while shrouded in a personal darkness. The malice of a large ego and the contempt of power drive the tragedy of this royal family. 2)3)A.C. Bradley remarks, “turning the hearts of the fathers against their children and of children against their fathers” (225) when describing this catastrophic story. In King Lear’s pursuit to have his daughters quantify their love, he is blinded to the understanding of how people around him truly feel. This very act sets in motion a series of events that emotionally show a king near the brink of insanity. 4)King Lear’s plight is illustrated in several beautifully written lines. King Lear’s pursuit to reaffirm love and devotion offers him tragic lessons in betrayal, pride, and the contemplation of his very existence.

The story begins with the tired king ready to relinquish his throne and wealth to his three daughters. He announces his decision by saying, 5)

(since now we will divest us both of rule,

Interest of territory, cares of state),

Which of you shall we say doth love us most,

That we our largest bounty may be extended

doth with merit challenge (I.i.50-55).

Johnson, Samuel. "Preface to Shakespeare.” King Lear. New York: Signet Classic, 1963. 212-224

Bradley A. C., Samuel. "From Shakespearean Tragedy.” King Lear. New York: Signet Classic, 1963. 225-242

King Lear’s mismanagement of his family and his kingdom makes him contemplate his reason for being when nothing else is left. After Lear relinquishes the throne, the king’s 14) Fool reminds him that without titles we are just men. King Lear is full of 15) self-righteousness and as his mask of prideful blindness is unveiled, the things that made him so great are slowly taken from him. One of the symbols of his pride, the one hundred knights, is taken from him by his daughters. In a response to this he says “O reason not the need! Our 16) basest beggars / Are in the poorest thing superfluous. / Allow not more than nature needs, / Man’s life as cheap as beast’s” (II.iv.263-265). This inflection of his life compares the things he thinks needs to exist with his new self-awareness. He soon learns the loss of power through tragedy is like being reduced to nothing more than an animal. King Lear says “Is man no more than this” when he realizes that the things that make a man are inward attributes and not the physical things (III.ii.58). This revelation tortures his 17) sole to its very core with the death of his three daughters and the realization that his true reason for being, the passing his bounty to the next generation

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