KING LEAR BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

A final Draft made by:

Sachin Kumar

Roll No: 2145

Class: B.A.LL.B. (Hons.)

Semester: 2nd

Submitted to:

Dr. Pratyush Kaushik

Assistant Professor of English

Chanakya National Law University

A research proposal submitted in partial fulfilment of the course

Legal language & communication skills

for attaining the degree B.A.LL.B. (Hons.)

FEBRUARY, 2019

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

Nyaya Nagar, Mithapur, Patna (Bihar)-800001

 DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE

I hereby declare that the work reported in the B.A. LL. B (Hons.) Project Report entitled
“KING LEAR” submitted at Chanakya National Law University is an authentic record of my
work carried out under the supervision of Mr. Dr. Pratyush Kaushik.

I have not submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree or diploma. I am fully
responsible for the contents of my Project Report.

SIGNATURE OF CANDIDATE

NAME OF CANDIDATE: SACHIN KUMAR

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, PATNA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank my faculty Ms. Dr. Pratyush Kaushik whose guidance helped me a lot
with structuring my project.

I owe the present accomplishment of my project to my friends, who helped me immensely

with materials throughout the project and without whom I couldn’t have completed it in the
present way.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to my parents and all those unseen hands that helped
me out at every stage of my project.

THANK YOU,

NAME: SACHIN KUMAR

COURSE: B.A. LL.B. (Hons.)

ROLL NO: 2145

SEMESTER – 2nd
 CONTENT

INRODUCTION........................................................................................................................5
ABOUT WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE......................................................................................8
BRIEF STORY OF PLAY KING LEAR................................................................................11
THE CHARACTER OF KING LEAR....................................................................................13
DISCUSS KING LEAR AS A SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDY..........................................15
THE CHARACTER OF CORDELIA.....................................................................................17
THE CHARACTER OFGONERIL.........................................................................................19
THE CHARACTER OF REGAN............................................................................................19
THE CHARACTER OF EDMUND........................................................................................20
THE CHARACTER OF EDGAR............................................................................................20
THE CHARACTER OF EARL OF KENT.............................................................................20
THE FOOL PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE IN KING LEAR....................................................21
THE NEGLECT OF NATURAL LAW & PARENT CHILD RELATION RELATIONSHIP
..................................................................................................................................................22
BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................................25
 INRODUCTION
The story opens in ancient Britain, where the elderly King Lear is deciding to give up his
power and divide his realm amongst his three daughters, Cordelia, Regan, and Goneril. Lear's
plan is to give the largest piece of his kingdom to the child who professes to love him the
most, certain that his favorite daughter, Cordelia, will win the challenge. Goneril and Regan,
corrupt and deceitful, lie to their father with sappy and excessive declarations of affection.
Cordelia, however, refuses to engage in Lear's game, and replies simply that she loves him as
a daughter should. Her lackluster retort, despite its sincerity, enrages Lear, and he disowns
Cordelia completely. When Lear's dear friend, the Earl of Kent, tries to speak on Cordelia's
behalf, Lear banishes him from the kingdom.

Meanwhile, the King of France, present at court and overwhelmed by Cordelia's honesty and
virtue, asks for her hand in marriage, despite her loss of a sizable dowry. Cordelia accepts the
King of France's proposal, and reluctantly leaves Lear with her two cunning sisters. Kent,
although banished by Lear, remains to try to protect the unwitting King from the evils of his
two remaining children. He disguises himself and takes a job as Lear's servant. Now that Lear
has turned over all his wealth and land to Regan and Goneril, their true natures surface at
once. Lear and his few companions, including some knights, a fool, and the disguised Kent,
go to live with Goneril, but she reveals that she plans to treat him like the old man he is while
he is under her roof. So Lear decides to stay instead with his other daughter, and he sends
Kent ahead to deliver a letter to Regan, preparing her for his arrival. However, when Lear
arrives at Regan's castle, he is horrified to see that Kent has been placed in stocks. Kent is
soon set free, but before Lear can uncover who placed his servant in the stocks, Goneril
arrives, and Lear realizes that Regan is conspiring with her sister against him.

Gloucester arrives back at Regan's castle in time to hear that the two sisters are planning to
murder the King. He rushes away immediately to warn Kent to send Lear to Dover, where
they will find protection. Kent, Lear, and the Fool leave at once, while Edgar remains behind
in the shadows. Sadly, Regan and Goneril discover Gloucester has warned Lear of their plot,
and Cornwall, Regan's husband, gouges out Gloucester's eyes. A servant tries to help
Gloucester and attacks Cornwall with a sword – a blow later to prove fatal.

News arrives that Cordelia has raised an army of French troops that have landed at Dover.
Regan and Goneril ready their troops to fight and they head to Dover. Meanwhile, Kent has
heard the news of Cordelia's return, and sets off with Lear hoping that father and daughter
can be reunited. Gloucester too tries to make his way to Dover, and on the way, finds his own
lost son, Edgar.

Tired from his ordeal, Lear sleeps through the battle between Cordelia and her sisters. When
Lear awakes, he is told that Cordelia has been defeated. Lear takes the news well, thinking
that he will be jailed with his beloved Cordelia – away from his evil offspring. However, the
orders have come, not for Cordelia's imprisonment, but for her death.

Despite their victory, the evil natures of Goneril and Regan soon destroy them. Both in love
with Gloucester's conniving son, Edmund (who gave the order for Cordelia to be executed),
Goneril poisons Regan. But when Goneril discovers that Edmund has been fatally wounded
by Edgar, Goneril kills herself as well.

As Edmund takes his last breath he repents and the order to execute Cordelia is reversed. But
the reversal comes too late and Cordelia is hanged. Lear appears, carrying the body of
Cordelia in his arms. Mad with grief, Lear bends over Cordelia's body, looking for a sign of
life. The strain overcomes Lear and he falls dead on top of his daughter. Kent declares that he
will follow his master into the afterlife and the noble Edgar becomes the ruler of Britain.

AIM AND OBJECTIVE:

1. Brief history about William Shakespeare life and his work.

2. Why daughters of king gone for inflicting misery on his father.

HYPOTHESIS:
How for the shake of money and power the two daughters go to the extent of inflicting so
much pain and misery on his own his father?

