Essay The Rise of Evil in King Lear - 2313 Words

King Lear: The Rise of Evil King Lear, the principal character in Shakespeare’s play of the same name, is a dominating imperious king. Though he takes initiative to disinherit his youngest daughter and exile his faithful friend, there is not in him the capacity for conscious and intentioned evil that is prevalent in his two elder daughters as well as in Cornwall, Edmund and Oswald. Nevertheless, there is a force in Lear that releases a movement of destruction in which evil does rise and momentarily take hold on the course of events. When Lear decides to renounce power in favor of emotions, the vital egoism in him which thrives on power rises up and asserts itself against the movement. It is the drive for power,†¦show more content†¦Only the youngest, Cordelia, who was Lears favourite and undoubtedly given freedom by his emotions from the iron hand of his will, was free to develop naturally the nobler qualities which lie latent in her father, depth and richness and goodness of heart. But even in Cordelia there is evident a wilful stubborn mind, sense of pride and the egoism that is their natural consequence and that prevents the emotions from fully blossoming in their native power for good. In Lears words, O most small fault, How ugly didst thou in Cordelia show! Which, like an engine, wrenchd my frame of nature From the fixd place; drew from my heart all love And added to the gall. (I. iv. 266-270) Cordelias brief caustic remarks to her sisters after the court scene, reveal the manner in which that egoism can express itself as cruelty whether justified or unjustified. I know what you are; And, like a sister, am most loath to call Your faults as they are named. (I. i. 269) In choosing to pursue a doctrinaire idealism, Cordelia loses not only her share in the kingdom but the power to help her father. Because her idealism is genuine, she gains a noble husband in the King of France and power outside of Britain. She loses her inheritence for her pride but gains a husbands loveShow MoreRelatedLiterary Analysis Of William Shakespeare s Macbeth And King Lear1605 Words   |  7 Pagestragic parallels in two of his tragic plays, Macbeth and King Lear, which have both gone down as literary picassos. In both plays, themes of madness and injustice are clearly presented, along with containing parallel ideas about scheming, hypocrisy, and abuses of power. Likewise, female deception is also very apparent in both of the works plot, only adding to the idea of madness that both plays are trying to portray to their readers. In King Lear, his daughters Regan and Gonoril deceptively lie to himRead More Comparing the Dominant and Feminist Readings of Shakespeares King Lear 1358 Words   |  6 PagesComparing the Dominant and Feminist Readings of King Lear      Ã‚   Shakespeares King Lear has been the source of much contention as to the way in which the text can be read. 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