Essay: Shakespeare’s King Lear, a tragedy about betrayal and treachery

According to the UN, upwards of 50,00 people have died in Yemen due to the recent famine. A Professor at UNC says humans must achieve zero net carbon emissions by 2050 to salvage the coral reefs. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has blocked all passageways into Venezuela in order to stop any aid from entering and maintain his power. In a world where it seems the bad guy is always on top, it is easy to turn a blind eye to reality. In Shakespeare’s King Lear, A tragedy about betrayal and treachery, readers begin to see that the characters who turn a blind eye to their situations fail. Yet, those who are diligent and aware achieve great success. Shakespeare shows readers, through his play, the dangers of not heeding their surroundings.
King Lear is the first character that readers can see is unaware of his true surroundings. At the beginning of the play, he divides his kingdom into three parts for each of his daughters. The only stipulation being, each must declare their love for the king before receiving their piece of land. Goneril declares her love first and receives her fair share. Then, Regan speaks and is given her piece as well. Finally, Cordelia is given the opportunity to declare her love but does not do so in a way that appeases the king. Cordelia is subsequently banished and disinherited from her land and wealth. Lear then decides to divvy up the land in two and has Goneril and Regan agree to house him. However, in the next scene, we can see Regan and Goneril, the ones who so profoundly declared their love, discussing their hatred for the king.”GONERIL You see how full of changes his age is; the observation we have made of it hath not been little: he always loved our sister most, and with what poor judgment he hath now cast her off appears too grossly. REGAN ‘Tis the infirmity of his age: yet he hath ever but slenderly known himself.” (Shakespeare, Act 1, Scene 1). This leads to the king being thrown out of his daughter’s homes and having his knights taken away. By the end of the play, King Lear is wasted, mad, and homeless. Furthermore, readers can see that Cordelia did actually love him all along. Had the King realized that his daughters, Goneril and Regan, did not actually love him, he would have survived through the play. Instead, though, The king is “blind” to his true situation and dies because of it.
Shakespeare’s second, and more literal, approach to getting his message across is with The Earl of Gloucester. Gloucester’s illegitimate son, Edmund, is plotting against Gloucester’s legitimate son, Edgar. Edmund wants to inherit all of the land and wealth that would otherwise go to his legitimate brother. This leads Edmund to fake a letter that says,” If our father would sleep till I waked him, you should half his revenue forever, and live the beloved of your brother, EDGAR” (Shakespeare, Act 1, Scene 2). Gloucester finds this letter and disinherits Edgar. Later in the play, Gloucester tells Edmund that he intends to betray The Duke of Albany and the Duke of Cornwall and assist Cordelia and the King of France by telling King Lear there is to be an invasion. Instead of keeping his father’s secret, he immediately tells The Duke of Cornwall about his father’s intentions. Cornwall then declares Edmund “Duke of Gloucester” thus achieving his dream of inheriting his brother and father’s wealth and land. Additionally, Gloucester(the original one) is arrested and has his eyes gouged out. Literally blinding him. By ignoring his situation and trusting his son who has been going behind the worlds back the entire play, Gloucester is stripped of his riches. At the end of the play, after realizing his mistake, he says, “O dear son Edgar, The food of thy abused father’s wrath! Might I but live to see thee in my touch, I’ld say I had eyes again!” (Shakespeare, Act 4, Scene 1). Gloucester states that if he were able to apologize and mend his wrongs he could “see” again. Obviously, he does not mean to literally see, but he means to be aware and acknowledge his circumstances.
King Lear is one of the greatest tragedies of all time and has many prevalent themes. Most importantly, though, is the theme of sight and the character’s ability to see what is really happening around them. Throughout King Lear Shakespeare displays to readers the dangers of being blind to one’s reality.
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