King Lear Research Paper

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Indeed, the continued relevance to Shakespeare’s King Lear is relevant to modern day times. One of the reasons why Shakespeare and his texts have been so relevant in modern times is the illumination of the human experience. Shakespeare is able to summarise a range of human emotions in simple yet powerful verse which is the greatest reason for his long-lasting popularity. No author in present time has made more beloved passages than Shakespeare. This is highlighted by the themes, madness, justice and family which are evident in the plot of King Lear. Within Shakespeare’s text King Lear, one of the most prominent themes that are central to the tragedy of King Lear is madness. In Act 3, scene 2, (Lines 1-9), there is an emphasis placed on King Lear, nature and how nature is able to strip someone as powerful as King Lear…show more content…
Their greed to take over the throne and possession of power leads them to their own demise. Although Lear is to blame for his choice in his successors to the throne (his hamartia), he is also a father looking for the love from his daughters, which he finds through the sweet flattering words of Goneril and Regan. As previously mentioned, King Lear is stripped of his sanity and dignity in this storm scene because of his hamartia, which acts as a sort of poetic justice and catharsis. This can be seen in Act 3, Scene 2, and Lines 14-24: “Rumble thy bellyful! Spit, fire! Spout, rain! / Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire are my daughters/ I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness/ I never gave you kingdom, called you children/You owe me no subscription. Why then, let fall/l your horrible pleasure. Here I stand, your slave/ A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man/ But yet I call you servile ministers/ That will with two pernicious daughters joined/ Your high engendered battles 'gainst a head/ So old and white as this. Oh, ho! 'Tis

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