King Lear Research Paper

746 Words3 Pages

There have been numerous great writers and poets in our world’s history. Among the best of them would be William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare is often considered by scholars to be the father of the English language. Ashlee Jenson states, “William Shakespeare has become an important landmark in English literature. ... He is also credited with being one of the first writers to use any modern prose in his writings.” Although Shakespeare wrote many great sonnets, he most well known for his plays. Shakespeare was a brilliant playwright who wrote both tragedies and comedies. His plays would always attract large Elizabethan audiences in the mid seventeenth century. Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies are widely studied even today. Shakespeare’s …show more content…

In this play, King Lear asks his daughters how much they love him which will then determine how much of his kingdom he will give to each of his daughters. Goneril and Regan exaggerate how much they love him while Cordelia gives him an honest answer. Cordelia states, “ I love your majesty according to my bond; nor more nor less.” King Lear refuses to accept Cordelia’s answer and proceeds to banish her from the kingdom. Sarah Wilson states, “This tragic flaw prevents King Lear from seeing the truth because his arrogance overrides his judgement.” King Lear’s excessive pride overrides his judgement. He allows his dishonest daughters, Goneril and Regan, to rule his kingdom because of their dishonest praising. King Lear’s arrogance is his fatal flaw. This leads to his tragic downfall as his daughters don’t allow him in their dwellings. Clearly, King Lear, is a work of Shakespearean tragedy due to King Lear, the protagonist, and his tragic …show more content…

Shakespeare has a distinct plot structure which he includes in all of his comedies. Shakespearean comedies generally included a tragic event, followed by a journey, then a reconciliation and resolution, and finally a happy ending. Olivia Samer adds about Shakespeare’s comedies, “They are generally identifiable as the comedies of Shakespeare in that they are full of fun, irony and dazzling wordplay. They also abound in disguises and mistaken identities with very convoluted plots that are difficult to follow, with very contrived endings.” Much Ado About Nothing, includes all of the elements in its plot structure. The tragic event would be Claudio’s accusations to Hero in their first wedding. There is also a lot of wordplay included within this play such as when Benedick stated, “When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married.” Mistaken identities are also included in this play such as when Claudio mistook Margaret for Hero in Don John’s cruel

More about King Lear Research Paper

Open Document