ipl-logo

Textual Analysis Essay In Shakespeare's King Lear

2030 Words9 Pages

Textual Analysis In Act I scene i of William Shakespeare’s King Lear, the protagonist, Lear, demands his daughters to publicly profess their love for him. Two of his daughters, Regan and Goneril do not hesitate to praise King Lear and exaggerate their love for him, whereas his third daughter Cordelia honestly admits that she cannot flatter him like her sisters. When King Lear warns her she will not bequeath any land, the Earl of Kent, Lear’s loyal advisor, points out that this is a mistake and he should not fall for the flattering words, but rather for actions. Shakespeare underscores the theme of deceit versus honesty through Kent’s language and actions which I attempt to communicated to the audience through interpretations of the text focusing on his gestures, tone, and physicality. …show more content…

Kent believes that “to plainness honor’s bound when majesty falls to folly” (I.i.165) or “when power to flattery bows” (I.i.165). The flattery Kent refers to is the disingenuous and exaggerated professions of love from his daughters Goneril and Reagan, which he has to point out for the lies they are as he is honest and loyal. The juxtaposition of majesty falling to flattery foreshadows the effects of Lear’s lack of judgment and the literal fall of his majesty. Shakespeare usage of the litotes when Kent explains Lear that his daughter Cordelia “does not love (him) least” (I.i.171), underscores his usage of plain language, as opposed to decorative speech, which again pertains to his truthful nature. To emphasize this honesty to the audience during my performance, Kent barely uses gestures and in the cases where he does they are minimalistic gestures as a slight shaking of the head for “does not love (him) least” (I.i.171), which is a juxtaposition to the deceptive eldest sisters who’s gestures are purposely exaggerated for the opposite

Show More
Related

  • King Lear Quotes Analysis

    548 Words  | 3 Pages

    “I have learned that when you loved somebody you will address him or her by different names.” Pg. 6 “We lived and died by nature and followed the whims of the timeless clouds.” Pg. 7 “On my twelfth birthday I got a new shiny new 16-gauge smelling richly of oil, and the next time we went into the woods I wasted a whole box of shells out of sheer exuberance, and Skip thought I had gone insane.”

    Read More

  • Shakespeare Dbq Essay

    529 Words  | 3 Pages

    A renaissance man is a person with many talents or areas of knowledge. Shakespeare was an outstanding writer. The author might have an interest in Renaissance men. This might be the reason for the writer to be interested in this topic. Shakespeare was a renaissance man.

    Read More

  • Use Of Ethos And Logos In Shakespeare's Hamlet

    190 Words  | 1 Pages

    In conclusion, the princes’ decisions on which casket to choose reveal that the two are unfit to marry Portia. Through ethos, pathos, and logos, Shakespeare conveys this idea in their monologues about each casket. Using ethos, Shakespeare highlights both princes’ arrogance. Additionally, Shakespeare’s use of logos continues to reflect the princes’ selfishness and conceitedness. And, pathos also demonstrates how emotion, or lack thereof, hinders both of the princes’ thinking.

    Read More

  • Norma Desmond's Delusions In King Lear

    1469 Words  | 6 Pages

    This shows Kent’s intentions of feeding into Lear’s downfall by pretending to be someone else just to prove his love and watch out for him. As Kent pretends to be Caius, he’s only telling Lear what he wants to hear, and not the obvious truth: that his daughters are evil, and the power he had a confident grip on for so many years is slipping out of his fingers like grains of

    Read More

  • Deceitfulness In Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing

    1229 Words  | 5 Pages

    Within the play, Much Ado About Nothing, there is a central theme of deceitfulness, as a way to solve a problem or an issue amongst the characters. Deception, though inherently perceived as evil, it led to positive resolutions after several conflicts throughout the play. In the creation of this theme, Shakespeare uses both negative and positive examples to contribute to his lesson on ruses. Within this specific scene, there is finally disclosure all of the cons that the various characters have put on. This scene highlights that deception is not always evil, nor is it always moral, but can be a means to an end that can be beneficial or detrimental to a character’s arc.

    Read More

  • Macbeth Act 3 Scene 2 Essay

    500 Words  | 2 Pages

    The scene Act 3 scene 2, conveys the theme that killing someone isn't the most proficient way in dealing with problems nor does it make life simpler, instead it creates more complications. Ironically, In this scene Lady Macbeth and Macbeth discuss the death of Banquo; both of them begin to show signs of fear & guilt. Both of them realize the troubles that come with killing Banquo, and recognize that troubles follow; his son Fleance can still cease the prophecy. This is demonstrated in the metaphorical quote “We have scorched the snake, not killed it.” Macbeth refers to Banquo as a snake, who has not yet been killed and is still able to “attack” them.

