King Lear Research Paper

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The “parallel plot structure” is an important literary device used in the play King Lear by Shakespeare. When we talk about ‘parallel plot’ it means that a secondary storyline goes along with the main plot. In King Lear the two plots are perfectly knit, each running in a parallel manner. The two plots complement each other with the mirroring of characters, language and themes. Shakespeare tells two similar stories of fathers who falsely reject their loyal offspring and are manipulated by their treacherous children. Both the stories begin with wrong judgments, develop through sufferings and end up in enlightenment and redemption. In King Lear the parallel plot structure makes the play more tragic and more dramatic. It enhances and reflects the action of the main plot by translating its verbal and visual patterns. Some evident parallels between the main plot of the play including Lear and the parallel plot including Gloucester can be perceived from the very first scene. The parallel plot of Gloucester reflects that of King Lear’s so closely that his journey echoes that of King Lear’s journey.…show more content…
Lear through his own misjudgment is deceived about Cordelia and, Gloucester, about Edgar. Then both the characters are abandoned to wander in Britain by their own evil children, King Lear is thrown out by his elder daughters whereas, Gloucester is tricked by his villainous son Edmund. The stories develop together and reach the same tragic ends. Towards the end of the play, when Gloucester is blinded and Lear has lost his mind, both finally recognize their errors. Both end up wiser and more compassionate men after their suffering. Gloucester's problems can be compared with King Lear's and similarities can be found very easily. Although King Lear is the main focus of the play yet the story of Gloucester heightens and dramatizes the play’s main

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