Actions vs Love

              The great writer and dramatist William Shakespeare wrote immortal dramas that has a global impact until now. He wrote the notorious drama, King Lear, which highlights a range of different psychological emotions. 

          King Lear’s play involves violence and cruelty, and that was instrumental in establishing the main content of his play. As an illustration, Goneril and Regan left their father homeless and mistreated him after dividing his kingdom among them.   

     

           Throughout his accurate characterization, Shakespeare shows the internal and external struggles between the family members. The conflict, in text, is not only between King Lear, the protagonist, and his daughter but also between the minor characters, each for their means of benefit. It is Lear's desire to divide his kingdom among his daughters according to whom is going to express more feelings of love to him than the others, but Cordelia could not match his expectations. 

      Moreover, when Kent asks “Is not this your son, my lord?” (Shakespeare, 1606) and Gloucester responds with embarrassment, “His breeding sir, hath been at my charge"(Shakespeare, 1606). This abstract shows the anomalous relationship between Gloucester, a foil character, and his two sons. In fact, it highlights the main moral of the drama،  which is Shakespeare's opinion about the society prioritising titles, labels, and wealth other than relations, even though he symbolized nobility and love as in Cordelia. 

          A King's usual character is wise and thoughtful. Contrarily, Shakespeare used the style of irony to portray the character of King Lear. The writer reflected his actions that resulted from his internal psychological struggle between his love and anger at Cordelia. This conflict has caused a major transformation in his life from a ruler king to a homeless old man. On the other hand, Cordelia's inner struggle between her duty and her true emotions led her to a better fate where she became a true queen, wise and sober. 

    Accordingly, Shakespeare's drama, King Lear, is full of different and contradictory emotions, most notably tenderness and cruelty. Also, it shows the folly and faults of us. It reflects the importance of actions that are stronger and more significant in expressing the heartfelt feelings than words.

written by:

Farah Emad