LIMITATIONS:

Owing to the large number of topics that could be included in the project, the scope of this
research paper is exceedingly vast. However, in the interest of brevity, this paper has been
limited to the topics concerned with king Lear.

The researcher had time and money limitations while making of this project.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

The researcher has adopted Non- Doctrinal method of research to complete the project.
Doctrinal Research includes the library study, whereas the Non- Doctrinal Research includes
the field study.

SOURCES OF DATA:
The researcher has relied on both primary and secondary sources of data to complete the
project.

Primary sources- original work William Shakespeare.

Secondary Sources- Books, Magazines and online sources with concerned with the topics.

METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION:

For the purpose of data collection researcher has used Observation, Questionnaire and
Interview.

TOOLS OF DATA COLLECTION:

For the purpose of research various tools such as Observation schedule, Interview schedule,
notepad, pen, paper, camera etc. has been used by the researcher.
ABOUT WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE.
William Shakespeare, Shakespeare also spelled Shakspere, byname Bard of Avon or Swan of
Avon, (baptized April 26, 1564, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England—died April
23, 1616, Stratford-upon-Avon), English poet, dramatist, and actor often called the English
national poet and considered by many to be the greatest dramatist of all time.

Shakespeare occupies a position unique in world literature. Other poets, such as Homer and
Dante, and novelists, such as Leo Tolstoy and Charles Dickens, have transcended national
barriers, but no writer’s living reputation can compare to that of Shakespeare, whose plays,
written in the late 16th and early 17th centuries for a small repertory theatre, are now
performed and read more often and in more countries than ever before. The prophecy of his
great contemporary, the poet and dramatist Ben Jonson, that Shakespeare “was not of an age,
but for all time,” has been fulfilled.

It may be audacious even to attempt a definition of his greatness, but it is not so difficult to
describe the gifts that enabled him to create imaginative visions of pathos and mirth that,
whether read or witnessed in the theatre, fill the mind and linger there. He is a writer of great
intellectual rapidity, perceptiveness, and poetic power. Other writers have had these qualities,
but with Shakespeare the keenness of mind was applied not to abstruse or remote subjects but
to human beings and their complete range of emotions and conflicts. Other writers have
applied their keenness of mind in this way, but Shakespeare is astonishingly clever with
words and images, so that his mental energy, when applied to intelligible human situations,
finds full and memorable expression, convincing and imaginatively stimulating. As if this
were not enough, the art form into which his creative energies went was not remote and
bookish but involved the vivid stage impersonation of human beings, commanding sympathy
and inviting vicarious participation.

Marriage and children

William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. She was already expecting their first-born
child, Susanna, which was a fairly common situation at the time. When they married, Anne
was 26 and William was 18. Anne grew up just outside Stratford in the village of Shottery.
After marrying, she spent the rest of her life in Stratford.

In early 1585, the couple had twins, Judith and Hamnet, completing the family. In the years
ahead, Anne and the children lived in Stratford while Shakespeare worked in London,
although we don't know when he moved there. Some later observers have suggested that this
separation, and the couple's relatively few children, were signs of a strained marriage, but we
do not know that, either. Someone pursuing a theatre career had no choice but to work in
London, and many branches of the Shakespeare had small families.

Shakespeare's only son, Hamnet, died in 1596 at the age of 11. His older daughter Susanna
later married a well-to-do Stratford doctor, John Hall.
 IMPORTANT WORK OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
COMMEDIES

All's Well That Ends Well

As You Like It

The Comedy of Errors

Measure for Measure

The Merchant of Venice

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Much Ado About Nothing

Twelfth Night

HISTORIES

Henry IV

Henry V

Henry VI

Henry VIII

King John

Richard II

Richard III

TRAGIDIES

Antony and Cleopatra

Hamlet

Julius Caesar

King Lear

Macbeth

Othello

Romeo and Juliet

MAJOR THEMES OF SHAKESPEARE WORK:
BRIEF STORY OF PLAY KING LEAR
Lear is the king of Britain. He has ruled his land well and wisely for many years, but now he
is growing old and feeble and he feels that it is time for the kingdom to pass into younger
hands. So, he has decided to give up his title, and spend the rest of his life in quietness and
peace. When the moment for the actual distribution of the territory is at hand, he calls his
three daughters and childishly proposes to make his gifts dependent upon each daughter's
declaration of love for him.

The eldest daughter tells that she loves her father more than words can express. He is dearer
to her than eye-sight, life or liberty. No child has ever loved her father more than she loves
him. The king is well pleased with this speech and gives away one third of the kingdom to
Goneril. Then he turns to the second daughter, Regan. She says that her feelings are the same
as her sisters' but her sister has not expressed half the love Regan feels for Lear. She is happy
only when she is able to serve him. The old king smiles fondly at her and gives her also a
third of his kingdom. At last he turns to the third daughter, Cordelia.

