King Lear: Lear The Tragic Hero Essay, Research Paper

King Lear: Lear The Tragic Hero

The definition of calamity in the Oxford lexicon is, & # 8220 ; play of

elevated subject and enunciation and with unhappy stoping ; sad event, serious accident,

calamity. & # 8221 ; However, the application of this nomenclature in Shakespearian

Calamity is more expressive. Calamity does non merely intend decease or catastrophe, but

in fact, it refers to a series of stairss which leads to the ruin of the

tragic hero and finally to his tragic decease. Lear, the chief character in

King Lear was affirmed as the tragic hero because the drama meets all the

demands of a calamity. In order for a character to be qualified as a tragic

hero, he must be in a high position on the societal concatenation and the hero besides

possesses a tragic defect which initiates the calamity. The autumn of the hero is

non felt by him entirely but creates a concatenation reaction which affects everyone

around him. Besides, the hero must see agony and catastrophe easy

which would contrast his happier times. The agony and catastrophe

outright caused pandemonium in his life and finally leads to his decease.

Finally, the sense of fright and commiseration to the tragic hero must look in the drama

every bit good. This makes work forces scared of sightlessness to truths which prevents them from

cognizing when luck or something else would go on on them.

Lear, the male monarch of England would be the tragic hero because he held the

highest place in the societal concatenation at the really beginning of the drama. His

societal place gave him pride as he remarked himself as & # 8220 ; Jupiter & # 8221 ; and & # 8220 ; Apollo & # 8221 ; .

Lear out of pride and choler has banished Cordelia and Kent and divided his

Kingdom in halves to Goneril and Regan. Lear & # 8217 ; s tragic flaw which is his

stubborn pride and choler overrides his judgement, therefore, prevents him to see the

true faces of people. As in Act One, although Cordelia said & # 8220 ; nil & # 8221 ; , she

truly means everything she loves to his male parent. However, Lear merely believed

in the beautiful words said by Regan and Goneril. Although Kent, his loyal

adviser begged Lear to see closer to the true faces of his girls, he ignored

him and became even more angry because Kent hurt Lear & # 8217 ; s pride by disobeying his

order to remain out of his and Cordelia & # 8217 ; s manner Lear had already warned him, & # 8220 ; The

bow is dead set and drawn, make from the shaft. & # 8221 ; ( I, I, 145 ) . Kent still

disobeys Lear and hurts his pride farther as he said, & # 8220 ; Now by Apollo, King,

Tho swearest thy Gods in vain. & # 8221 ; . Finally, Kent is banished. Because of the

defect of pride, Lear has initiated the calamity by unhinging the order in the

concatenation of being as he gives up his thrown, divides the land and banishes his

stalwart retainer and loveliest girl.

The ruin of Lear is non merely the agony of him entirely but the

agony of everyone down the concatenation of being. For case, Lear & # 8217 ; s pride and

choler caused Cordelia and Kent to be banished, and Gloucester loses his

place and eyes. Everything that happened to these characters are in a concatenation

of reaction and affected by Lear & # 8217 ; s tragic defect. If Lear did non deficiency of

personal penetration and if he did non hold such an stubborn pride, he would non

hold banished Cordelia and Kent, so Goneril and Regan would non be able to

conspire against Lear. Without the secret plan of Goneril and Regan, Gloucester would

non hold been betrayed by Edmund and lose his eyes and position due to the charge

of lese majesty. Furthermore, the concatenation of reaction was uninterrupted until the lowest

individual in the society is affected ; the sap, which is the entertainer, was

kicked out into the storm with Lear by Goneril because he was smart plenty to

state the truth of Lear & # 8217 ; s sightlessness.

& # 8221 ; Why, after I have cut the egg I & # 8217 ; the center and eat

up the meat, the two Crowns of the egg. When 1000

clovest thy Crown I & # 8217 ; the center and gavest off both parts,

1000 borest thine buttocks on thy back o & # 8217 ; er the soil. Thou hadst

small humor in thy bals crown when 1000 gavest thy aureate 1

away. & # 8221 ; ( Fool, I, iv, 155-160 )

Because Goneril realized the humor of the sap who could see through the nature

clearly, she kicked him out together with Lear. & # 8221 ; You sir, more rogues than

sap, after your maestro! & # 8221 ; ( I, iv, 312 )

Lear & # 8217 ; s exceeding agony and catastrophe after his realisation of his

true character shows the quality of a tragic hero. Due to his defect, he gave

the two girls a opportunity to cabal against him and he was eventually thrown

out of his girls place and left with a sap, a retainer and a mendicant. When

Lear was left entirely in the storm, he started to lose his saneness and recognize his

mistake to ostracize Cordelia and Kent. Before the thrown out of Regan & # 8217 ; s place,

Lear suffered for shelter nutrient and apparels as

he said, “On my articulatio genuss I beg that

you & # 8217 ; ll vouchsafe me array, bed, and food. & # 8221 ; ( II, four, 155 ) In the storm, he

suffered from his turning lunacy because he could non bear the intervention of

his two girls. He began to recognize the true faces of his girls and did

non desire to see them once more, as he said,

& # 8220 ; I prithee, girl, do non do me huffy.

