Tragedy- Lear’s flaw in “King Lear “

By E. C.

It is perhaps, through every fault of his own, that tragedy unfolds around Lear during the course of the play. His quick temper, so fiery, that the resulting billows of smoke cloud any of his better judgement. Which unsurprisingly causes him to incorrectly evaluate the surrounding characters and fail to identify underlying motives. Thus can the audience ever be brought to pity him, even when he stands at the very source of all his misfortunes?

From the starting scene Lear demonstrates the fatal flaw in his personality. Dividing up his land between his three daughters so he can “unburthened crawl towards death”. In return he asks each to vouch for their love for him, where after he can decide “which of you doth love us most”. The youngest, Cordelia, refuses to play his game and feed his ego but as consequence come “between the dragon and his wrath”. In a surge of anger Lear disowns Cordelia even though he “loved her most”. Now that “her price is fallen” the prospects of a good marriage and future become very slim; “lost a father… must lose a husband”. The only offer Cordelia receives is a proposal from France, whom now she must accept and follow. Thus Lear deals himself his first blow.

Left in the care of his other pair of mean spirited daughters, who manipulate Lear’s famous temper to their advantage. Wishing him out of their charge, they launch a series of insults; “more like a tavern or a brothel than a graced palace”. Lear is quickly baited. His heated disposition lands him and his companions out on the moors in the middle of a storm.

It is here that Lear begins to understand that he “hadst little wit in his bald crown, when thou gavest thy golden one away” and “madest thy daughters thy mothers”. From this Lear commences his descent into madness. Surprisingly with his unstable mental state comes a realisation and deeper understanding of others, along with a more empathetic treatment of them. Maybe this is the biggest tragedy of all? That Lear had to go insane as punishment for his previous mistakes and rashness. That when trapped in his madness, he is in fact, trapped in purgatory. 

By the end of the play one begins to believe that King Lear really is a character “more sinned against than sinning” and either ironically or unfortunately, Lear was caught in his own vicious cycle. One where he, unknowingly, was sinning against no-one, but himself and grievously the wheels that his temper had set in motion had gathered too much momentum to prevent the ensuing tragedy.