Cordelia has been listening to her sisters' speeches with increasing anger. She knows that they
are praising the old king excessively because of their greed. She, who truly loves her father,
cannot bear to have her real love compared with their false pretends and she answers a little
bitterly: '1 love you as I should: neither more nor less'. The king is hurt by her simple and
sincere expression of duly and affection. Enraged at her apparent coolness, he casts her off
completely, arranges to live with each of his elder daughters in turn. He presents Cordelia
dowerless to her suitors. The Duke of Burgundy rejects her. However, the King of Prance
who perceives her honesty worth takes her as his wife. King Lear has a good and faithful
courtier, the Earl of Kent, who now tries to persuade him to change his mind. But Lear
interrupts him with angry words and asks him to leave his kingdom forever. So, Kent leaves
the court. But he changes his appearance and enters in the service of Lear as a faithful
servant. Cordelia says good-bye to her sisters and begs them to take good care of their old
father. But they jealously tell her to look after her own husband and not to try to teach them
their duty. So, Cordelia leaves the court with King of France, fearing that her elder sisters
may not treat Lear kindly. At the same time, the Earl of Gloucester, like Lear, wrongs a
dutiful child and raises an undeserving one to power. Deceived by the apparent sincerity of
his crafty bastard son, Edmund, who has forged a villainous letter to deprive his noble
brother, Edgar of his birth right, Gloucester is convinced that Edgar is plotting to murder him
for his estates. Cordelia's fears are soon proved to be just. According to his plan, the old
king is to live first with one daughter and then with the other. He will keep the title of the
King and will have a hundred of his own knights to attend him. He first visits his eldest
daughter, Goneril. He finds that Goneril's protestations of love were false. She makes no
effort to attend to her father's needs and make him comfortable in her palace. She complains
that he is always finding fault with her servants and that his knights behave m an unruly
manner. She allows her own servants to treat the king and his knights with careless rudeness
and they take no notice of his orders. Lear at last, realizes that she does not want him and take
no notice of his orders. Lear at last, realizes that she does not want him and he leaves for
Regan, sending Kent ahead with the announcement of his coming. With more lies and
hypocrisy, Edmund completes his father's conviction that Edgar is an unfilial villain, just as
Cornwall and Regan arrive for a visit at Gloucester's castle. For a minor offence, actually the
result of devotion to his master, Regan and her husband put Kent, the King's messenger, in
the stocks. There he is found by the old King, who is accompanied only by his loving, but
bitter foe, who loses no opportunity of reminding his master of his folly in giving away his
kingdom. In a stormy scene, Regan, to whom Oswald has delivered a letter from Goneril,
refuses to take in her old father until he has made apology to her sister. When Goneril herself
arrives, and Lear perceives that the daughters are in league to heap further indignities upon
him, he sets out into the wild night with his fool. They wander through the storm together in
search of shelter. The old King's mind is as cold and wandering as his body; he is slowly
going mad with sorrow. Kent finds them and takes them to a broken-down old hut where they
can shelter for the night. The old King is so disturbed in mind that he does not notice the
storm. When they go inside, they find that the hut is already occupied by a poor mad fellow
who calls himself "Poor Tom". He is really the elder son of the Earl of Gloucester who has
changed his appearance and pretends to be a mad man in order to avoid recognition and
imprisonment. Earl of Gloucester finds the King and takes him to a farmhouse near his castle.
Kent takes Lear secretly to his castle .at Dover. He informs Cordelia of the sufferings of the
King and the wickedness of Goneril and Regan. Cordelia persuades her husband, the King of
France, to send an army to England to fight for King Lear and she herself crosses to Dover
with the army.

The good Earl of Gloucester has his eyes put out by Regan and Duke of Cornwall as a
punishment for helping Lear. They then turn him out of his castle. But the faithful Edgar
leads his father to Dover where they join King Lear. The poor King is sadly changed. He has
now gone quite mad and does not recognize them. He talks strangely and wanders about
wearing a crown of leaves and flowers. He does not recognize Cordelia. Cordelia nurses him
back to sanity. On gaining sanity, he looks unhappily at the people around him, still fearing
that he may receive unkindness. Cordelia is overjoyed that her father knows her at last. But
the sorrowful man, remembering her sisters' unkindness to him, cannot believe that Cordelia
still loves him. But Cordelia tells him that her only wish is to bring him back to happiness.
The two armies meet. The French army is led by Edgar and the Earl of Kent; and (he English,
led by Duke of Albany and the wicked Edmund. Edmund, the evil young man, wishes to
become King of England and so he professes love to both Goneril and Regan, in the hope that
he will, in the end, be able to marry one of them, and gain possession of half of the kingdom.
In the battle, the French army is defeated and Lear and Cordelia are taken prisoners by the
wicked Edmund. He sends them to prison and gives secret orders that Cordelia is to be killed.
He is determined that she, one of the rightful heirs to England, should not stand between him
and his ambition to be the King.

Meanwhile there is hatred and bitterness in the English camp. Regan's husband has died, and
she immediately announces that she intends to marry Edmund; but Goneril, angry and
jealous, poisons her sister and Regan also dies and now the Duke of Albany, whose greatest
fault has been his weakness of will, turns against his wicked wife. He sends her to prison for
her crimes, and she kills herself in anger and despair. Finally, the evil Edmund is killed in a
fight by his brother Edgar. The Earl of Kent tells all this to King Lear, but it is doubtful
whether the old man has understood the news. His mind has failed again when Cordelia dies,
and he cannot be persuaded to leave her body. And the broken-hearted old man falls dead
beside his beloved daughter. And so, ended, in sorrow and despair, the long life of the good
King Lear, but, although he seems to have lost everything, the battle has not been in vain. His
two wicked and cruel daughters are dead, and also the ambitious Edmund. The crown passes
of the Duke of Albany, who becomes the King of England.

THE CHARACTER OF KING LEAR

Shakespeare's King Lear deals with the tragic aspect of human life. The conflict of good with
evil, of wisdom with folly and the hopeless cry to the deaf Heavens for justice are presented.
As the play progresses, we see Lear being stripped of worldly power, human dignity and even
the bare necessities of life. Eventually he becomes the embodiment of destitution. Marilyn
French sums up the transformation in Lear in the following words: "Lear moves from
'masculinity' to 'femininity'. In the opening scene, dressed in majesty, he stands on power and
banishes love. For the next act and a half, he roars and rages, but begins, little by little, to
city. And then he learns to see, to feel. He opens his mind to others - to the poor, to his fool,
to the necessity by which all humans are bound… By the time he and Cordelia are captured,
he is no longer concerned with power-in-the world or with revenge". Lear is an impressive
and dominating figure. He is an old man of eighty and upwards and speaks of himself as
about to 'crawl toward death'. Yet he is healthy. We see him coming back from hunting and
calling with a hearty appetite for dinner. He survives the affliction of the storm and kills
Cordelia's hangman. He is imperious and dynamic but vain and rash. Blinded by power he
exhibits terrible grit and determination. His demeanour in the first scene bears testimony to
this. The unforeseen, stubborn refusal of Cordelia to speak makes him angry and he
immediately casts her off. When Kent intervenes, he is banished. And thus, rashness is added
to vanity. Marilyn French makes a mention of the obduracy of Lear and observes that Lear
appears 'royal, arrogant, commanding and absolute'. He has the conviction that he is entitled
to absolute love as well as absolute power. The consequence of his decisive decision leads to
his sufferings and then to the tragedy. Lear commands a love and respect of his subjects. His
relationship with those who are closest to him reveals this. He inspires in Kent a strong and
durable loyalty. Even after being banished for plain speaking, he returns to Lear, telling
himself that he will work well for the master he loves. Kent feels both love and respect for
Lear both as a man and as a king. When Lear dies, Kent can think of no future for himself.
Gloucester also has great love for him. It is because of his love for Lear that Gloucester
censures Goneril and Regan for their ill treatment of the king. And when he joins hands with
the king he is blinded. Lear has always had a mental twist. He is mad even before he goes
mad. His weakness is his overmastering passion. G. Wilson Knight remarks that: "Lear is
mentally a child, in passion a titan". This, combined with old age, makes him unbalanced. His
lack of judicious judgment, the tragic flaw, is germane to his mental twist. His decision to
divide his kingdom and the unsound test, which he applies to his daughters, may be taken as
an indication of his dwindling rationale. When he begins to regret his action, he loses his self-
control and is shaken by strong emotional disturbances. Eventually, this leads him to the
inevitable lunacy.

