Essay on Facing the Consequences in King Lear -- King Lear essays

King Lear Facing the Consequences Shakespeares tragedy King Lear is a detailed description of the consequences of one mans decisions. This fictitious man is Lear, King of England, whose decisions greatly spay his life and the lives of those around him. As Lear bears the status of King, he is, as one expects, a man of great power. But, sinfully, he surrenders all(prenominal) of this power to two of his daughters, as a reward for their demonstration of love towards him. This untimely abdication of his throne results in a chain reaction of events that sends him on a journey toward Hell, in order to expiate his sin. As the play opens one can almost immediately see that Lear begins to make mistakes that will eventually result in his downfall. The very first words that Lear speaks in the play are Give me the map there. Know that we draw divided/ In three our kingdom, and tis our fast intent/ To escape from all cares and business from our age, / Conferring them on younger strengt hs while we/ Unburdened crawl to death. (I.i.38-41) This gives the reader the first indication of Lears intent to abdicate his throne. He goes on nevertheless to offer parcels of his kingdom to his daughters as a form of reward for passing his test of their love Great rivals in our youngest daughters love, / Long in our court have made their amorous sojourn, / And here are to be answered. Tell me, my daughters/ (Since now we will divest us both of rule, / Interest of territory, cares of state), / Which of you shall we say doth love us most? / That we our largest bounty may extend/ where nature doth with merit challenge. (I.i.47-53) The most signif... ... All of this suffering that Lear endures can be traced back to the single most all important(predicate) error that he made, the decision to give up his throne. This sin has proven to have massive repercussions upon the life of Lear and the lives of those around him, eventually leading to the deaths of almost all who were d irectly involved with his abdication. After following Lears demise which was brought on by a single wrong turn, one cannot help but interrogate what difficult corners lie ahead that may cause similar alterations in ones own life. Works Cited Bloom, Harold. Shakespeare The Invention of the Human. fresh York Penguin Putnam, 1998. Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare A to Z. New York Roundtable Press, 1990. Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Eric A. McCann, ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovick.