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“I am a man more sinned against than sinning” III.2.59-60To what extent to you agree with Lear’s statement above? Discuss how Shakespeare presents Lear’s role in the play and explore his journey from tyrant to humility and death.
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The Tragedy of King Lear is a moralistic play that follows the downfall of a King that occurs as a result of human misconception and blindness to the truth. “I am a man more sinned against than sinning” is a direct quote from Lear at the pinnacle of the play- and Lear’s lowest point. It is also notably central to all of Shakespeare’s major themes present in the play. Lear’s Character is so that as the play progresses so too does the level of sympathy generally felt towards the king. Different stages of the play show Lear in many different states of mind adding to the portrayal of Lear’s complex characterisation and our sympathetic judgment. Numerous questions are raised as to the origin of the King’s downfall and just how much those around him contributed towards his blindness, irrationality, and insanity. It is questionable just how far his daughters Gonerill and Regan are to blame, and whether or not more good than bad came as a result of the episode. When the play opens Lear is a tyrant, a man with great authority and power, as well as great foolishness. As an audience, we see him giving away his Kingdom, dividing it into three and leaving himself with “nothing.” “We have divided in three our kingdom… while we unburdened crawl toward death” Lear shows himself to be a very proud man, disowning his most loved and caring daughter Cordelia for not participating in his unjust and egotistical manner of the sharing of his kingdom, “I love your majesty according to my bond, no more nor less” followed by Kent his most loyal friend and companion for trying to advise him of his mistakes and protect Cordelia. “Royal Lear, whom I have ever honoured as my king…” “Out of my sight!” These actions within the opening scene quickly point towards Lear, in his rashness as being more than capable of initiating his own downfall. This proud and stubborn act leaves the kingdom to be shared between Gonerill and Regan; both daughters selfish, and just as imprudent as Lear, leaving the king blinded and fooled by worthless flattery from his daughters and his ego, making him unable to see his fatal mistake. Shakespeare puts great emphasis throughout this first act on the theme of “eyesight”, and makes strong references to it, often to emphasise Lear’s “blindness” to the errors of his ways, an example of this is when the Fool questions the king on the value of nothing, the king answers “why no boy, nothing can come of nothing.” this emphasises his mistake of giving his Kingdom away. By choosing this image, Shakespeare is able to accentuate the many other mistakes Lear makes throughout the play, creating a powerful metaphor, which draws awareness towards Lear’s mental state. As Lear’s character begins to deteriorate further on in the act, he makes references towards his own eyes, often in anger saying he would rather cast them away than look weakened or hurt by another, “Old fond eyes…” these words becoming dramatically ironic as this is exactly what happens. Lear’s temper and childish behaviour is defiantly one of his more prominent features. His irrational, uncontrollable temper and spoilt demeanour can be said to have had more affect on Lear mentally than the people around him, in other words him feeling so sorry for him self, disjointed his view of the world and how he viewed the actions of others.
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