Lesson 6

Key Question 6 a) The opening Act of office Lear evidently portrays Lears d possessward effect as it coincides with Aristotles structure of Greek tragedy. The play begins with Lear, a sensation of noble birth and ruler of Britain, in an cabareted rescript shortly to be disrupted by a fatal flaw that is the bequeath of his excessive pride. His journey from the ordered to the disordered world becomes appargonnt aft(prenominal) he hands his land everyplace to his two elder female childs and banishes his youngest daughter Cordelia from the kingdom.The initial situation began when Lear asks Cordelia, What tail assembly you say to draw / A trio more(prenominal) opulent than your sisters? (I i 87-88), in which she answers Nothing, my lord (I i 89). This constitutes Lears arrogance and triggers the rash decision he makes that would greatly impact the tragical events that follow. At the end of the scene, his two elder daughters immediately work to get up against him so that h e would be left everyplace with no power at all. Goneril says to Regan that they must do something, and i th heat (I ii 311).This foreshadows Lears impending d experienceward impulsion and begins the reversal of his fortunes as things go from bounteous to worse. Lears recognition of the truth and the existence of his tragic circumstance becomes approximately clear to him when he wonders whether he has lost his mind and cries out O let me not be mad, not mad, sweet enlightenment (I v 46). Act I leaves off at this stage where Lear is about to start out tremendously before unless stages of recognition, retri providedion, and restitution occur later in the play. ) In Act I of power Lear, references to the principle motifs of nature and the unnatural, sanity/madness, and nothing all reinforce the d agreeward elbow grease of Lears detection of his own identity. Lears cut constantly tries to blame him of his mistake in a series of riddles, puns, and songs The hedge-sparrow f ed the slit so long / That it had it foreman bit off by it young (I iv 221-222). Referencing the nature of animals in that song, the Fool is notice Lear that his two daughters resemble a traitorous cuckoo who betrays the one who raised them.This emphasizes the eventual down(p)ward movement of Lear light of his own identity as a father who is so loved by his daughters. When Lear leaves Gonerils castle and is preparing to visit his other daughter Regan, he prayed to heaven that he would not go crazy O let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven Keep me in temper, I would not be mad (I v 46-47). Lears fear of deprivation insane from his daughters betrayal installs another downward movement of Lears perception of his own identity.Also, references to the motif of nothingness occur when the Fool is speaking to Lear in the presence of Kent. The Fool asks Lear, Can you make no delectation of nothing, Nuncle? (I iv 133-134), in which Lear responds, Why, no boy. Nothing can be made out of nothing (I iv 135-136). This is foreshadowing Lears requisite downfall because he would soon have nothing to make use of since he has chosen to hand all of his formal authority over to his two daughters who do not actually love him.It appears that Lears perception of his positive, all-powerful identity is about to lead him into a tragic equipment failure in the way the three motifs of nature and the unnatural, sanity/madness, and nothing atomic number 18 referenced throughout the first Act of the play. c) Lear calls upon his three daughters and announces that he intends to select his kingdom among them, promising the greatest share to the daughter who declares that she loves him the most.Goneril begins with her speech telling Lear that she loves him more than words can wield (I i 57) and Regan makes a orison to amaze the said(prenominal) value of fortunes as her sister, telling Lear, I am made of that resembling mettle as my sister, / And prize me at her worth. In my true heart / I find she names my very claim of love (I i 71-73). Both daughters speeches, filled with exaggerated flattery and fulgent lies, earn each one a generous portion of the kingdom, bit Lear decides to banish his youngest daughter Cordelia for not flattering him as the sisters did.As a result, Kent intercepts to warn Lear, Reserve thy state, / And in thy best consideration check / This hideous rashness. issue my life my judgment (I i 151-153). Kent stakes his life on his vista that Cordelia is actually the most loyal of the three daughters and begs for Lear to reconsider his rash decision, but he too gets banished by Lear, showing us how Lear is causing his own downward movement due to his excessive pride. Goneril later insults the foolishness of Lear large-minded away his powers, when she tells Oswald let him to my sister, / Whose mind and mine I know in that are