Preview

King Lear Loyalty Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1266 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
King Lear Loyalty Analysis
Within the novel King Lear by William Shakespeare the theme of loyalty is present though out the entire play. This is shown thoroughly through Kent, with his loyalty towards King Lear. It is also shown by Cordelia with the true love of her father, King Lear. Lastly it is shown through Gloucester with his constant helping of the King. People are loyal to others not asking for any reward in return, but instead they are loyal to them for their own personal happiness. They are often not rewarded for what they have done for these people they are loyal to.

Kent is one of the best examples of loyalty within the play King Lear, this is because of his constant devotion to King Lear. After Kent is banished from the kingdom he then says this to himself
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Prince And Julius Caesar Context And Form
    • 1311 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Prince And Julius Caesar Context And Form

    Shakespeare’s focus is characterisation and valuing honour and loyalty to the monarch in the context of performance…

    • 1311 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Power: King Lear and the Pursuit of Happyness
    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Power: King Lear and the Pursuit of Happyness

    True power is defined as self-awareness and self-control. Shakespeare portrays this idea through symbolic blindness and parallel structuring between characters. King Lear personifies the absence of personal power at the beginning of the play as he creates a “love contest” between his daughters, revealing his need for flattery to affirm his position. It is through his lack of self-awareness that he is vulnerable to manipulation and deception despite his initial authoritative power. Kent, Lear’s loyal companion who himself has personal power, attempts to help Lear “see” through his ego: “when majesty falls to folly...” he proclaims (1.1.144). The characters of Lear and Gloucester, both fathers, are parallel: eventually, Gloucester's eyes are plucked out in Act 3 Scene 7, in which characterises a literal and metaphorical blindness symbolic of his inability to "see" the truth about his children, like Lear. Towards the end, Lear states “I have too long taken notice of this” and it is through Edgar, Gloucester’s true son and Kent in disguise, that they come to a realisation. Edgar and Kent are the true characters with personal power that guide Lear into breaking through the “blindness” that has been as a result of his ego and avarice. We gain an understanding that true power is not a measurement of the authority or control one has over others but the control one has over one’s self.…

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Loyalty In Romeo And Juliet
    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Loyalty In Romeo And Juliet

    The tragedy Romeo and Juliet boasts a wide assortment of characters. Many of whom are often at odds with one another. Three characters in particular, Tybalt, Mercutio, and Benvolio, are three very different men, and are driven by impulses and their different characteristics. Tybalt is driven by his rage and craving for violence, Mercutio is driven by his friendship with Romeo, and Benvolio is often driven by his love for peace. But these men do share one common trait, loyalty. Tybalt, Mercutio, and Benvolio are loyal to their families and their friends without question and with great passion.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Loyalty In Beowulf And The Lion King
    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Loyalty In Beowulf And The Lion King

    What is loyalty? Never cheating in a relationship? Your dog never running away? Or is it always being a good friend? Maybe loyalty isn’t an action at all. Many people try to decipher the real meaning of loyalty, but it has a unique meaning to each person. There are three different examples of how loyalty is viewed differently; in the story Beowulf, through a teenager’s life, and in the movie The Lion King. Each will display different views of loyalty and point out many similarities as well.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    King Lear Madness Analysis
    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages

    King Lear Madness Analysis

    The storm that Lear describes is not entirely literal, it represents the tests and the tragedies that he endured. Shakespeare makes it clear that, even though the tests drove him deeper into madness, they opened his eyes each time and started his path back towards sanity. Lear doesn’t stop here; rather, he moves to a digression about justice. Lear delves into an intellectual conversation, saying, “Robes and furred gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold, // and the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks. // Arm it in rags, a pygmy’s straw does pierce it.”(4.6.181) In this quote, Lear is saying that money can cover up injustice to the point where it is unreacheable, but without money justice is easily served. In this final scene with Lear, Shakespeare…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Comparing Loyalty In King Lear And Kurosawa's Ran
    • 1339 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Comparing Loyalty In King Lear And Kurosawa's Ran

