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King Lear
The Theme of inevitability of death and hope in the face of love’s destructive potential, Kind Lear
This paper seeks to give a critical analysis on whether love has the ability of being destructive. Also, it seeks to know if it is possible for death to be avoided as a result of the existence of love. There are a lot of disasters, awful human cruelty, as well as brutality that is extremely meaningless in the play King Lear. Terrible events take place in succession, and this is due to the behavior that is displayed by the characters in different scenarios. It leads one to wonder if justice exists in this world and if it does, why it cannot be achieved. Love is a key theme that is displayed by almost all the characters in the play. King Lear is obsessed with aesthetic appearances, and this eventually leads to his downfall. He does not seem to differentiate reality from mere appearances. This is the reason why his subjects are not treated in a proper manner as he wants to be worshiped. The question of real love is tested when he asks his daughters to proclaim their love for him. Only two of his daughters who are materialistic and have a thirst for wealth proclaim their love for their father (Shakespeare, 1993. 67).
Analysis of the themes of the destructive potential of love and death’s inevitability
Regan and Goneril lie about their feelings in order to obtain their father’s property. On the other hand, Cordelia King Lear’s youngest daughter goes silent instead of following her sisters. Deep down Lear’s heart, he knows that, Cordelia loves him, but he chooses to ignore this. The result is that King Lear ends up losing his daughter, and this is extremely an unfortunate event (Shakespeare, 1993. 68). Time seems to make King Lear realize that Cordelia truly loves him as it reaches a point whereby, he is willing to sacrifice his own life for his daughter’s sake. Serving in the throne is not as vital as being with Cordelia even if it meant that they had to be in prison.
The theme of tragedy and death is extremely evident in the play King Lear and thus it is known as Shakespeare William’s most tragic work. Various opinions are raised concerning why tragedy seems to befall almost everyone, especially that which concerns death. For example, Gloucester believes that death is due to the natural world and nothing can be done to prevent it. Furthermore, notions of morality and society have no impact on defying death (Shakespeare, 1993. 78). It seems that the characters in the play pay for their evil deeds by losing their lives and Edgar seems to accept this notion. Unfortunately in this play even people who perform virtuous deeds die alongside the evil people. In this case, Cordelia who proved to be a well natured young woman loses her life in the most atrocious manner. It seems that evil has power over good as death and madness has triumph. In reality, life should not be this way as people will be influenced to be evil as they known what awaits them in the end. Shakespeare William has indeed proven that tragedy is an essential aspect of human life and cannot be avoided. People should strive to be people with honor as they will be remembered and praised.
It has been claimed that literature has never witnessed a tragedy as worse as that which took place in King Lear. There is a lot of unhappiness and darkness which has been brought upon by the people. Self interest and the need for power are the reasons for their being excessive tragedy. In some instances, love has proven that it can be self sacrificing in that it embodies all the people that are involved in it. Lear still loves her father despite being banished from England. This is witnessed when she saves her father from torment by the French despite being aware of what King Lear did to her (Shakespeare, 1993. 83). Reconciliation is the result of the existing love that Cordelia had for Lear. It seems that love has the ability of conquering things that seem impossible, and it can flourish regardless of anything. This shows that there is hope through love which has shown that it can withstand even the worst of tragedies. The sexual appetites, which Regan and, Goneril have concerning Edmund, are extremely high. Also, since they cannot contain themselves their alliance is destroyed. In turn, they destroy each other until they both die and this means that eventually evil people do not triumph.
The different realms that exist in the play are related to political and family matters and are full of wickedness. In turn, everyone seems to betray one another without caring about the future implications. Through betrayal, characters such as Edmund, Regan and Goneril lose their lives. Furthermore, jealousy among the people brings about death as they attempt to outdo each other. Love, which in this case is lust, has the ability of leading to people’s downfall (Shakespeare, 1993. 115). A suicide attempt by Gloucester proves that death is viewed as a means of evading sorrows and misery. It is fortunate that Edgar saved his father from the attempted suicide. Later on Gloucester and Edmund dies which signifies that both evil and virtuous people are not in control of death. The death of Cordelia profoundly affects King Lear, and this is evident as he weeps uncontrollably for his fallen daughter.
In conclusion, it seems that no human being can escape from the death. This is despite whether they were evil or good as the play King Lear has proven. Cordelia is an example of a character that showed that she was extremely good natured, but in the end, she lost her life in an attempt to save her father. The love that she had for her father made her lose her life. In turn, King Lear changed his attitude and was able to become a better person. This is because he had witnessed the power of love from his daughter Cordelia. Edmund is an example of an evil character that lost his life despite him being lived by King Lear’s daughters. He took advantage of love in order to obtain power which the two women held. Indeed, the play is William Shakespeare has brought about the themes of love and death. It is true to claim that lover does not have the power of conquering death.
Work cited
Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Washington: Washington Square Press, 1993. Print.
