Wisdom and Foolishness in Shakespeares King Lear :: essays research papers

Tragedies are reign by contrasts and conflicts between various entities much(prenominal) as, good and evil, legitimate and illegitimate, bearing and truthfulness and so on. Another contrast is between wisdom and rage. If wholeness associates absurdness with madmen and fools one will be surprised to find that in a tragedy such as King Lear this is not the case. Shakespeare portrays, the in her right mind(predicate) characters such as Kent and Cordelia as fools by virtue of loyalty, love and their instinctiveness to chat the truth. On the otherhand, the Madman, tom o snake pit and the fool are interpret as the true figures of wisdom. Moreover mirroring all this is King Lears rebirth from foolish behaviour through madness achieving wisdom. Cordelia and Kent may classify as in his right mind(predicate) characters but still their behaviour is foolish.Cordelia and Kent speak the truth which Lear does not pauperism to hear. Their behaviour is foolish as they confront Lear, a right garrison of pride, in their willingness to be true and loyal to a start out and to a king. Cordelia cannot heave her heart into her mouth and speaks plain, I love your majesty consort to my bond no more nor less. In doing this she risks displeasing her father, furthermore she continues to displease him when she tries to make him realize his foolish behaviour. In the decision she is willing to give her life for a father who has wronged her (when she returns to rescue him). to a fault Kent is in any case wronged when he confronts Lear with the true reality of things. In doing this he sacrifices his personal identity as Earl. Kent again risks his life when in disguise he returns to deal out Lear again. In the end there are suggestions that he will catch Lear, his master, to the grave. Therefore, if the in her right mind(predicate) characters commit foolish actions, obeying the same paradox, the implications are that Tom oBedlam and the fool have to be wise. The role of the fool in the draw is to remind Lear of his foolish behaviour in giving everything to his twain daughters and in banishing Cordelia. The audience can get much insight in the language of the fool. This was not new to the Elizabethan audience as it was a agency convention that the fool would speak the truth. Likewise is poor Tom oBedlam (Edgar in disguise). In him Lear finds reason and calls him philosopher.Wisdom and hydrophobia in Shakespeares King Lear essays research papersTragedies are dominated by contrasts and conflicts between various entities such as, good and evil, legitimate and illegitimate, appearance and reality and so on. Another contrast is between wisdom and foolishness. If one associates foolishness with madmen and fools one will be surprised to find that in a tragedy such as King Lear this is not the case. Shakespeare portrays, the sane characters such as Kent and Cordelia as fools by virtue of loyalty, love and their willingness to speak the truth. On the otherhand, the Madman, Tom oBedlam and the fool are depicted as the true figures of wisdom. Moreover mirroring all this is King Lears transition from foolish behaviour through madness achieving wisdom. Cordelia and Kent may classify as sane characters but still their behaviour is foolish.Cordelia and Kent speak the truth which Lear does not want to hear. Their behaviour is foolish as they confront Lear, a mighty fortress of pride, in their willingness to be true and loyal to a father and to a king. Cordelia cannot heave her heart into her mouth and speaks plain, I love your majesty according to my bond no more nor less. In doing this she risks displeasing her father, furthermore she continues to displease him when she tries to make him realize his foolish behaviour. In the end she is willing to give her life for a father who has wronged her (when she returns to rescue him). Likewise Kent is also wronged when he confronts Lear with the true reality of things. In doing this he sacrifices his identity as Earl. Kent again risks his life when in disguise he returns to serve Lear again. In the end there are suggestions that he will follow Lear, his master, to the grave. Therefore, if the sane characters commit foolish actions, obeying the same paradox, the implications are that Tom oBedlam and the fool have to be wise. The role of the fool in the play is to remind Lear of his foolish behaviour in giving everything to his two daughters and in banishing Cordelia. The audience can get much insight in the words of the fool. This was not new to the Elizabethan audience as it was a theatrical convention that the fool would speak the truth. Likewise is poor Tom oBedlam (Edgar in disguise). In him Lear finds reason and calls him philosopher.