Connection #2 (King Lear)

In the play King Lear, written by Shakespeare, the old ruler King Lear is ready to give up his kingdom to his daughters and “retire” from his kingship. He decides to divide up land among his three daughters based on how much they confess their love for him. The first two daughters, Regan and Goneril, tell their father exactly what he wants to hear – both telling him how great of a man he is and even better of a father. His third daughter, Cordelia, tells her father how she truly feels. Cordelia loves her father as a daughter should love a father, but nothing more. She, unlike her sisters’ proclamations, does not obsess over him. King Lear, outraged, banishes Cordelia from his kingdom and forces her to leave. King Lear divides his kingdom in half among Regan and Goneril and asks that they each take turns housing him and caring for him in his old age. As the play progresses, Regan and Goneril begin to have talks of getting rid of their father, now that he no longer controls any land or exercises any power over them. King Lear soon recognizes this, and for his own safety begins to wander the countryside with his remaining companion, the fool. As he wanders, King Lear becomes more and more “insane,” carrying out unusual acts such as arguing with nature, taking off all his clothes, and even setting up a fake trial accusing Regan and Goneril. While these strange acts may look like he has lost all hope, King Lear is actually beginning to realize that he has made several mistakes in his past. Towards the end of the play, the kingdom (now run by Regan and Goneril) is in total disarray. As King Lear comes back, he is thrown in jail, along with Cordelia who has come with her husband, France, to take over Regan and Goneril. While in jail, Cordelia dies and King Lear dies from an overwhelming amount of grief. The connection to the culminating question…..