The fool of Shakespeare's King Lear is hardly that of the Concise Oxford Dictionary. ... He is a shrewd observer, and serves to show us that the real fool of the play is Lear himself. ... Indeed, throughout the play, a close relationship between Lear and his fool is shown. ... He offers Lear his coxcomb, effectively proclaiming him to have taken over his job in playing the fool over his children. ... While at times he plays the role of entertainer, he is also the confidant of the tragic hero, Lear, and the one who reveals the truth in every situation, without bias or prejudice. ...

• Word Count: 1465
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• Grade Level: High School

King Lear is a play that illustrates this poignant theme in brutal reality. ... At the beginning of the play, we see Lear as a proud, vain, and rash old king, not necessarily evil, but not good either. ... Shakespeare has transformed Lear from a rash and egotistical old king into a more kindly and sympathetic character. ... Blindness in King Lear is the inability to see past deception and see people for the way they truly are. ... King Lear was blinded and unable to see Regan and Goneril for their true character. ...

• Word Count: 1402
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• Grade Level: High School

King Lear: Themes Many themes are evident in King Lear, but perhaps one of the most prevalent relates to the theme of justice. ... King Lear's sin was that he disrupted this chain of being by relinquishing his throne. ... King Lear holds firm to his belief that the world is governed by the gods and in justice. ... Gloucester plays a parallel role to Lear in the play. ... Edgar is the moralist in this play. ...

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• Grade Level: High School

The protagonists of these two plays, Macbeth and King Lear, by means of their actions, thoughts and words reveal a theme to the audience. ... King Lear. ... Truth and Tragedy in King Lear. ... King Lear. ... Truth and Tragedy in King Lear. ...

• Word Count: 1354
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• Grade Level: High School

You may be asking yourselves why begin this forum on King Lear? ... He described King Lear as a "pure tragedy". ... There is criticism about whether King Lear is a Christian play. ... Do you believe King Lear is a tale of redemption? Thank you and enjoy studying King Lear. ...

• Word Count: 1659
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• Grade Level: High School

A Great Tragedy: The good misunderstood and the evil accepted Shakespeare's King Lear and Marlowe's Doctor Faustus is a detailed description of the consequences of one mans decisions that ends in a tragedy. ... It is not till the end of the plays that the honest people are recognized. ... In the opening of Shakespeare's King Lear the first error in judgement is introduced in scene 1.1 lines 95-98, where Cordelia confesses her love for her father. ... It is not until the end of the plays that Lear and Faustus is enlightened. ... Overall these plays were full of evil...

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• Grade Level: High School

According to this definition, there was much love displayed in Shakespeare's, King Lear. ... It can be said that all three of King Lear's daughters loved him, however, only Cordelia truly loved him. ... Another aspect of love to be examined in King Lear is that of loyalty. ... Two great examples of loyal characters in King Lear are Kent and Edgar. ... In the beginning of the play, Goneril and Regan profess how much they love their dear father, Lear. ...

• Word Count: 1526
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Proposing a test of his daughters' adoration, King Lear asks them each to describe how much they truly love him. ... Goneril, Lear's eldest daughter, is the first female character to speak in the play. ... The third and final female character of King Lear stands as the exact opposite of her sisters: Cordelia, Lear's youngest daughter, is least seen throughout the play. ... This resolution comes at the climax of the play: although good has somewhat triumphed, the King and all three of his daughters perish. ... These women hold the most important roles of any characters in King ...

• Word Count: 1537
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The motif of suffering is a main concern in "The Tragedy of King Lear." Whether from dramatic, literary or psychological viewpoints, the heart of King Lear is in the suffering of the titular King. ... The roles of women in King Lear are a source of heated discussion. ... In the case of King Lear, his mental state diminished rather badly. ... This is emphasised often in the play, for example in the violent blinding of Gloucester and Lear's anger. ...

