King Lear, a tragic parable, deals with betrayal and deception in the family, violence, madness, and other issues. Shakespeare uses subplots to reflect the main plot, which increases the effect. Shakespeare was horrified by the fact that in both tales, children deceive and betray their parents. Lear’s and Gloucester’s deaths are due to the abuse of their children. The children who mistreated them are not the only ones to blame. Both made constant and critical errors of judgment which led to their demise. They must both realize this before they die.
Lear, before dividing his kingdom among his three daughters, asks “which of you shall be said to love us most?/That we our greatest bounty may extend” (King Lear, I.i.51-52). Lear’s first question to his three daughters before dividing the kingdom is “which of ye shall we say doesth love us more,/That wilt we extend our most generous bounty” (King Lear 1 i. 51-52). Lear has a tendency to equate quality and quantity. This is evident from the start, when he says that the daughter who loves him most gets the biggest reward. Lear has to learn the painful lesson that flattery or inflated praise is not love. Lear’s inability to understand is further demonstrated by the responses of Cordelia, Regan, and Goneril. Goneril as well as Regan claim to love in a way that is inflated. Goneril says that her love is “a kind of love that makes one breathless and speechless” (King Lear II.60), which seems quite absurd considering that she’s actually talking at that time. Lear misses a crucial point when Cordelia Lear’s honest and loving daughter explains that her sisters have been lying to him. This scene shows the reader Lear’s main error of judgment, which he must overcome at the end.
Edmunds’ deception and cleverness is what makes him fall for Lears trickery and lies. In the scene two, Edmund sets out to discredit Edgar, so that Edgar, the illegitimate, son, would get all the property, titles, and material riches. Edmund tricks Gloucester by using his trust in appearance. He pretends not to have the letter, which he was hiding from Gloucester. In reality, he knew that Gloucester would demand to view it. Gloucester, in his vocabulary, alludes himself to this reliance on appearances and the sight of things when asking Edmund for a letter. He says: “Let’s see.” Come, even if/Be nothing I won’t need spectacles… Let’s look, let’s look (King Lear ii.35-44) Gloucester, having read the words himself does not doubt them for one moment and is immediately enraged by his son. After reading the letter he exclaims, “O villain! The letter itself contains his opinion. The worst of all brutish villains! Go, sirrah, seek him. I’ll apprehend him. Abominable villain!” (King Lear I.ii.77-80). Gloucester, too, is led easily into the trap set by his son.
Lear cannot see the mistakes of his judgments or values until Tom, a beggar who has no artifice in him, is shown to him. Lear transforms into a man who isn’t interested in flattery and artifice but instead, truth and honesty. Tom is told, “Thou art it; an unaccommodated human being is nothing more than a poor, naked, forked creature as you are.” You lendings, get out! King Lear III.iv.107 – 109). Lear attempts to rid himself of his artificiality and unnaturalness by literally undressing himself. King Lear II.vii.75-78). He realizes his error when he meets Cordelia for the second time. “If you give me poison, I’ll drink it./I don’t think you love me…You must have some reason” (King Lear III.iii.12).
Lear was king and has enjoyed the luxury of being pampered and treated as an important person. He is treated badly after he relinquishes his authority and gives it to Goneril. Goneril and Regan replace their false love of Lear with an open lack of respect. Regan replies “Good Sir, no more” when Lear asks Regan to look after him as he ages. These are unsightly games./Return my sister to you.” (King Lear 2.iv.155-166) This shift in his position was too much for him to bear. He had to go insane from his hypocrisy and ingratitude before he could see his mistakes of equating materialism and flattery with love and happiness.
Gloucester has to lose his sight before he is able to rely on his heart and mind to make decisions instead of what he believes he sees. Gloucester’s transformation is much quicker than Lear’s. Gloucester tells Tom, the beggar in the story, “I want no eye, because I have no way;/I fell down when I looked.” “Our means are secure, but our defects/show our worth” (King Lear 4 i. 18-21). He has realized that his blindness taught him to be more cautious and not rely so much on his sight to judge the truth.
Shakespeare’s play is still tragic, even though both characters have made positive changes, both realizing and trying to fix their flaws which caused them so much pain. The play ends with both characters dying from shock and aging. Lear is horrified by the death of Cordelia and realizes that he made a mistake when he judged the love for his daughter. Gloucester regrets his misjudgment of Edgar, just as Lear did. He dies, however, from shock, after discovering Tom is his son. King Lear is a tragic play, but it also leaves a feeling of hope for the future. These characters may not have had the chance to make amends and change, but their stories are a reminder to work on changing what’s wrong.