The Universal Truths of King Lear Essay examples -- King Lear essays

The Universal Truths of ability Lear Edgar O, matter and impertinency mixed, Reason in madness (4.6.192-93) Reason in madness, trueness in suffering, and sight in blindness all contain the same basic meaning. In order to find and recognize our real selves and the truth, we must suffer. These confused themes are continually illustrated throughout Shakespeares King Lear. Their effects are not solely felt by Lear and Gloucester. All sincerely good characters in the embolden must, in some way, suffer before they can gain wisdom and truth. Some characters are made to suffer more, some less. The truths and wisdom gained are what convey the drama its substance. These truths are universal. The good characters represent everyone with their as they gain knowledge from suffering. Lear, is the character most obviously made to suffer. In the beginning of the drama, Lear is unable to examine the good in his daughter Cordelia. He is so egotistical that when Cordelia explains her love for him is that of a daughter for her father, he becomes enraged. He desires to hear she loves him more than she could love anyone, ever. Cordelia uncorrupted my lord, You have begot me, bred me, loved me. I return those duties back as are right fit Obey you, love you, and most honor you........ That lord whose dig must take my plight shall carry Half my love with him, half my care and duty. Sure I shall never marry like my sisters, To love my father all. (1.1.105-15) Cordelias plight is only one of the many truths Lear is unable to see. Since he is king, h... ...so must the characters go through some type of suffering to appreciate the goodness, truth, and wisdom. Works Cited and Consulted Bradley, A.C. King Lear. 20Lh Century Interpretations of King Lear. Ed. Jane Adelman. New Jersev Prentice-Hall, 1978. Colie, Rosalie. Some Faces of King Lear. Ed. R. Colie & F.T. Flahiff. UniversitV of Toronto Press, 1994. Curry, Walter. Shakespeare s Philosophical Pa tterns. London Mass Peter Smith, 1968. Hunter, Robert G. Criticism on Shakespeare s Tragedies.. University of Georgia Press, 1996. Matthews, Richard. Edmunds redemption in King Lear. Shakespeare Quarterly. Winter, 19q5. pps. 25-29. Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Canada Inc. Toronto. 1990. Snyder, Susan. King Lear and the Prodigal Son. Shakespeare Quarterly. Autumn 1966. pps. 361-369.