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Why Is King Lear Still Relevant Today

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Why Is King Lear Still Relevant Today
King Lear is still relevant today as its main concepts can be applied to ordinary life. Ultimately, poor judgement, power struggles amongst parents and children, and possessive power are common between my personal family experiences and King Lear.

The experiences of poor judgement in my family resemble to those in King Lear. My eldest brother, Alan, has a relationship with my parents that can be compared to Cordelia’s relationship with King Lear. Alan was never a diligent student in school and always had an unconcerned approach to life. With my parents immigrating to Canada to provide better opportunities in life for my family, they were disappointed in my brother. As a result, they failed to notice his contributions towards the family ever since. Whether it was helping my parents translate during appointments or helping them understand financial issues, my brother had always prioritized my parents over his own activities. Similarly, King Lear dismisses Cordelia as a daughter after being disappointed by her display of affection towards him in Act 1
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Having parents, and being able to live with them as a child can be seen a power. Not only do they clean and cook, but they support me financially too. This allows me to function as a student and invest my efforts into my academics. In contrast,when they are not at home, I lose this power. Likewise, after King Lear distributes his land to Goneril and Regan he becomes powerless. Without his land, he loses authority to Goneril and or Regan along with their servants. When King Lear asks Oswald a question in Act 1 Scene 4, Oswald ignores him. It is evident after this altercation, King Lear has lost his power. Additionally, in Act 1 Scene 4, King Lear, states to the Fool, “... Nothing can be made out of nothing.” (1.4 135-136) This quote is the representation of this power. Without this possessive power, you become disadvantaged to those who

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