King Lears Journey of Finding Self-Knowledge - 851 Words

Lear s journey of finding self-knowledge In the play, we see King Lear going through a journey of self-knowledge. The play starts with King Lear who seems to be obsessed with honour. He divides his country, giving the one who honours him the most the biggest part. But the treachery of his daughters, Goneril and Regan, and the loss of the daughter who truly loved him, Cordelia, will make him see clear again. This will make Lear see himself and the world as they truly are. First I ll show how Lear lacks self-knowledge at the start of the play. Then I ll shortly discuss what political effects the lack of self-knowledge has on the country. Third I ll show what causes Lear to regain his self-knowledge. In the beginning of the play,†¦show more content†¦So the country is now divided and ruled by the evil daughters, Goneril and Regan. And Lear, even after he divided his country, wants to remain powerful and keeps a hundred knights. Goneril and Regan are unhappy with the way Lear is acting so they turn against him. This leaves the country divided and vulnerable, because Lear still owns a hundred knights. I guess that is why the French invaded, also the fact that Cordelia was banished and married France may have had something to do with it. So the decision of Lear to give Goneril and Regan his country and banish Cordelia seems to have caused a war. The great turning point for Lear is when he left Gloucester s castle and ends up in a fierce storm. Through Lear s anger over his last conversation with Goneril and Regan, and the power of the storm starts the process of the change within Lear. Lear starts to see the treachery of Goneril and Regan. Also from this moment, Lear no longer sees himself as a mighty king but as a poor, infirm weak and despised old man. All though Lear still doesn t blame himself for all this: I am a man more sinned against than sinning. After this Lear goes through another change, it seems Lear starts caring for those around him and not just of himself. He thinks about the poor and how hard their live is, he says: Poor naked wretches wheresoe er you are, that bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, howShow MoreRelatedA Comparison Between King Lear and Oedipus1649 Words   |  4 PagesKing Lear Comparison A tragedy is not only an imitation of life in general but an imitation of an action, as Aristotle defined his ideas in the Poetics, which presents Oedipus as an ultimate tragic hero. There is a obvious link between the two characters in that blindness – both literal and metaphorical – is a strong theme in the stories. Issues of self-recognition and self-knowledge are significant for Oedipus as well as King Lear. For Aristotle, Reversal, Recognition and Suffering are keyRead MoreChildrens Literature13219 Words   |  53 Pagesprecious (Bingham and Scholt 1980). Amusing books written specifically for children would have been economically and psychologically impossible (Townsend 1996). Children would probably have listened to adult works such as Beowulf, Song of Roland, El Cid, King Arthur, and Robin Hood. Children and adults also enjoyed folk tales and literature rich with fantasy and imagination, as myth was the way they made sense of their world. While there were no manuscripts devoted specifically to â€Å"children’s literature