Shakespeare's King Lear: The ANTICIPATED End

Abstract

William Shakespeare's King Lear begins with Lear ignoring the natural order of inheritance by deciding to divide his kingdom among his three daughters before his death. Typically human, Lear is influenced by the flattery of his two eldest daughters, Goneril and Regan, while his true and loving daughter, Cordelia, is abandoned. The most remarkable aspect of human nature present in this play is greed, from which the two eldest daughters of Lear, their husband, and certainly Edmund, suffer. Even Lear himself divided his kingdom for some greedy reason, wanting all the benefits of being king but no responsibility. Sweet and innocent Cordelia has little chance against her sister's betrayal. There is no reward for being "good" at the play, leading you to believe that God is not involved in the unfolding events. Instead, nature governs the outcome, a Darwinian survival of the fittest in which the most desirable qualities are avarice and deception. Although the play is set before the rise of Christianity, it was written for a Christian audience. Many Protestants in the UK believe that God has a plan for everyone and everything that happens in the universe for a reason and will eventually lead to something better. In this work, however, that belief is noticeably absent. There is no happy ending when good triumphs over evil except for Edgar defeating Edmund, which was not enough to save Cordelia in the end. Edgar's defeat to Edmund in itself was a fraternal rivalry, reminiscent of the biblical Cain and Able, even if they were only half-brothers. What happens in the play doesn't seem to be for the better, at the end of the play the king and all of his daughters die, leaving England under either Albany or Edgar's control. Instead, the play is fueled by the greed of men and women who want happiness, but do nothing to deserve it. The play's tragic ending reflects a nihilistic perspective, where there is no promised end but chaos and death.