the theme of nothing may be more prevalent just from Lears initial speech Know, that we have divided in common chord our kingdom To a christian audienc e this may have emulated Matthew 12. 25 Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. Yet even when in the most dire circumstances compassion is sharpenn by various characters. After he is thrown into a storm and in his words Lears wits beget to turn he comfort shows leniency for the fool when he asks Come on, my boy how dost, my boy? art cold? This is either one of few examples of Lears selflessness or his attempt to cling to his only symbol of reality. The injustice of many of the characters are obvious throughout the play.But there are some signs of pity and compassion and of loyalty too. This is usually due to a possible feelings of obligation to family or superiority which contrastingly in other examples become treachery. For example Gloucesters ultimate punishment for his trust in Edmond is that Cornwall puts out the Earls eyes. A servant protests at the brutality of Gloucesters treatment But better advantage have I never done you Along with Cordelia a nd Kent the servant pays the ultimate price for this and is killed.The Kings fool is mourned at the end of the play by Lear because of his selfless attitude towards helping Lears understanding So out went the candle, and we were left darkling. When Gonerill begins to undermine Lears sanity the fools says this to relay it to Lear. The loyalty of both the Fool and Kent to Lear can be seen as a comforting thought, suggesting that the king who had lost everything still maintained allies. The Fool used seemingly frivolous songs to give and guide Lear however unsuccessfully into a better situation.Kent too remained loyal, even after Lear had banished Kent he felt a need to serve his master faithfully. alas in the final act Lear states that my poor fool is hanged and after Lears death Kent says My master calls me i must not say no suggesting he must follow Lear into death. In this instance the folly of humans are overrun by the divine goodness of nature. However the play may as well sen d another spiritual point, a more nihilistic one if in fact there is such a thing of gods then they are not sympathetic to the tribulations of human society and are as cruel to them as any animal.This is perhaps inconceivable to Lear as he scorns Gonerill and Regans way as unnatural and uses animal image and similes to describe them, her tongue is said to be serpent like and whose gratitude is sharper than a serpents tooth. both may be biblical references to the greed and wickedness of mankind. Edgar too describes himself as a dog in madness and wolf in greedines here we chouse that unlike Lear Edgar is not mad and so his word may be taken as a small parable of mankinds fragility.At realising his dickens eldest daughters are betraying him Lear calls to the heavens to take his side and strike them with a storm O heavens If you do love old men, if your sweet sway, show obedience, if you yourselves are old, make it you cause. Send down, and take my part The cruel dramatic irony b eing that it will be Lear who suffers a terrible storm on the heath and in his mind. As well as this the audience may see that Lears language hasnt changed from the beginning of the play when he still held a position of power.Lears first words of the play is a command Attend the lords of France and Burgundy Gloucester This imperative sentence shows his authority which even when Gonerill and Regan reduce his only fantasy of his kingship, his army to nothing he still clings to like a child, Send down and take my part . This may be the root of Lears downfall. At the time of King Lears first performance, England was in political and economic turmoil Elizabeth Is still recent death and the Gunpowder temporary hookup scared Shakespeares time in history. King Lear then may be a partly a criticism of an inherently unfair society.To an Elizabethan audience Edmonds self interest to not stand in the plague of custom and not uphold his loyalty to the king and his father was of a growing tren d. At the time then Edmond may not have been seen as a villain but perhaps a free thought process individual who was prepared to do whatever it took to be successful. The apparent lack of justice in King Lear is shown by King Lear himself I am a man, more sinned against than sinning Lear often reaches for some wider reason for his misfortunes but perhaps finds little comfort in the end when he realises his mistakes too late to change the plays resolution.This aspect of the story follows the theories of tragedy from Aristotle and so Lear can be said to be a tragic hero. However if King Lear can be seen as a spiritual play then Lears ending is one of redemption and since both Gonerill and Regan die the kingdom can once again rise from the ashes. Cordelia too serves this metaphor embodying Christs noble crusade against evil with a french army and dying a martyr for her father but not without speaking with him and so restoring Lears jagged mind even if only partially.King Lear depicts the cruelty of humankind and the breakdown of a mans mind, the social and family ties around him and his kingdom. The token examples of compassion, shown to the audience to some extent only amplify the Shakespeares darker purpose of a savage exhalation of morals. What little justice thats offered at the end, Edgar prevailing over his brother for example can not compensate for the punishment that Lear and the other characters endure. The very notion of nothing is so significant by the end of the play the most of the characters are literally reduced to nothing.