DRAMATIC GENRES

Dramatic Genres



Dramatic Genres

Dramatic Genre in King Lear

Introduction

King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare in 1603. It follows the story of a King and this slow descent into madness as he deals with aftermath of a lost estate as a consequence of distributing it among his daughters in order to gain flattery. It is loosely based on the mythological story of the Leir of Britain and has been utilized as the back story for several art productions. The journey of the King is one going from ignorance to learning the harsh realities of life. The relationship between the King and his daughters is central to the story, and I will be exploring this further in this paper.

Discussion

King Lear remains to this day a multi dimensional play, and while it tackles many themes, leadership and the madness attached to it is quite clear among them. Family life and its treatment is the most thoroughly discussed in the play, and critics have especially made notice of how the term “natural” is used more then forty times over the succession of the play, as a metaphoric connection to the link between what the King finds appropriate and what actually is Among the dysfunctional associations between King Lear and that of his three daughters and in its link to the Earl of Gloucester and his sons, the author displays in certain instances how having favourites in the family can damage the core values that a family functions on. In the play, King Lear is shown to hint at stepping down from his throne, and in order to do that, he must equally divide it into three among his daughters. Fishing for flattery, the King foolishly tells his daughters to compete for his affections in order to gain their inheritance. His three daughters, Regan, Goneril and the youngest Cordelia are shown to have a generally pleasant relationship with their father and each other, but after this proclamation, the 2 older daughters are overtaken by greed and attempt to flatter the King through their false manners to gain more inheritance. They forge tales of the vastness of their undying love for their father in an oily attempt to gain a higher ground in this “competition”. While both these girls are married, Cordelia is not, hence according to the customs of the time, is considered “pure”. She is against this idea of dividing the inheritance through the competition of who loves the King the most, and refuses to take part in it. She believes that she shows her affection towards her father in a more genuine manner everyday through her behaviour and deeds. Because of this, Cordelia is disinherited and the throne is divided between Regan and Goneril. The two older girls are disrespectful of their father and are quick to banish him from the land, the situation turning so bad for the King that he is seen roaming the streets in a desolate manner. He quickly recognizes his earlier mistakes and ...