Smith 1 John Smith Dr.

Jane Doe English 26 March 1765 Taking things too far in King Lear The tragedy of King Lear is the story of a king who foolishly gives his kingdom to his two daughters in order to get some peace and quiet. The tale is fraught with turning points and occasions where characters pushed a situation too far and caused irreparable damage. King Lear is in a position where he has grown tired of ruling and wants to pass the burden of governing the kingdom to his three daughters and their husbands. The problem begins when he attempts to discover which of his daughters loves him the most so he can dote upon them more than the others. The first two daughters flatter the king with fancy but insincere language. But when the third daughter, who is still being courted by two princes, is asked how much she loves her father, she bluntly explains that she loves him as much as a daughter should, no more, no less. This infuriates King Lear who commands Cordelia to give him a better answer, when she doesn't he gives the order to have her removed from his inheritance and revokes her status as his daughter. With one short sentence, "Let it be so." (1.1.109) King Lear takes the argument too far and causes a split betwixt him and his daughter that holds grave consequences throughout the rest of the story. King Lear compounds the fact that he no longer cares for his daughter by speaking ill of her in conversation with the Prince of France and implores the prince to find anyone else to marry but her. " Then leave her, sir, for by the power that made me,... I

Smith 1 would not from your love make such a stray..." (1.1.212-219) Up to this point, the king could have reneged on his previous statement, but when he asks France not to marry his daughter, he effectively puts his words to action. Now he absolutely is trying to slander his daughter's name and life. Gloucester is the next character to jump to conclusions and not think things through. When his illegitimate son Edmund tells him of a plot to kill him that has been planned by his legitimate son Edgar, Gloucester immediately starts blaming these ill events on eclipses and astrological movements. " These recent eclipses of the sun and moon dont bode well for us ..." (1.2.99-113) Instead of being clear-headed in this situation, he predisposes himself to think that something is wrong and now he cannot look on the situation in a good light and give Edgar the benefit of the doubt. Gloucester also makes another mistake that is similar to King Lear's second quote. Though Gloucester has voiced his disapproval Edgar, he has not yet brought action against him. But now, Gloucester declares that his only true son is a hunted man and must be brought to justice. "... Not in this land shall he remain uncaught..." (2.1.61-67) Gloucester has now passed into a realm where he cannot undo his actions and they cause one of his children to die. Both these men committed acts that caused self-destruction on their part. These scenarios could have been avoided by logically thinking through the situations they were presented with instead of acting brashly through their emotions.