    Read More

  • Hyperbole And Allusion In Shakespeare's 'Willow Cabin'

    323 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hyperbole and allusion contribute to the tone and meaning because it reveals the core of the love triangle which allows Viola to deliver her message while also expressing her love for Orsino. Allusion plays a vital role in the meaning behind this passage. The use of allusion in Shakespeare’s work allows him to create a double meaning in passages like the “Willow Cabin” speech. Here, the double meaning lies in Shakespeare’s use of allusion in order to conceal Viola’s declaration of love for the Count as a declaration of love for Olivia. Writing “loyal cantons of contemned love” is Viola’s way of saying that she will write songs of loyalty expressing her unrequited love (273).

    Read More

  • Sympathy For King Lear's Redemption

    249 Words  | 1 Pages

    The audience sympathise with King Lear’s redemption. Throughout the play, he gets a chance at redemption to make up for his mistake of having “thy truth being the dower:” for his daughter. He realises the folly of his actions and redeems himself stating “I am a very foolish fond old man”. This demonstrates King Lear's change in character as he learns that he is not as powerful as thinks he was and starts to become more humble. There is a lure of sympathy for King Lear because a story of redemption inspires people and catches their imagination, that anything is possible.

    Read More

  • Lies And Manipulation In King Lear

    842 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout William Shakespeare’s tragic play, King Lear, the goal of gaining control over the kingdom and boasting about one’s status drove the characters to deceive each other through the use of lies and manipulation. Right from the start, King Lear demanded that his daughter profess their love for him, causing Regan and Goneril to exaggerate their love all to flatter their father and gain the most of his land. When it was Cordelia’s turn, even though she spoke from her heart about how much her father means to her, her words did not praise her father enough as he insisted she revise her confession. Act 1 Scene 1 started the destruction of the Lear family as Regan and Goneril proved successful in gaining their father’s land by spreading lies

    Read More

  • Theme Of Deception In King Lear

    765 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the play, deception is a vital element in the betrayal of both King Lear and Gloucester. For example, Shakespeare depicts Edgar’s scheme personality by saying, “A credulous father, and a brother noble— / Whose nature is so far from doing harms” (1.2. 192-193). By utilizing descriptions such as “credulous” and “noble” to describe Gloucester and Edgar, it reveals the malicious aspect of deception. Shakespeare shows the evil behind this deception by revealing Edgar wants to take advantage of the innocent for his own personal gain. In contrast, Kent’s deception is seen as, “If but as well I other accents borrow, /

    Read More

  • King Lear Character Development

    1057 Words  | 5 Pages

    In this essay I want to show that in the first act of King Lear it was already hinted at some points of the development that the characters of King Lear and the Earl of Gloucester go through. The character Lear shows signs that he is becoming mad while it begins to affect his life and those of the other characters in the play . In the beginning of the Play King Lear decides to divide his Kingdom into three parts and split it among his three daughters with the goal to prevent future conflicts and to rid him of the burden of ruling. However he decides that the Kingdom should be split according to how much his daughters love him and not by who is the best ruler “Which of you shall we say doth love us most, / that we our largest bounty may extend

    Read More

  • Nature And Culture In Shakespeare's King Lear

    1226 Words  | 5 Pages

    William Shakespeare's King Lear is depressing and has no mercy, but it also encounters many more aspects which are quite important for everyone to know, such as: trails of deaths, battles, love, hatred, treacheries and most importantly nature and culture. Shakespeare created a play where the world was cruel and there was only plotting and tragedy with no shining light at the end of the tunnel. Shakespeare makes King Lear, a natural figure to show the hypocrisy. The connection between King Lear and Cordelia is an analogy for the relationship of nature and culture. It seems that King Lear believed in culture instead of nature, he could not understand his youngest, nicest and the most loving daughter Cordelia only because she had no words to

    Read More

  • King Lear Theme Analysis

    858 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is often said that the opening scene or chapter of a drama sets the stage for the major themes that the reader will see throughout the book or play. This theory is proven to be true in William Shakespeare’s King Lear. The first scene in act one helped to introduce some of the themes that would be seen throughout the rest of the play like the idea of madness, reconciliation and the idea of authority versus chaos. One major theme was reconciliation. In the very beginning when Lear was asking his daughter how much they all loved him, Cordelia couldn’t come up with the right words to say that would express her feeling for her father and accused her sister of exaggerating their love for him.

    Read More

  • I Am A Man More Sinned Against Than Sinning Analysis

    1327 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Tragic Hero In Shakespeare's King Lear

    1560 Words  | 7 Pages

    Practice can make things perfect, but it is the passion that persuades them. In King Lear, Lear’s first phase of development is about his wild enthusiasm (passion). First and foremost of the play, Lear enters his castle and begins to discuss the division of Britain between his daughters: Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. Lear says that he will handover his throne, but whoever expresses greater amount of their affection shall get the largest bounty; “Which of you shall we say doth love us most?” (1.1.52).

    Read More

More about Textual Analysis Essay In Shakespeare's King Lear

Open Document