King Lear

King Lear

1. Lacks self- knowledge and moral vision

   • His spiritual/ moral growth is gradual and painful
     • Acquires "reason in madness"
       • Lear grows through suffering, his acquisition of self- knowledge is a gradual process
         • continues to believe that he can measure love
           • "Oh fool, I shall go mad"

2. Weaknesses in character

   • concerned for only himself
     • selfish and egocentric
       • sees himself as a fearsome "dragon" whose "wrath" is to be avoided
         • Gullible and susceptible to flattery. He is fiery and rash
           • disowns Cordelia because she refuses to pander to his ego
     • Extremely arrogant

3. Critic Quotes

   • "Lear goes mad because he is unable to accept his dependence on the feminine, his daughters"- Coppelia Kahn
   • "Lear's words are monstrously unjust" - A.C Bradley

4. Tragic Hero

   • He brought about his own downfall through his own faults and flaws
     • ARCHITECT OF HIS OWN DOWNFALL
       • "More sinn'd against than sinning"
         • "A poor, infirm, weak and despised old man"

5. Lear's enduring rashness is evident in the immediate aftermath of Cordelia's death, when he curses all of those around him:

   • "A plague upon you, murderers, traitors all"