Lear becomes insane as a result of a series of shocks. The first of the shocks occurs in his
meeting with Goneril. Lear who used to frown at others is now frowned at. The humiliating
sight of Kent in the stocks flings him into a fit of agitation. The open insults of his two elder
daughters confine him to the blind alley of life. He appeals to the Heavens against the
injustice meted out to him by his daughters. He turns to the fool and says, 'I think I'm going
mad'. The process is complete when he meets Edgar and listens to his pretended ravings.
They prove infectious and Lear goes mad. When he is reunited with Cordelia, the mad fit is
subsided. What we witness only seems equanimity. Shakespeare shows profound insight into
the workings of the human mind by tracing the process of the derangement of Lear. Madness
is a device through which Shakespeare manages to convey the most eloquent criticism of
society. Lear is oblivious of his own existence and his seeming sanity itself is a sign of
insanity. His act of killing the hangman of Cordelia and the immensity of grief in his heart-
rending utterances are but the final flickers of a flame. Lear's most effective teacher is his
suffering. Through suffering he learns wisdom and attains salvation. Afflictions make him
mellow. He realizes that a king is not a superman. Like any other human being, he is also
prone to sufferings. He learns humility and charitable fellow feeling with even the lowest of
distressed humanity. Lear's real redemption comes about when he awakens from the
delusions of his frenzied mind to discover Cordelia and her unselfish love. "The Lear that
dies is not a Lear defiant, but a Lear redeemed. His education is complete. His regeneration is
accomplished", observes J. Dover Wilson. Lear is more sinned against than sinning. Lear's
nemesis is far in excess of his follies, yet his purification and sublimation are the result of his
suffering. As Marilyn French concludes, "Our love for Lear is not because he is right or even
because he is more sinned against that sinning, but because of the depth of passion".

“IS KING LEAR A MAN MORE SINNED AGAINST THAN

SINNING?”

King Lear is considered by many to be Shakespeare's greatest tragedy. It is a story of

exceptional suffering. The hero suffers untold miseries and cruelty from his daughters whom
he has given everything. Many critics think that Shakespeare has violated our innate sense of
poetic justice and that Lear is more sinned against that sinning.

A similar statement is made about 'Oedipus', the Greek play. Oedipus is more an unfortunate
sufferer than a responsible agent of his calamities. The statement that Lear is more sinned
against than sinning reminds us of the words of Christ. He responded to those who spoke to
him of how, according to law, the woman taken in adultery should be stoned; He that is
without sin among you let him first cast a stone at her.
The question whether Lear is more sinned against than sinning can be answered only by
examining the nature and circumstances leading to his sins. He is every inch a King. He is
vain and rash. He likes to hear himself praised on ceremonial occasions. He has a notion
regarding the character of his daughters. He has already divided the kingdom. His intention in
staging a love test might be either to satisfy himself or to publicly display that his previous
judgment regarding his daughters was correct. He knows that Goneril and Regan will flatter
him but he enjoys their flattery. He is confident that Cordelia would excel them in adulation.
But she is reticent. His pride receives and affront and he lose self-control and casts her off.
Kent who tries to intervene is banished. Hear Lear's conduct seems absurd.

It is for this flaw that he is made to suffer untold agonies. He is stripped of worldly power,
human dignity and even the bare necessities of life. He becomes a destitute. His sufferings
become all the more agonizing as they are meted out to him by Goneril and Regan whom he
has given the entire kingdom. If Cordelia had made him suffer, it would have been justifiable
to a certain extent, liven Cordelia has sinned a little by not properly understanding the
feelings and weaknesses of her lather. So, we can, in no way say that the sufferings meted out
to Lear are in tune with his flaws. We are inclined agree with Lear, who says that he is a man
more sinned against than sinning.

Shakespeare must have wanted us to feel that Lear is more sinned against than sinning. In
other tragedies, the tragic flaw of the hero prevails till the end. In 'King Lear' the hero is agile
and active only in the first scene. From the second scene onwards, he is a passive sufferer.
His prolonged sufferings have intensified our indignation against the wrong doers that we do
not think of his flaws at all. Unlike other tragic heroes, Lear acquires wisdom and attains
salvation through his sufferings. He learns repentance, humility and charitable fellow-feeling
with even the lowest of distressed humanity. This also reduces the impact of his tragic flaw
and we feel that he is more sinned against than sinning.

DISCUSS KING LEAR AS A SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDY.

