William Shakespeare's tragic play King Lear, composed around 1603, was first performed in 1605. The play is about kingship, and was written during a period when the monarchy was of central importance. In this time, the throne was being handed over from Elizabeth 1 to James 1, when King Lear was written and performed, in which James 1 extensively theorized the political role of the monarch as absolute ruler with divine right. Shakespeare's King Lear is considered to be not only one of the greatest tragedies written and performed, but as the primary representative of a great age of tragedy. This play explores Booker's conception of tragedy which reinforces the issues of tragedy and displays the textual integrity. Shakespeare's logical use of language and dramatic form provokes the audience and has allowed them to interpret the values in a variety of ways for centuries. Pride, blindness and filial ingratitude are all great tragedies peformed in the play, neither being more tragic than the other.
Shakespeare presents King Lear as a hubris king where his excessive pride potrays the human flaws, having a lack of wisdom and insight. King Lear expresses his "darker purpose" and instead of carrying out his duties in uniting a kingdom, he does the polar opposite and intends to divide it between his three children. As a king, King Lear is obligated to keep the society and kingdrom in order, contrasting to what he actually does. His pride gets in the way of him and he draws the consequences upon himself, leading to his hamartia. Lear's lack of wisdom demonstrates his skewered idea of what he thinks honest love and loyalty is. "Storm still" (3.4) is a trope used in King Lear to indicate Lear's inner disorder. Using nature as a physical power is done many times by Shakespeare and it is a reflection of King Lear's internal confusion. The storm ties in with the motif of nature in this tragic play.
