Class conflict is portrayed through the motif of disguise in another important way. ... Relating to the motif of cloths in King Lear, Charney claims that "Renaissance symbolism makes nakedness the most important symbolic attribute of truth. ... Glauester has comitted adultery, and therefore, the forth clause of the above quotation is related to him. ...
Many critics regard "King Lear" as the greatest, and most tragic, of William Shakespeare's plays; indeed, some claim that it is the most tragic play ever written. And yet, it is difficult to see why we should regard "King Lear" as a tragedy for the King is basically a pathetic old man, vain and foolish, rash in his judgment and incapable of controlling his emotions. This characterization seems to preclude viewing Lear on the Aristotelian model of a tragic hero, as someone raised above the ordinary level of humanity, except in the most conventional sense of his social status. Moreover, in ...