A.C. Bradley has defined Shakespearean tragedy as a story of exceptional calamity leading to
the death of a person in high estate. It is more than a mere story of death and suffering. In the
words of Dowden, Tragedy as conceived by Shakespeare is concerned with the ruin or
restoration of the soul and of the life of the man. In other words, it is subject to struggle of
good and evil in the world. Shakespearean tragedy has its own conventions. Shakespeare's
tragedy is concerned with the fate of person of 'high degree'. His tragic heroes are
extraordinary men placed in exceptional circumstances. The causes of tragedy in
Shakespeare's plays are some fatal flow in the character of the hero. Shakespeare believed in
the principle that 'character is destiny'. The suffering and calamity of the hero are exceptional
in nature. The suffering of the hero arouses in our mind’s tragic emotions like grief, anger,
pity and fear. The fall of the hero never makes us depressed or desperate. The exceptional
qualities of the hero give us a vision of the possibilities of human nature. The characteristics
of King Lear are characteristic of a Shakespearean tragedy.
The tragedy of King Lear springs from lack of balanced judgement and filial ingratitude. It's
hero, Lear, is every inch a king. He is imperious and dynamic but vain and rash. His
demeanour in the first scene bears testimony to this. The consequence of what Lear has done
leads to his sufferings and it makes up three distinct tragedies. First, there is Lear's nemesis
that involves the double retribution of receiving nothing but evil from Goneril and Regan and
only good from Cordelia whom he has cruelly wronged. The second tragedy is the sufferings
of the faithful Kent and the loving Cordelia. The mutual intrigues of Regan and Goneril
resulting in their ruin are the third tragedy. The consequences of Lear's error have (heir
analogies in the tragedies which originate from the intrigue is Lear's life. Then we have the
sufferings of innocent Edgar.

Shakespeare believes in the dictum that character is destiny. There is connection between
character, deed and catastrophe. Lear's actions contribute to his downfall. The rashness of his
division of the kingdom, the absurdity of making the division depends on protestations of
love, his complete blindness to hypocrisy and his injustice to Cordelia and Kent lead to the
calamity. The sufferings of the hero are exceptional in nature. They arouse in our minds
tragic emotions of pity and fear. The fall of the hero never leaves us depressed or desperate.
Lear suffers a lot due to his folly. His sufferings make him mad. They inspire pity and fear in
us. Through sufferings he learns repentance, humility and charitable fellow feeling. At the
end of the play the regenerated Lear has become capable of a self-abnegation, which comes
from an awareness of love and charity.

The calamitous conclusion of a Shakespearean tragedy generally involves a whole state in

disaster. King Lear is clearly a case in point. Cordelia's attempts to restore him to the throne
fail. She is defeated and both the King and Cordelia are taken prisoners. Cordelia is killed.
The shock of her death kills Lear also. The wicked characters, Edmund, Goneril, Regan and
Cornwall fall a prey to their own jealousies.

The destruction of good through the evil of others is one of the features of a tragedy. Lear is a
man more sinned against" than sinning. Cordelia also suffers for no fault of her own. Her
sufferings and death also evoke tragic emotions of pity and fear. When she dies, says
Bradley, We regard her simply as we regard Ophelia or Desdemona as an innocent victim
swept away in the convulsion caused by the error or guilt of others. So the death of Cordelia
is admissible. King Lear deviates from other tragedies of Shakespeare in the presentation of
the fatal error, wrongdoing and conflict. In the other tragedies the hero's fatal weakness, error
and wrongdoing continue almost to the end. It is otherwise with 'King Lear'. In the end, Lear
attains a mood of clemency. Our indignation at those who subjected him to sufferings has
been so intense; that the memories of the wrong he did to Cordelia has been easily effaced.
He has inspired so much pity in us that forget that he himself is the cause of all these troubles.

There is both internal and external conflict in King Lear. The various characters
are swept conflicting emotions. Goneril and Regan are constantly guided by hatred, jealousy
and the resultant fear. The ingratitude and hypocrisy make their perception of reality
distorted. The unhealthy emotions that rule the: are in conflict with the intense love and
affection of Cordelia for her father. Edgar is in constant conflict will Edmund. Lear
experiences conflicting emotions throughout the play. The war between the forces of Goneril
and Regan and the King of France takes place offstage. King Lear seems to suggest that once
man has wilfully embraced a wrongful cause of action, he is liable to set in motion a whole
train of terrible disasters. The play proves that a purely retributive justice is one of mankind's
illusions. Evil may be ultimately self-destructive but the question of tragic waste remains
unanswered.

King Lear is a typical tragedy by Shakespeare. Like the other tragedies by him, this play too
presents a hero who suffers misfortunes and meets a sad fate mainly on account of his own
faults which in this case are a hasty temper, an intolerant attitude towards everybody, an
excessive egoism and an incapacity to judge the character of those round him. Circumstances
also contribute to the misfortunes of the hero, as they do in the other tragedies. In this case,
Nature shows its cruel side by making a storm blow exactly at a time when Lear has left his
daughters and has nowhere to go. The storm has its own share in bringing about Lear's
madness. The storm intensifies Lear's suffering. Pity and fear are the dominant feelings
produced by this play, and a catharsis of these feelings has certainly been brought about.

THE CHARACTER OF CORDELIA.

The character of Cordelia says A.C. Bradley is not a master-piece of invention or subtlety
like that of Cleopatra; yet in its own way it is a creation as wonderful. Cordelia is the third
daughter of Lear. Although her appearances are few in number and she speaks scarcely more
than hundred lines, she is never far from our minds. Cordelia is reticent and very often finds
it damn difficult to have her heart into her mouth. She has the tenderness of Viola or
Desdemona and the power and dignity of Hermione.

She is simple, sincere and natural. She speaks simply and truly and is disbelieved. Her
directness and sincerity of purpose lead her to say things, which are not palatable of her
father. When Lear asks her what she has to say about her love for him, she answers
"Nothing". Her "Nothing" has double meaning. She means, first of all, that she can say
'nothing' to match the substantial and false protestations of her sisters. The second meaning
has to do with Lear's view of love as a commodity. Cordelia's love is of the spirit. It is
nothing or 'nothing' materially. It cannot be exchanged, bought or used. Her assertion of truth
and right, her allegiance to them, even the touch of seventy that accompanies it instead of
compelling mere respect or admiration, become adorable in a nature so loving as Cordelia,
says A.C. Bradley.

