Loyalty is a fickle mistress. At times she is a guiding figure, giving heart to the protagonist’s quest. Other times she betrays the protagonist, turning those one trusts against themselves. Important to note is that loyalty is neither good nor evil, but a means to justify one’s actoins. Two classic examples of loyalty’s nature is The Aeneid and King Lear. In The Aeneid, Aeneas finds himself amongst the chaos of Troy’s death, torn between loyalty to his family and loyalty to his supposed fate. King Lear finds himself facing a sharp betrayal at his two supposed loving and loyal daughters. These narratives highlight the nature of loyalty, that it transcends good or evil, and instead is a means to justify one’s actions. King Lear finds himself in a conflict with his daughters due to his inability to properly assess the loyalty of them. At the start of the play King Lear poses a question to his three daughters, “Which of you shall we say doth love us most?”(Shakespeare, Act.Scene.Line) …show more content…
Loyalty entails an appreciation of the one that you are loyal to. To be loyal to someone is to trust, respect, and believe in what they are. Thus when Lear asks his daughters how much they love him, he is assessing the level of loyalty for him they poses. Tragically, as is the nature of King Lear, Lear misreads his daughter’s loyalty. Goneril and Regan offer up flowery language and lofty claims of their love, (Goneril to Lear) “I love you more than words can wield the matter…” and Regan’s words “I am alone felicitate in your dear highness’ love,” falsely portraying their loyalty to him (insert citation act.scene.line). Lear has fallen into the trap of thinking that loyalty is guided by morality. Loyalty doesn’t
In the tragic play Antigone by Paul Woodruff, he conveys loyalty to have a horrible effect on characters in the story. Loyalty is being shown through ANTIGONE: “But I will bury him, and if I must die. I say that this crime is holy” (Sophocles I. Prologue. 192).
The Awakening Of Hamlet and Laertes Comparing Laertes and Hamlet. Figuring out how they are alike and dislike in many ways, most of the play they are well alike. After Hamlet kills Polonius, Laertes down the road faces the same problems as Hamlet; a murdered father. In the beginning Laertes and Hamlet didn’t have the same similarities, but since both of there fathers were murdered they both have something in common. While Hamlet, is messing around and playing with the murderer as if he was an animal, Laertes takes immediate action.
This is an example of the perils of excessive loyalty. In the play Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare warns about the dangers of extreme loyalty through the behavior of Romeo and Juliet. Juliet is one of the most faithful characters in the play, and also the most tragic, which is Shakespeare’s way of showing the dangers of acute loyalty. When Juliet visits Friar Lawrence after she fights with her parents, she says all the things she’d rather do than
loy·al·ty ˈloiəltē/ noun the quality of being loyal to someone or something. a strong feeling of support or allegiance. Loyalty is very strong and very meaningful, like true love or brotherhood. Loyalty has to be earned, not just given away. In The Odyssey, the epic poem by Homer, Odysseus’ crew is steadfastly loyal to him and follow nearly his every direction, even though they are given many reasons not to be.
What is being loyal to someone, how can it be seen? Why is it that when one is betrayed, that is all that they think about night and day? The truth is loyalty cannot be seen but only felt between people who have faith within one another. As for betrayal, it can affect one so severely that it cannot leave their mind, especially if a loved one has caused it. In “Choices” by Susan Kerslake and “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury, the authors suggest that a person can change based solely on their needs, and question their ability to stay loyal or betray.
“My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite.” (2.2.140-142) Throughout the tale of Romeo and Juliet, loyalty is shown in different ways. The theme of remaining loyal when things get tough can be seen throughout Romeo and Juliet, through Romeo finds out that Juliet is a Capulet and remaining loyal to her , Juliet remains loyal to Romeo when she found out that he killed her cousin Tybalt, and Mercutio defending Romeo against the insults of Tybalt .
Honestly what is loyalty? One can’t even begin to define such a word. It’s one single seven letter word yet, it has a deep profound definition. Typically one does not use loyalty until they are put to the test. The test can be anything, like staying loyal to the patriots or staying loyal to your best friend.
Can someone’s loyalty to you change the way you treat them? In the Book of Ruth, Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi and God gave her what she wanted which is a husband. Loyalty was presented in so many ways in this book. Ruth was not only loyal to Naomi and God, but Boaz was loyal to Ruth by going to marry her through every circumstance. Those are the 3 instances in the story where loyalty is prominent.
Someone once said, “Loyalty isn’t grey. It’s black and white. You’re either completely loyal, or not loyal at all. And people have to understand this. You can’t be loyal only when it serves you.”
Most people do things in the name of loyalty when it reality it betrays the person they are trying to be loyal to. People decide to betray or remain loyal to others for the greater good of their cause; unaware of the morality of their decisions nor of the effects their decisions have on others. In Hisham Matar’s In the Country of Men, the object of betrayal within the book is subject to the betrayers’ idea of
In addition, the negative connotation of “nothing” repeated several times and the breakdown of the language foreshadows a breakdown of the family. As she reasons about her answer, Cordelia also expresses her compassion towards her father through a hyperbole by stating, “Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave my heart into my mouth” (Lear 1.1.93-94). Justifying her response, Cordelia expresses that her love towards him cannot be properly expressed as she contrasts how he has “begot [her], fed [her], loved [her]” and in return she “obeyed [him], loved [him], and most honored [him]” to show that she loves her fathers as much as their relationship requires (Lear 1.1.99-101). Though she speaks from her heart, Lear ultimately rejects her argument, recognizing that she is not worthy of his wealth as expressed through his belittling tone. As a result, Lear blesses his kingdom upon his ungrateful, lying daughters who he believes to have loved him the most when in fact, he exiled the only daughter to have truly loved him.
In the beginning of the play, Lear decides to distribute his estate to his daughters by asking who loves him the most that he thinks he already knew the
The play, Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, and the novella, Animal Farm, by George Orwell, demonstrates many examples of loyal characters and ones who betray. Betrayal can bloom between the closest of friends to a pleasant acquaintance or even an idea; it can be one-sided and happen to anyone at any time, but there must be trust in a relationship before treachery. Which one is worse if the two live within each other? One must prevail against the other, but why do the two subsist? Just like hate comes from love, betrayal comes from loyalty; the two go hand in hand.
King Lear forced them to tell him how much they love him so that he could divide up the kingdom for them. She knows that it is her job to love him as a father and a king, but she was unable to show how much she loves him. Cordelia was the daughter that loved him the most but did not want to flatter her father. This is important because I feel as if this starts the conflict of the story and gives
It is a striking event how he treats his alleged favourite daughter and how easily he believes the lies he is being fed. Despite this, his quote holds a certain truth to it. As Lear has sinned against Cordelia, his other two daughters have sinned against him. He is right in his words for the reason that, although he was unjust and treated Cordelia disrespectfully, he did it because he felt betrayed.