Division and Destruction in King Lear Essay - 1662 Words

King Lear: Division of the Country, Destruction of the Family As Shakespeare’s King Lear opens, the political conditions in Britain are precarious. Lear is an aging king, four score and upward, with three daughters and no male heir. Sooner or later power must be transferred.nbsp; Through no mans fault, persons of extremely evil propensity were placed very close to power. This situation is an outer expression of the conditions of the social consciousness of the country. Until now Britain has been ruled by a powerful monarch who kept the country unified by his strength. There is no one of equal power to replace him. The solution which naturally suggests itself is a division into three parts, each to be ruled by a daughter and her†¦show more content†¦But as he is placed in life, Lears emotions are too much dominated by selfishness, vanity and egoism to express real love or affection. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; As the country has come to a transition point, so has Lear. In his old age, he feels compelled to put aside the mantle of authority and spend his last days in the comfort and warmth of his youngest daughter Cordelias affection. There is in Lear an inner urge to renounce the satisfactions of power with which he is saturated and grow into the satisfactions of the heart. But there is also much in him which is so accustomed to the privileges and pleasures of absolute power that to give them up would itself seem like death. What takes place is a working out of the forces within his being, compelling and resisting a shift in consciousness from the vital to the emotional center. nbsp; Lear announces a contest in which the kingdom is to be divided among his three daughters and their husbands according to each ones profession of love and devotion to him. Even the manner in which he expresses his intention forebodes a different outcome. nbsp; Meantime we shall express our darker purpose. Give me the map there. Know that we have divided In three our kingdom; and tis our fast intent To shake all cares and business from our age, Conferring them on younger strengths, while we Unburdend crawl towardShow MoreRelatedEssay on Lears Character in William Shakespeares Play1216 Words   |  5 PagesLears Character in William Shakespeares Play The view of Lear being bent on his own destruction from the beginning of the play is an acceptable claim. 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