Cordelia is exceptionally unbending. Lear loved Cordelia most. He wanted to reward her with
a third of the kingdom, which was the most opulent. When the King warns her to mend her
speech, she is unbending. She evinces no surprise when she loses her father's blessing and
dowry. She answers; uncalculatingly with pride to his pride. Lear is at the height of his power
in the first scene. She neither utters one pleading word nor winces at the penalty. Bradley
thinks that her reticence is due to the tender love for the person to whom she has to speak.
Her love, as she says, is more ponderous than her tongue.
Cordelia is an illustrious example of filial duty. When she comes to know of Lear's
sufferings, she rushes to Dover and nurses him to sanity. When the King falls on his knees to
beg pardon of his child, she prevents him and kneels to ask a blessing of him. She kisses
away all his sisters' unkindness and takes tin responsibility of his protection. Marilyn French
in her classic feminist study, ‘Shakespeare's Division of Experience’, says, Cordelia
represents the in-law feminine principle at its most saintly, supporting am protecting even
when she has been hurt.

Cordelia is herself a healing power. She can be thought of as that in nature, which is helpful
am remedial. She also represents the loving, constant devotion that exists in every nature,
every people. It is hatred that has undone Lear and therefore love must cure him and she
loves him with all her heart. She saves Lear from a world of madness and takes him to the
world of love and harmony.

The question why Cordelia must die has been posed by many critics. Samuel Johnson was so
shocked by Cordelia's death that he could not bear to re-read the final scenes of the play. The
reason for his reaction is that he found her death not only disappointing but also violating our
"natural ideas of justice". Twentieth century critics, however, have not objected to the death
of Cordelia. When she dies says Bradley, we regard her, simply as we regard Ophelia or
Desdemona, as an innocent victim swept away in the convulsion caused by the error or guilt
of others. The destruction of good through the evil of others is one of the tragic facts of life.
So the death of Cordelia is admissible in the tragedy.

Cordelia symbolizes a set of values. The theme of 'King Lear' is the conflict between good
and evil. It is through Cordelia that Shakespeare brings home the idea of human society,
which cherishes some standard values like bonds and duty and love and reverence. She is the
very incarnation of duty, love and reverence.

Cordelia plays a pivotal role in the play. The portrayal of her character is in harmony with the
impression we have formed of her in the opening scene. It is a great achievement on the part
of Shakespeare to have given us an adequate and most satisfactory portrayal of her even
though she appears in only four of the twenty-six scenes of the play and speaks no more than
a hundred lines. In spite of her brief and few appearances, there is no character in
Shakespeare who is more unforgettably stamped on the memory of the readers. In the
opening scene, we find her reticent when asked to express her love for her father; but
otherwise she is capable of making a long speech. She is by no means short of words. It is
only when she has to express her filial affection that she becomes almost dumb.

GONERIL
Goneril is the eldest daughter of King Lear. She is the wife of Duke of Albany. She is a
realist. Of the two sisters, she is the one who initiates evil courses, hi the opening scene; she
plays a hypocrite for a kingdom and gives verbal expression to her love. She says that she is
at a loss for words. She loves her father, 'Dearer than eve-sight, space and liberty; Beyond
what can be valued'. rich or rare, and she gets half of the kingdom. Having got more than
what she expected, she found good excuses for not paying the price for it. She is fed up with
her father's retinue and orders to reduce their number. She orders Oswald to show disrespect
towards Lear. She writes a letter to Regan giving a distorted version of what transpires
between them. It is Goneril’s wickedness that drives Lear mad. She falls in love with
Edmund. Cornwall's death pleases Goneril immensely because he was an heir to the crown.
But it is the devil of just that brings about her ruin. Her lust for Edmund rouses Regan to
jealousy. In hatching the plot against her father! She exhibits subtlety and cunningness. But to
win Edmund over, she is ready to stoop to any level. To fulfil (her ambition of marrying
Edmund she turns reckless, shameless and foolish. When Regan announces her intention to
marry Edmund, Goneril becomes angry and poisons her sister. The Duke of Albany sends her
to prison for her crimes and she takes her own life m anger and despair. Thus, the justice of
Heaven overtakes she wicked Goneril.

REGAN
Regan is the very incarnation of wickedness. She is the second daughter of King Lear and the
wife of the Duke of Cornwall. In the opening scene she declares that Goneril's love for her
father can never be as intense as that of her. She finds all other joys dead, in comparison with
the pleasure, which she takes in the love of her dear king and father. She gets a third of his
kingdom. She puts Kent, the messenger from Lear, in the stocks; she has gone to the castle of
the Earl of Gloucester, instead of receiving her father at her court. There she refuses to meet
her father saying that she is tired and ill after their journey. At last, when she combs out, she
tells her father that he is old and that he should be ruled and led by others who are younger
and (wiser than himself. She advises him to go back to Goneril and admit that he is wrong.
When Gloucester's defection is discovered, his eyes are plucked out by Regan's initiative. She
jeers at the blinded and bleeding Gloucester. She accompanies Cornwall to the battlefield,
chiefly, to be with Edmund, with whom she is in love. When her husband dies, she
immediately announces that she intends to marry Edmund. But the angry and jealous Goneril
poisons her sister and she dies. Regan is an evil, self-degrading and self-destructive character.

EDMUND
Edmund is, in wickedness, half-brother to Lago. He is an adept in deceiving others. He is the
illegitimate son of Gloucester. Edmund defines himself with the words 'bastard and base',
which recur like a refrain throughout his speech. He is a psychological study in the
aggression produced by illegitimacy. He embodies 'Nature' that promotes the survival of the
fittest. The 'Nature' that Edmund addresses as a deity is related to his own natural begetting. It
is the natural law governed by one's needs. In the course of his uncompromising struggle for
survival,

He becomes a Machiavellian villain. He has suffered a lot due to his bastardy. He has been
slighted and looked down upon by the society. He is driven to wickedness by the
disparagement and neglect of his kith and kin. He dupes his father into believing that Edgar
has evil designs. Hs| is so cunning that Edgar does not even suspect him. He succeeds in
disinheriting his brother, Edgar. He spies on his father and betrays him. By his wickedness he
has become the fit object of love of such wicked creatures as Goneril and Regan. He wants to
become the King of England. So he professes his love for both Goneril and Regan in the hope
that he would be able to marry one of them and gain possession of half of the kingdom. In the
battle he takes Lear and Cordelia prisoners. He sends them to prison and gives secret orders
that Cordelia is to be killed. He is determined that Cordelia should not stand between him and
his ambition to b« the king. Finally, the villainous Edmund is killed by his own brother,
Edgar.