I will non problem thee, my kid ; farewell.

Well no more meet, no more see one another.. & # 8221 ;

( II, four, 218-220 )

Further more, as Lear moved all over the topographic point to Dover, he suffered from remainder

as Kent and Gloucester said,

& # 8220 ; Now, good my Godhead, prevarication here and rest awhile. & # 8221 ;

( Kent, III, six, 81 )

& # 8221 ;

Trouble him non, his marbless are gone. & # 8221 ;

( Kent, III, six, 86 )

& # 8220 ; Good Friend. I prithee take him in thy weaponries

I have o & # 8217 ; er heard a secret plan of decease upon him, There

is a small ready ; lay him in it and drive

toward Dover, friend, where 1000 shalt med

both welcome and protection. & # 8221 ;

( Gloucester, III, six, 87-91 )

The lunacy in Lear & # 8217 ; s mind grew more serious in his restless journey.

Unfortunately, the catastrophe continued outright. He so suffered from

the decease of his youngest girl Cordelia which broke his bosom into pieces,

& # 8220 ; I might hold saved her, now she & # 8217 ; s gone everlastingly!

Cordelia, Cordelia! Stay a small Hour angle! What is & # 8217 ; T

1000 sayest? Her voice was of all time soft, soft,

and moo an first-class thing in woman. & # 8221 ;

( Lear, V, three, 270-273 )

These agonies contrast the happier times at the beginning of the drama when

Lear was still the King of England. For case, his being welcomed and

praised by Goneril and Regan which contrasted to his being thrown out of their

places. Besides, Lear & # 8217 ; s pride as a & # 8220 ; Jupiter & # 8221 ; contrasted an & # 8220 ; old adult male & # 8221 ; imploring for

shelter, nutrient and apparels. In add-on, the love from Cordelia when she was

alive contrasted the decease of Cordelia who could love Lear no longer.

As the drama moved on, the hurting and agony accumulated in Lear & # 8217 ; s bosom

finally tore down his strength and pride. Lear was no longer a strong,

haughty, and disdainful male monarch as he was in the beginning of the drama. Alternatively, he

became a weak, modest, and confused old adult male. As we can see at the beginning,

he expressed himself as the & # 8220 ; Jupiter & # 8221 ; and & # 8220 ; Apollo & # 8221 ; . However, at the terminal of

the drama, he expressed himself as & # 8220 ; a really foolish fond old man. & # 8221 ; ( 4.7 L60 ) The

realisation of Lear & # 8217 ; s true quality of being foolish and hubris with a deficiency of

personal penetration, in add-on to the decease of Cordelia which broke his bosom,

made him lose his saneness wholly and finally take to his decease. Just

before he dies as a adult male in hurting, he said,

& # 8220 ; And my hapless sap is hanged! No, no, no life!

Why should a Canis familiaris, a Equus caballus, a rat, have life,

And thou no breath at all? Thou it come

no more, ne’er, ne’er, ne’er, ne’er! & # 8221 ; ( V, three, 305-308 )

The decease of Lear is most evident to Shakespearean Tragedy and farther

reinforces his quality of a tragic hero.

In order to attest a drama as a calamity, the feeling of fright and commiseration to

the hero must look in the drama. The feeling of commiseration to Lear was evident

when he was in the storm ramping against the Gods. He was betrayed and thrown

out by the girls and which he thought he did non merit this cruel

intervention. As seen in the quotation mark,

& # 8220 ; I revenue enhancement non you, you elements, with unkindness.

I ne’er gave you Kingdom, called you kids

you owe me no subscription. Then allow autumn

your atrocious please & # 8230 ; & # 8221 ; ( Lear, III, two, 15-20 )

Here, the feeling of fright appears as

good because in a short period of clip, Lear fell from the place of King to

a normal provincial. His weak, unconfident and huffy head overrules his strong,

prideful and sane character. However, in looking deep down, the existent fright

implied here is, no affair how great things appear now ; work forces do non keep them

long and you can drop to the really bottom merely every bit fast as Lear fell from the top

of the concatenation to the lowest.

In Shakespeare & # 8217 ; s tragic drama King Lear, Lear the chief character

demonstrated all the necessary demands of being a tragic hero. His high

societal position nourishes his tragic flaw which is hubris, and the calamity is

initiated by the ostracism of Kent and Cordelia. Lear & # 8217 ; s pride non merely

altered his unrecorded entirely, alternatively, it affected everyone around him down to the

underside of the societal concatenation. Furthermore, the realisation of his true quality,

strivings and agonies finally leads to his tragic decease which the most obvious

component in a calamity. Because Lear fulfills the & # 8220 ; expression & # 8221 ; of Shakespearean

Calamity, he could be steadfastly proven as tragic hero in the drama.

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