one, / Not to be overruled.Idle old man, / That still would manage those politics / That he hath given away ( I iii 15-19). This shows Lears downward movement as Goneril treats him poorly and is certain her sister impart treat him the same way. The Fool also reminds Lear of his terrible decision in handing his fortunes over to his daughters. When Lear begins to sort out his own mistake, the Fool tells him in a riddle that a garner has a house to put s head in not to give it away to his daughters, and leave his horns without a case (I v 31-32).All of these situations demonstrate the inevitable downfall of the noble King Lear as his two daughters collude to strip him of all his remaining power and fortunes. Key Question 9 In an ordered society, both justice and mercy are fundamental. However, in many circumstances they cannot be simultaneously applied. On its own, justice is more essential than mercy in order to maintain a train society. With a system of justice, we could prevent future crimes from taking place, maintain mickles rights and exemption, as well as prevent society from plu nging into a state of destruction.With a justice system in place we could take preventive measures against future crimes and laws being broken. If people are punished for the crimes they commit, on that point would be fewer crimes and less mayhem in the world. People who demonstrate no mecy or remorse for the constipation they inflict upon others deserve to be punished, otherwise they will continue their wrongdoings. In Act IV of King Lear, when Cornwall dies from the injuries inflicted by the servant during Gloucesters blinding, Albany interprets his death as augur retribution.He cries out This shows you are above, / You justicers, that these our nether crimes / So speedily can venge (Iv ii 79-80). Since Cornwall has been punished for blinding Gloucester he can no longer harm other characters. Cornwall carried on with his evil intentions until he received his punishment (his own death) which finally put an end to his actions. Society requires a justice system in order to maintai n peoples rights, freedom, and equality. In the play, Edgar, Cordelia, and Kent are three characters who have been treated unfairly and were left with no luck o prove themselves innocent. Cordelia is fortunate to have her own freedom after leaving the kingdom and marrying the Duke of France. However, Edgar and Kent were left to fend for themselves in order to plump and be accepted by others. When Edgar runs into his father Gloucester, he cries, Who is t can say I am at the strap? / I am worse than eer I was (Iv i 24-26). Edgar, who must hide himself as poor mad Tom (IV i 27) in order to be accepted, considers the condition he is in as being the worst ever, compared to anyone else.These characters should be able to stand up for themselves and voice their opinions without being falsely punished when it is not what other people want to hear. Edgar and Kent are left to suffer from other peoples mistakes because there is no obligation in the way they were treated. In an ordered soc iety, everyone deserves to have their own freedom of speech and be treated as equal, regardless of their opinions on varied matters. Social justice can ensure that every individual receives the same treatment.An all-merciful society would lead the world to a state of ultimate nuthouse and destruction. Human existence would constantly be threatened by the dangers of society without a proper system of justice. Regan and Goneril continue to pose as a threat towards Lear and those who are on his side. When arguing with his wife, Albany points out that If the celestial sphere do not their visible spirits / Send quickly down to tame these vile offenses, / It will come, / Humanity must perforce feed on itself, / Like monsters of the deep. (iv ii 46-49). Albany implies that if the gods do not quickly bring justice everyone will eventually turn against each other, so without someone serving justice to all the evil people, humanity would be threatened by our own human race. Justice would prevail over mercy. In order to maintain a civilized society, people should receive proper punishment and suffer the consequences for their crimes so that we can prevent further crimes in the world, promote freedom and equality, and prevent tyranny in the world.If the Lear conception had a system of justice in place much wish in our world today, many of the events leading to the tragic ending could have been avoided. Justice, in all aspects, makes a better resolution than mercy and will continue to serve to make society safe and secure. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Toronto Signet Classic Shakespeare, 1998. Well expressed but a bit overdraw Justice involves more than punishment so the concept of justice that you were working(a) from is skewed. 45/50