• Word Count: 1506
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• Grade Level: High School

Discuss Shakespeare's handling of the concepts of blindness and insight in King Lear The concepts of blindness and sight are not explored by Shakespeare as physical qualities, but rather mental attributes. Blindness in characters exacerbates their ability to understand, causing misjudgement which leads to chaos in the play. ... At the beginning of the play, though Lear has physical ability to see, he is blind in the sense that he lacks understanding. ... He attempts to reason with King Lear on Cordelia's behalf, risking his life; "The youngest daughter does not love thee least,...

• Word Count: 1361
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Astrological imagery and references about the power of nature are prevalent throughout King Lear. ... King Lear was a British king who reigned before the Roman period. ... In King Lear, astrology is used in a broader context and with a lot of effect. ... But Edmund does not realize that he is actually playing right into the hands of astrology when he acts against his brother, father and the King. ... The old men in the play, Lear and Gloucester, believe in the power of the supernatural to influence events. ...

• Word Count: 1633
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• Grade Level: High School

In contrast the fool was able to continually work at Lear for most of the play, in a somewhat successful attempt to save Lear from his faults. ... During Lear's test of love, she calls out her sisters, claiming that they couldn't possibly love the king as much as they say because they already have husbands; "why have my sisters husbands if they say they love you all?... Lear is very stubborn and since he was once a king, he doesn't take direction well at all. ... Almost no one was allowed to address the king so bluntly, or to show any doubt in his decisions. ... At the end...

• Word Count: 1869
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

William Shakespeare's tragic play King Lear, composed around 1603, was first performed in 1605. ... The play King Lear potrays blindness as an issue which is submerged into both the plays main plot and sub plot. ... The plays main plot shows how King Lear's spiritual blindness is leading him to his madness. ... King Lear says that he will give nothing, when in the end of the play, the King is left with nothing. ... King Lear is choosing what to fight, which resembles King Lear at the begining of the play when he chose to love Regan and Gonerill over Cordelia. ...

• Word Count: 1964
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• Grade Level: High School

Throughout the story of King Lear, the evidence used to support my claim is pervasive and is demonstrated by various elements throughout the play. ... King Lear's blindness is introduced early on in the play. ... As the play continues, Lear's vision improves. ... King Lear's blindness eventually led to his own downfall and the balance of power in Britain was up in turmoil for the majority of the play. ... Doubling is an element used to create either parallels or oppositions in a play, and this element is pervasive and obvious in the King Lear play. ...

• Word Count: 1503
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• Grade Level: High School

In King Lear, by William Shakespeare , the fool is one of the most important characters in the play. Rarely has there existed a fool of such cruelty and common sense as the fool in King Lear. ... Lear's madness increases throughout the play, and the fool's presence emphasizes the moments where an alteration in Lear's state of mind in revealed. ... This is also the first mention of the Fool in the play, which emphasizes his importance and favoritism from the king, as he obviously enjoys Lear's highest courtesy and protection. ... (III, vi, 81), nonsensical gibberish, befo...

• Word Count: 1444
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• Grade Level: High School

We can also apply these two concepts to King Lear's characters, Lear and Cordelia, who fit noble morality. ... Cordelia is one of the few genuinely principled people in King Lear. ... (King Lear 1.1.91-93). ... In the play, Lear is an aging king who wants to retire and hand over his kingdom and hard work to his children but at the same time he also wants to enjoy the power of still being king without any of the responsibility. ... In King Lear, Cordelia and Lear have a more similar personality to Nietzche's noble morality theory. ...

• Word Count: 1260
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Physical sight as opposed to the metaphorical sight of truth is a pivotal theme in King Lear by William Shakespeare. ... In the opening scene of the play, both Gloucester and Lear believe their children love them. ... And with this final knowledge and final opening of his eyes, King Lear dies. Clearly the images of sight and blindness are central to the story of King Lear and to the character development of Gloucester and King Lear himself. ... All quotes taken from King Lear: A Conflated Text, The Complete Pelican Shakespeare, ed. ...

