FREE ESSAY ON KING LEAR

KING LEAR

Humility's Perspective
William Shakespeare's King Lear tells the account of the tragic downfall of two men, King
Lear and the Earl of Gloucester, from power. Their ordeal stems from their own inability
to judge the true intentions of their children. While the deceitful kin gain power and
authority, the true and honest are banished. In order for the King and the Earl to
realize their errors, they must first experience a great deal of pain and suffering.
When King Lear decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters to rid himself of
stress and obligations to allow himself to make an "Unburthened crawl toward death" in
peace, he figures his power can best be split by the flattering words of his girls (I,i,
43). " . . . Which of you shall we say doth love us most, that we our largest bounty my
extend . . ."(I,i, 53-54). This leaves the door wide open for the imposturous words of
his older daughters, Goneril and Regan, since his test cannot filter out mere flattery
from true love. Although his loyal servant, Kent, warns him of his folly, "see better,
Lear, and let me still remain the true blank of thine eye," he, like Cordelia, who
refuses to succumb to such a porous examination, is banished (I,i, 161-1).
Gloucester, likewise, makes such an error in judgment when his bastard son, Edmund, who
is envious of his father's love for his brother, frames Edgar. The Earl is at first
shocked and disheartened by the forged letter, wrongfully condemns Edgar without so much
as speaking a word to him. All the while, Edmund professes his love and honesty to his
father. However, when Gloucester exits, so does Edmund's sweet-talk, for his immediate
remarks thereafter ridicule him (I,ii, 128-144). Gloucester, as well as Lear, will not
become aware of his deception until the power has shifted to the "unnatural" kin.
Lear, having enjoyed a life of power and authority, must now experience humility and
madness in order to understand not only which daughter truly loved him most, but also to
understand himself. "Here I stand . . . a poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man"
(III,ii, 19-20). Through humility and madness, alike, Lear learns compassion, revealing
itself in him when the once mighty king tends to the well-being of his fool (III,ii,
68-73). In his insanity, he strips bare so as to unburden himself of his clothes: "Off,
off, you lendings!" Lear remarks in order to owe " . . . the worm no silk, beast no hide,
the sheep no wool, the cat no perfume!" (III,iv, 106-111). It is in the king's naked
folly that he begins to genuinely gain wisdom.
Gloucester's path to awareness, however, is quite different. While Lear's flaw came from
an excess of pride, Gloucester's comes from his inability to see. In one of the more
noticeable ironies in the play, the Earl pays for his enlightenment with physical
blindness. Upon losing his sight, Gloucester calls for what he thinks is his faithful
son, to which Regan replies, "out treacherous villain, thou call'st on him that hates
thee" 
(III, vii, 88). Finally, Edmund's imposture has been exposed to Gloucester and his
mistake was realized. 
Gloucester meets his tragic ending when Edgar reveals himself to his father. Whereupon,
being lifted so suddenly and sharply out a deep depression by the news that his true son
still loves him, caused his heart to burst. "But his flawed heart-Alack, too weak the
conflict support-'Twix't tow extremes of passion, joy and grief, burst smilingly" (V,iii,
198-201).
Like his friend's heart, Lear's also cannot bare the extreme emotion, however, his being
of sorrow, upon finding his loving daughter hung from his foolishness. His honest
servant, Kent, understanding he has had his share of pain in life, remarks: "Break,
heart; I prithee, break" (V,iii, 313).
Throughout much of his life, King Lear had a life of privilege and flattery, believing,
therefore, himself to be wise and loved. Not until he took the perspective of humility,
though, did he properly gage the position he once held: "Plate sin with gold, and the
strong lance of justice hurtles breaks; Arm it in rags, a pygmy's straw does pierce it"
(IV, vi, 167-9).
-The Tower of Power