Development of Lear´s Character in Shakespeare´s Tragedy 'King Lear'

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature Works grade: 13 Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz language: English abstract: The tragedy of King Lear written by William Shakespeare in the seventeenth century comprises a lot of informative topics that are still relevant today. For example Foakes is fascinated by the diversity of the play's themes saying [i]t is unsparing in its depiction of human cruelty and misery but also rich in its portrayals of goodness devotion loyalty and self-sacrifice (1). He adds that ...its language and its imagery have encountered many to see the play in terms of universal values as a kind of objective correlative for the spiritual journey through [the] life of [the] suffering Man (Foakes 1997 1). Foakes is insisting that the main plot and the sub-plot of the tragic heroes known as Lear and Gloucester are worth considering because both comprise many tragic events. First of all the main plot for the character Lear should be regarded because it seems to be more tragic and complex. Reading the tragedy it becomes obvious that Lear throughout the play undergoes a gradual development of his identity. The way he experiences this change is important to follow because it gives the readers a better insight into his changing personality. First Lear´s true identity will be represented in this paper through the abdication scene and banishment of Cordelia: [t]he proud and egotistical king of the first scene who cannot tell the difference between love and flattery... (Green 1992 171) unfairly divides his kingdom between his three daughters. Secondly Lear´s wandering in search of self will be shown after being dishonoured by his ungrateful daughters in the storm scene. After losing his power his daughters and his house Lear begins to lose his mind and in trying to find the reason of his suffering becomes mad. Finally Lear´s ripeness will be introduced after hi