EDGAR
Edgar is a modest, open and unsuspicious character. As the play proceeds, he emerges as
powerful. He is the legitimate son of Gloucester. He is totally duped by Edmund's folly and is
banished by his father. Edgar plays many roles. From Tom, the lowest possible member of
his society, he becomes a Tom who is invested with wit and is able to lead Gloucester. He
becomes a peasant, in which guise he convinces his father that he has survived a fall from
Dover cliff. Then he disguises himself as a rustic and saves his father and kills Oswald. Edgar
and Cordelia share common qualities. Lear calls Edgar a philosopher. He becomes Lear's best
friend and goes through the mockery of an imaginary trial involving the unkind daughters and
their father. Soon he doubts the course of action he has adopted. When he is convinced of his
brother's villainy, he begins to act bravely. He saves his father. At last, his real identity is
revealed and Edmund is killed by him. He becomes the Earl of Gloucester after the death of
his blind father. Edgar's philosophy consists in indifference to fortune, and of patience with
life itself.

THE EARL OF KENT

The Earl of Kent is a great nobleman who had been ever loyal to Lear. He honoured Lear as
a King, loved him as a father and followed him as a master. He is a Christ-like character.
What he says is true and wise. He shows the two-sided awareness of Lear's folly. He knows
that Lear's youngest daughter Cordelia is dutiful and full of love for the King and that the
words of Goneril and Regan are hollow. He also knows that Lear is rejecting the true and
accepting the false and that he is being foolish, on the level of practical prudence,
unquestionable courage and selflessness are the dominant qualities of Kent. When Kent begs
him to rescind his decision, Lear threatens him with death. Kent retorts that he does not tear
to lose his life, 'thy safety being motive'. He knows that Lear's safety is threatened by his
actions in the first scene, and he wants Lear to be safe. Lear mistakes him for being too proud
and banishes him. He is irresistibly impelled by his love for Lear to humble himself, and to
disguise himself as a servant, Caius in order to protect and help the man who had rejected
him. When misfortunes overwhelm Lear, Kent keeps watch on them. Throughout the play we
find him engaged in unquestionable service. When Oswald shows disrespect towards Lear, he
trips him. Later he quarrels with Oswald and he is put in the stocks. Throughout the storm
scene, his sober single-minded concern for the King is evident. He takes Lear to Dover. Still
his real identity is not revealed to Lear. Here Shakespeare takes care not to spoil Lear
reconciliation with Cordelia by adding to its recognition of Kent. Shakespeare does not want
to complicate the crowded actions of the play with the vigorous personality of Kent, so he
shows only thriftier attention to him in the latter half of the play. He is not seen in the battle.
In the last scene, Kent reveals his identity to the stark mad King but it is of no use. By the end
of the play, Lear has learned that Kent was quite right in his perception of reality.

THE FOOL PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE IN KING LEAR.

It is the only play among the tragedies of Shakespeare in which a Fool has been introduced.
The Fool used to be professional jester or clown whose function was to amuse the king and
the courtiers by jokes and with remarks. The Fool enjoyed a good deal of freedom to speak
on any subject and to comment on persons and events without any restraints. As the Fool's
function was purely to provide entertainment and to make people laugh, sometimes at
themselves. It is rather strange that Shakespeare should have introduced a Fool into his most
painful tragedy. His object in introducing the Fool seems to have been to provide comic relief
in a play where the events oppress our minds too much and where the sufferings of the chief
protagonist become almost unendurable for us. The Fool is a member of the King Lear's
court. He appears in caps and bells and is a constant companion of the King. He is an "all-
licensed fool". The court jester is able, through his wit, to attack the King. His jokes, riddles,
rhymes and his endless digs at Lear's folly are like a trickle of sanity running through the
play. He is a 'wise fool1 whose most important function is to point out to Lear the way in
which his distorted judgment has reversed the natural order of things. The rider should ride
the beast of burden; Lear lets the ass ride him. The father should punish his erring children;
Lear lets his children whip him. The King should teach the fool; Lear asks the fool to teach
him. Bluntly he call Lear a fool... When Lear warns him not to talk in this irresponsible
manner and threatens to whip him, the Fool replies that a man who speaks the truth is surely
treated like a dog that must be whipped out of the room, while a flatterer, who always speaks
falsely, receive kindness and affection. Lear says that the Fool's satirical attacks on him are
gainful to him like the plague. It is to be noted that the Fool is a keen observer of men and
affairs, and that he has a good deal of knowledge of human nature. His remarks and
comments may appear to be foolish on the surface, but there is good deal of sense in what he
says. Throughout the play, the Fool is the best friend of Lear. Among the Fool's qualities is
his answering loyalty to Lear. He remains with Lear in every situation. He shows his deep
attachment to the King and the King has really a soft corner for the Fool. This bond between
the King and the Clown does credit to both. The Fool's remarks to aggravate and intensify the
King's misery, but the Fool's intention were never to stab the King by his sarcasms. It is just
that the Fool is compelled by the habit to comment mockingly on every situation. Epithets of
endearment are continually exchanged between them. He has been Cordelia's friend, and
pined for her. There is a pathos that mingles with his humour when the fool clings to his
master amid the rigour of the storm. The Fool is the externalization of the conscience of his
master. He purges Lear of his obsession with his daughter's ingratitude by jesting and
buffoonery. He also reminds Lear of the sorrow that is gnawing at his heart; he stands for
worldly common-sense and comic-relief. He also acts as a safety valve for the emotions of
the audience. The inversion utterances are indications of his wisdom. When Lear begins to
speak in an idiom that has been used by the Fool the tutor Fool is no longer required. When
Lear tells him, "we will go to supper in the morning", the Fool replies 'And 1 will go to bed
at noon'. From this moment onwards Lear acts his own fool and Shakespeare boldly
dispenses with the Fool. Bradley remarks, "Imagine the tragedy without him, and you hardly
know it".

THE NEGLECT OF NATURAL LAW & PARENT CHILD RELATION

RELATIONSHIP

At the heart of King Lear lies the relationship between father and child. Central to this filial
theme is the conflict between man's law and nature's law. Natural law is synonymous with the
moral authority usually associated with divine justice. Those who adhere to the tenets of
natural law are those characters in the text who act instinctively for the common good —
Kent, Albany, Edgar, and Cordelia.

