... pity in the reader. Ultimately, the parallels in Gloucester's story enhance and further universalize the play in its entirety; evil is not confined to nobility or legitimacy; it exists potentially in every man. Rushing to inaccurate conclusions inevitably leads to trouble, turmoil and tribulation. Both Lear and Gloucester mistake their offspring's true intentions, as they are blinded by the immediate rage they ... her father, Cordelia can only say that, "Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave/My heart into my mouth. I love your majesty/According to my bond, no more nor less" (William Shakesp...

• Word Count: 1594
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Nature, as a word, has many different associations, many of which are explored in King Lear. The Jacobean audiences watching the play would have known of, and possibilities believed in, herbal remedies, or the curing (Cordelia's medicines) and fortune telling (Gloucester's avid belief ... them their title (as in Goneril and Regan's case)? It is ironic in some ways that many of the characters in King Lear, who own or receive positions of high authority (Lear, Goneril, Regan, Edmund) are very flawed, and the last three could even be described as "evil". Whilst the two characters ... on nature, ...

• Word Count: 991
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate