Loyal Characters in Shakespeares King Lear Essay - 854 Words

Loyal Characters in Shakespeares King Lear Shakespeares good characters, in the play King Lear, are considered good because they are loyal even when they are disguised from or unrecognizable by those to whom they owe loyalty. In addition, their loyalty does not waver even when they are banished or mistreated by those to whom they are loyal. Cordelia, Edgar and Kent are all characters that exemplify this goodness and unwavering loyalty. Let us first consider King Lear and his relationship with his daughter Cordelia. When King Lear asks Cordelia to profess her love for him she merely answers that she loves him according to her bond, no more. Enraged, the king banishes her without an inheritance or dowry. Cordelia tries to explain†¦show more content†¦Even though Cordelia knows Lear does not hear her good wishes for Lear, she nonetheless expresses them. This fact is proof that she displays this pure form of discrete loyalty. Edgar is the next character who displays loyalty to his father even after he has been outlawed and was forced to hide and disguise himself. Gloucester favors Edgars evil half-brother Edmund, who deceives him into believing that it is Edgar who is disloyal. However, after Gloucesters eyes are plucked out he realizes his mistake when he is told that it is Edmund who has betrayed him. When the blind Gloucester is led to the disguised Edgar, his son agrees to lead him to the cliffs of Dover. In order to prevent his fathers attempted suicide, Edgar stages a scene where he leads his father to believe that he has fallen off the cliffs but has been miraculously saved. Edgar once again defends his fathers life when he prevents Oswald from assassinating him. Through these events Edgar exemplifies loyalty by leading his blind father to safety, even though he had been wrongfully mistreated. Edgar is not considered a good character merely because he was loyal to his father after he was mistreated by him. He is considered a good character because he was loyal to his father even when he was disguised. Edgar meets his blind father and does not reveal his true identity to him at first. The fact that he was loyal to hisShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Samuel Johnson s Manners And Of Life 921 Words   |  4 PagesFatima Mossolem In Samuel Johnson’s essay Preface to Shakespeare he asserts that Shakespeare’s writing is a â€Å"mirror of manners and of life,† which in laymans terms means that Shakespeare writes the truth about life, even when it is seen as unpleasant. This proves to be true even today, over a hundred years since King Lear was written. One of the meanings of the work as a whole in King Lear is that loyalty doesn t always have to be born of blood. 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