Eventually, Gloucester and Lear learn the importance of natural law when they recognize that
they have violated these basic tenets, with both finally turning to nature to find answers for
why their children have betrayed them. Their counterparts, Edmund, Goneril, Regan, and
Cornwall, represent the evil that functions in violation of natural law. All four conspirators
are without conscience and lack recognition of higher moral authority, since they never
consider divine justice as they plot their evil. Their law is man-made, and it focuses on the
individual, not the good of the community. Tragedy unfolds as two carefully interwoven and
parallel stories explore the abandonment of natural order and the unnatural betrayal of parent
and child.

In the primary plot, Lear betrays his youngest daughter and is betrayed by his two oldest
daughters. In almost identical fashion, the subplot reveals another father, Gloucester, who
betrays his older legitimate son and who is betrayed by his younger illegitimate son. In both
cases, the natural filial relationship between father and children is destroyed through a lack of
awareness, a renunciation of basic fairness and natural order, and hasty judgment based on
emotions. By the play's end, the abandonment of natural order leaves the stage littered with
the dead bodies of fathers and their children.

In the opening act, Lear creates a love test to justify giving Cordelia a larger share of his
kingdom. Although his kingdom should be divided equally, Lear clearly loves Cordelia more
and wants to give her the largest, choice section of his wealth. In return, Lear expects
excessive flattery and gushing confessions of love. But instead, Cordelia's reply is tempered,
honest, and reasonable — custom dictates that she shares her love between her husband and
her father.

Just as soon as Cordelia fails to meet her father's expectations, Lear disinherits her. At
Cordelia's loss, Goneril and Regan are quick to take advantage. They may have genuinely
loved their father at one time, but they now seem tired of having been passed over in favour
of their younger sister. After Lear states his obvious preference for Cordelia, the older sisters
feel free to seek their revenge, turning the family's natural order on its ear. At the same time,
Lear fails to see the strength and justice in natural law, and disinherits his youngest child,
thus setting in motion the disaster that follows. Lear puts in place a competition between
sisters that will carry them to their graves.

In a similar father-child relationship, the opening scene of King Lear positions Gloucester as
a thoughtless parent. The audience's introduction to this second father has him speaking of
Edmund's birth in a derogatory manner. Although Gloucester says that he loves both Edmund
and Edgar equally, society does not regard the two as equal — and neither does Gloucester,
whose love is limited to words and not actions of equality. According to nature's law,
Edmund is as much Gloucester's son as Edgar is; but according to man's law of
primogeniture, Edmund is not recognized as Gloucester's heir.

In one of the initial pieces of information offered about Edmund, Gloucester tells Kent that
Edmund has been away seeking his fortune, but he has now returned. Under English law,
Edmund has no fortune at home, nor any entitlement. Edmund's return in search of family
fortune provides the first hint that he will seize what English laws will not give him. Clearly,
Edmund's actions are a result of his father's preference — both legal and filial — for Edgar,
his older and legitimate son. This favouritism leads to Edmund's plan to destroy his father in
an attempt to gain legitimacy and Gloucester's estate. Again, the natural order of family is
ignored.

Gloucester rejects natural law and a parent's love for his child when he is easily convinced
that Edgar — the son he claims to love so much — has betrayed him. Gloucester also puts his
faith in Edmund's command of persuasive language, when he rejects the love his eldest son
has always shown him. With this move, the earl demonstrates that he can be swayed by
eloquence, a man-made construct for easy persuasion, which causes him to reject natural law
and the bond between father and child.

Edmund both ignores and embraces natural law. By betraying his father to Cornwall and
Regan, Edmund's self-serving course of action abandons nature's order and instead
foreshadows the Neo-Darwinist argument for survival of the strongest individual. His ability
to survive and win is not based on competitive strategies or healthy family relationships;
instead, Edmund will take what he desires by deceiving those who trust and love him.

Edmund's greed favours natural law over man's law because natural law doesn't care that
Edmund is illegitimate. He claims nature as his ally because he is a "natural" offspring, and
because man's law neglects to recognize his rights of inheritance. But, nature only serves
Edmund as a convenient excuse for his actions. His actions against his brother and father are
more a facet of greed than any reliance on natural law.

One might argue that Gloucester's cavalier attitude toward Edmund's conception mitigates
Edmund's actions. When combining this possibility with Edmund's final scene, in which he
tries to save Cordelia and Lear, Edmund clearly shows himself to be of different fabric than
Goneril, Regan, and Cornwall. In many ways, Gloucester is responsible for what Edmund
becomes. Edmund is as much Gloucester's son as is Edgar. In embracing the man-made laws
that reject Edmund's legal rights, Gloucester is denying natural laws that would make
Edmund and Edgar equal.

Gloucester also acts against nature in rejecting Edgar without sufficient proof of his
wrongdoing; thus, Gloucester shares responsibility for the actions that follow, just as Lear's
love test results in his rejection of Cordelia. Both men are easily fooled and consequently,
they both reject natural law and their children. Both act without deliberation, with hasty
responses that ultimately betray their descendants.

At the play's conclusion, Goneril and Regan's abandonment of natural order and their
subscription to evil has finally destroyed them. The audience learns early in the final scene
that Goneril has poisoned Regan and killed herself. Their deaths are a result of unnatural
competition, both for power and for love. But Lear is the one who set in motion the need to
establish strength through competition, when he pitted sister against sister in the love test.

The generational conflict between parent and child is an expected part of life. We grow
impatient with our parents and they with us. We attempt to control our children, and they
rebel. When Goneril complains that Lear and his men are disruptive and out of control, we
can empathize — recognizing that our own parent's visits can extend too long or that our
children's friends can be quite noisy. Shakespeare's examination of natural order is central to
our own lives, and that is one of the enduring qualities of King Lear.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The researcher has consulted following sources to complete the rough proposal:

PRIMARY SOURCES: Book written by William Shakespeare.

SECONDARY SOURCE:

WEBSISTE-

www.sparknotes.in

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www.shmoop.com

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