    Lord Hidetora’s advocate, Tango and King Lear’s Earl, Kent have one attribute in common; that they both serve their king with devotion. The Earl of Kent’s loyalty is shown during the movie after he is banished by King Lear for opposing the idea of disowning his youngest daughter, Cordelia. Kent proves this when he disguises himself as a normal citizen, to obtain proximity with the king. Most men would leave the kingdom, never to return but Kent proves differently.…

    • 1339 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    King Lear
    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages

    King Lear

    Among the occasion that Kent went undercover; the king was unable to recognize him. Some might think this tragic because Kent seemed awfully fond of Lear. However, this experience was essentially supplemental to the relationship between Kent and the King. Lear appeared to trust the disguised Kent more than the one he could recognize from his past, and the connection between the both held a stronger bond than before. His exile once again has enriched the ‘unfortunate’ Kent, relating in the theme that literal blindness holds more sight than when we are able viewing the world through our natural vision.…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Loyalty In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet
    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Loyalty In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

    In Verona, there is a church where lies Juliet’s tomb but to this day the church is a museum for tourists to see the tomb that “belongs” to Juliet. They say that the tomb really does belong to Juliet because her family built the church. Well I believe that the tomb belongs to someone else who could have been related to Juliet or just some random person. The Venetian government say that they took the remains and cleaned everything out from the tomb. They told the people that they took Juliet’s body to a unknown location.…

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Loyalty In The First Knight
    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Loyalty In The First Knight

    When I see the word loyalty I think of friendship, sticking by someone’s side through good times and bad times. And in the movie The First Knight, Sir Lancelot shows loyalty…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    King Lear Research Paper
    • 1477 Words
    • 6 Pages

    King Lear Research Paper

    In the play King Lear by William Shakespeare, King Lear is an old foolish man who suffers several flaws in the same way, he is blind to the truth, and his inability to see the truth impacts his decisions making and his poor judgment. Throughout act one and two, King Lear decisions lead to several consequences, which alter his life and the lives of those around him. A few of King Lear’s flaws which demonstrates the great deed of one man’s consequences are, his actions due to his blindness, rash decision making and exhibits a great deed of pride and arrogance.…

    • 1477 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    King Lear Slideshow
    • 417 Words
    • 3 Pages

    King Lear Slideshow

    King Lear By: Bryce Romeo King Lear: Loyalty and Betrayal In William Shakespeare’s play, “King Lear”, the reader will see many juxtapositions throughout the scenes.…

    • 417 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    King Lear: The Parallel Journeys Of Families
    • 2231 Words
    • 9 Pages

    King Lear: The Parallel Journeys Of Families

    The infamous playwright, William Shakespeare’s, King Lear relays the story of a tragic hero and his family while paralleling it to the sub-plot within the tragedy. The story of these two reflecting groups of characters displays the obliteration of once potent characters’ power, and the inversion of social order. King Lear, the father of Goneril, Regan and Cordelia experiences a digressing journey comparable to that of Gloucester, the father of Edmund, his illegitimate son, and Edgar. Both Lear and Gloucester make a reprehensible decision in confiding in their children that they thought were the most honorable, but were faced with…

    • 2231 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Odyssey and the Pearl: Loyalty
    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Odyssey and the Pearl: Loyalty

    Loyalty to another person or to a cause may be an admirable trait, but it…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Odyssey and Loyalty
    • 1977 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Odyssey and Loyalty

    Loyalty is a quality which is found mainly among the brave and the bold characters. Meek and weak persons are mostly found lacking in the spirit of loyalty. Loyal people can become great leaders, great commanders, or great administrators in life. Disloyal persons are hated and disbelieved by"…

    • 1977 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth
    • 1691 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Macbeth

    In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth the main theme of loyalty is explored throughout the play by main characters. Loyalty can be defined as faithfulness or unwavering devotion to a person or cause. Duncan, Banquo, Macduff and Macbeth are all essential characters who are given opportunities to express their loyalty, however it is the different ways in which these characters choose to be loyal or disloyal that shape the play as a whole. It is the character’s loyalty and/or disloyalty that construct the course of the play. The theme of loyalty interrelates the over arching themes of guilt and masculinity throughout the play.…

    • 1691 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics