Lessons in King Lear by William Shakespeare Essay -- King Lear Shakesp

Lessons in world-beater Lear by William ShakespeareSatisfying, hopeful, and redemptive some critics would say that these adjectives operate nowhere near a description of King Lear. One critic, Thomas Roche, even states that the plays ending is as bleak and unrewarding as man can reach outside the gates of hell (164). Certainly, Roches pessimistic interpretation has merit after all, Lear has seen nearly everyone he once cared for break in before dying himself. Although this aspect of the play is true, agreeing with this negative view requires a person to believe that Lear learns nothing and that he suffers and dies in vain. Indeed, this is exactly what Roche believes when he states that at the plays end, Lear still cannot tell good from evil . . . or true from false (164). This nihilistic approach, however, not only disregards many of the plays moments of philosophical insight, but it also completely misinterprets Shakespeares intent. That is not to say that Lear is without fa ult at the end of the play as Shakespeare surely understood, Lear is still human, and as such, he is subject to human frailty. What is most important about Lear, however, is not that he dies a flawed man but that he dies an improved man. Therefore, although King Lear might first appear bleak, Shakespeare suggests that Lears life, and human life in general, is worth all of its misery because it is often through suffering that people pull ahead knowledge about the true nature of their individual selves and about the nature of all humanity (Roche 164). From the very beginning of the play, Shakespeare suggests that King Lear has much to learn. As Maynard mackintosh explains in his essay Action and World in King Lear, the reader/audience is immediate... ...retations of King Lear. Ed. Janet Adelman. Englewood Cliffs Prentice Hall, 1978. 22-33.Jorgensen, Paul A. Lears Self-Discovery. Berkeley 1967. Kott, Jan. King Lear or endgame Shakespeare Our Contemporary. New York W.W. No rton & Co., 1974. 127-168.Mack, Maynard. Action and World in Shakespeare. Shakespeares Middle Tragedies. Ed. David Young. Englewood Cliffs Prentice Hall, 1993. 169-184.Roche, Thomas P. Nothing Almost Sees Miracles Tragic Knowledge in King Lear. detailed Essays on Shakespeares King Lear. Ed. Jay Halio. New York G.K. Hall & Co., 1996. 149-169.Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Ed. Russell Fraser. The Signet Classic Shakespeare. Sylvan Barnet, gen ed. 2nd rev. ed. New York Signet, 1998.---. Othello. Ed. Alvin Kernan. The Signet Classic Shakespeare. Sylvan Barnet, gen ed. 2nd rev. ed. New York, Signet, 1998.