• Word Count: 1839
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• Grade Level: High School

In The Tragedy of King Lear, William Shakespeare draws our support for his villains as well as his heroes, asking us to explore what drives someone to action. ... In this way, King Lear suggests that people are given what they deserve, that there is justice in the end result and the way things turn out are always fitting. ... The genre of King Lear is unquestionably tragedy: tragic because of the absence of love within these five acts. ... Later, his love triangle with King Lear's daughters, Regan and Goneril, touches upon the sisters' own absence of love for their father. ... The ...

• Word Count: 2076
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• Grade Level: High School

Of all of Shakespeare's plays, King Lear contains Machiavellism in the villain aspect and one can say that Edmund is this type of tragic Shakespearian villain. ... King Lear continues the typical Shakespearian use of a machiavel-villain. ... King Lear's sudden and rash decisions concerning Cordelia and Kent trouble the mind of Gloucester. ... In fact, throughout King Lear, the daughters' descriptions are as vicious animals. ... King Lear's Edmund is a devout reader of that bible and practices realpolitik throughout the play. ...

• Word Count: 1654
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Of all of Shakespeare's plays, King Lear contains Machiavellism in the villain aspect and one can say that Edmund is this type of tragic Shakespearian villain. ... King Lear continues the typical Shakespearian use of a machiavel-villain. ... King Lear's sudden and rash decisions concerning Cordelia and Kent trouble the mind of Gloucester. ... In fact, throughout King Lear, the daughters' descriptions are as vicious animals. ... King Lear's Edmund is a devout reader of that bible and practices realpolitik throughout the play. ...

• Word Count: 1653
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Though, the women had a minor role in the plays, they played a big role in the lives of others in the play. ... Finally, there is Cordelia, one of the daughters of King Lear. ... It is nice that she died in her father's arms because King Lear finally realized that it was Cordelia that should be the one that should get the land because she was the one that told the truth about her love for him all along. ... There was nothing tragic about her death, except that King Lear should have loved her, not his other daughters, Goneril and Regan. ... Ophelia died because she loved Hamlet, and fin...

• Word Count: 1287
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• Grade Level: High School

To illustrate this point, I"ll briefly examine Iago and Othello from Othello; Edmund, Goneril, Regan, and Lear from King Lear; Jachimo and Posthumus from Cymbeline; finally, poor jealous Leontes and opportunist Autolycus from The Winter's Tale. ... Lear started his trouble, when he came in like a big jackass and made everyone declare their love for him. ... However, when she didn't want to play ball, Lear blows up, casts her out, and gets rid of one of the few people who will stay true to him throughout the entire play (Kent). ... Edmund was just a jealous brother that wanted ...

• Word Count: 1756
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Kenneth Jones Professor Bailey English 2322 May 28, 2000 A Look at Shakespeare's Edmund In King Lear, the villainous but intelligent Edmund, with more than a brief examination into his character, has understandable motivations outside of the base purposes with which he might at first be credited. ... Just as the corporate Edgar had no set goal from the outset to be Chief Executive Officer, the King Lear Edgar had not originally intended A Look at Shakespeare's Edmund to be King of England. ... Lear says "O, I have taken/Too little care of this. ... He sees what kin...

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Oedipus, Macbeth, Lear, Hamlet, Othello "or Willy Loman. ... "It is curious, although edifying, that the plays we revere, century after century, are the tragedies. ... The final aspect of Aristotelian tragedy is thought, which conveys the universal appeal and theme of the play. ... CHARLEY: Good, keep playing; you'll sleep better. ... However, it is too late for him to seek refuge since he has already been ordered that whoever murdered King Laos shall be either killed or exiled. ...

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He was very exuberant who wore a feathered hat (he looked like a French king, all curls and feathers. p.54). ... It as if he were in a play and all of the war and its situation was a play. ... He is comparable to the jester in King Lear; he tries to be funny, but there are hidden messages between all the jests....

• Word Count: 1430
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School