King Lear Tragic Hero Essay
King Lear the Tragic Hero
In his Poetics Aristotle defines Tragedy as “an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude“(Part VI). By Aristotle’s definition, a Tragedy imitates human experiences and the misfortunes that can accompany them. It builds and eventually purges pity and fear in readers, all while teaching and entertaining. While Tragedy can often be unpleasant or intense, “one needs to stand by at some time to Oedipus and hold the knife of his own most terrible resolution” (Ciardi) and indulge in the experiences it can offer and confront its truths. Tragedy allows its readers to attain a greater understanding of human nature and the emotions shared by all throughout history. Humans have an innate pleasure in imitation and its observation, and the Tragic form of drama provides an important and unique means for profiting from this pleasure.
Shakespeare’s King Lear recounts the tale of a good man and powerful King’s fall to ruin as a result of his hubris and error in judgement. Being a tragedy, the work features a tragic hero, King Lear, who bears a fatal flaw which leads to his …show more content…
King Lear’s misfortune directly results from his excessive pride. It lead to his easy manipulation by the flattering deceit of two of his daughters and the exile and disownment of his one sincere and truly affectionate daughter, Cordelia. Lear chose how to bestow his wealth and power to his daughter's simply based on their ability to verbally flatter him. Additionally, the horror of this error is increased as Lear ironically harms his good daughter, the truly loving one, while rewarding the dishonest and scheming ones, and the tragic effect is amplified. Lear’s fatal flaw was hubris which led to a failure to distinguish between the false devotion of Goneril and Regan and the sincere, yet underwhelming, devotion of
In his Poetics Aristotle defines Tragedy as “an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude“(Part VI). By Aristotle’s definition, a Tragedy imitates human experiences and the misfortunes that can accompany them. It builds and eventually purges pity and fear in readers, all while teaching and entertaining. While Tragedy can often be unpleasant or intense, “one needs to stand by at some time to Oedipus and hold the knife of his own most terrible resolution” (Ciardi) and indulge in the experiences it can offer and confront its truths. Tragedy allows its readers to attain a greater understanding of human nature and the emotions shared by all throughout history. Humans have an innate pleasure in imitation and its observation, and the Tragic form of drama provides an important and unique means for profiting from this pleasure.
Shakespeare’s King Lear recounts the tale of a good man and powerful King’s fall to ruin as a result of his hubris and error in judgement. Being a tragedy, the work features a tragic hero, King Lear, who bears a fatal flaw which leads to his …show more content…
King Lear’s misfortune directly results from his excessive pride. It lead to his easy manipulation by the flattering deceit of two of his daughters and the exile and disownment of his one sincere and truly affectionate daughter, Cordelia. Lear chose how to bestow his wealth and power to his daughter's simply based on their ability to verbally flatter him. Additionally, the horror of this error is increased as Lear ironically harms his good daughter, the truly loving one, while rewarding the dishonest and scheming ones, and the tragic effect is amplified. Lear’s fatal flaw was hubris which led to a failure to distinguish between the false devotion of Goneril and Regan and the sincere, yet underwhelming, devotion of