, Research Paper

Although it is ne’er excessively late to larn, those lessons learned in old age are frequently the most hard and the most dearly-won. Following Lear s difference with Goneril, the Fool Tell him, Thou shoulds t non hold been old boulder clay thou hads t/ Been wise [ I, v, 43-44 ] . In William Shakespeare s calamity King Lear, Lear illustrates that wisdom does non needfully come with age. The errors that Lear make leave him vulnerable to disappointment and enduring at a clip in his life where he should be basking peace and contentment. This is shown through his roseola determinations and his intimations of lunacy throughout the drama. Although Lear does accomplish wisdom before he dies, he pays a beloved monetary value for populating his life foolishly.

Right in the beginning of King Lear, Lear is marred by his inability to foretell the effects of his actions. Lear asks his three girls to vie for his land by showing their deathless love for the King. Both Goneril and Regan have no job jointing their love for their male parent, nevertheless when it is Cordelia s bend she refuses to vie because she feels she can non show the manner she feels through words. This refusal enrages Lear and hurts his pride doing him to disinherit Cordelia foolishly:

& # 8230 ; for we

Have no such girl, nor shall of all time see

That face of hers once more. Therefore begone

Without our grace, our love, our benison. [ I, i, 304-307 ]

Ironically he subsequently discovers that Cordelia was the lone girl that truly loved

him unconditionally.

Lear can non see into other people s characters and place them for who they genuinely are. When Kent reprimands Lear for his roseola determination in disinheriting Cordelia, Be Kent unmannerly/ When Lear is huffy. What wouldst 1000 bash, old adult male? [ I, i, 162-163 ] Lear responds to Kent s resistance by ostracizing him from his land. Later, Lear shows such superficial behaviour that he does non even notice the simple camouflage that Kent wears in order to stay close to his King.

When Lear loses the control and regard of his Kingdom, Lear s saneness goes along with it. Lear s lunacy is obvious during his concluding strong belief: O Fool, I shall travel huffy! [ II, four, 327 ] Once Lear can no longer command his land, he attempts to govern through a show of failing, rupturing off all of his apparels and cut downing himself to a common mendicant. Consequently, Lear realizes his errors, unluckily, the monetary value for his actions were excessively high and finally cost him his life. ( Quennell and Johnson 161 )

While wisdom should come with age, it is just to state that Lear did non expose this property right off. His pride blinded him and his ruin came as a consequence of his self-indulgence. Unfortunately, Lear s deficiency of cognition condemned him from the beginning. This tragic hero learned the mistake of his ways excessively tardily for his redemption.

1. Quennell, Peter and Johnson, Hanish. Who s who in Shakespeare. Great Britain: Chancellor Press, 1973

2. Shakspere, William. King Lear. New York: Pocket Books, 1993