The Discombobulated Guide to King Lear

Conclusion

Phew go get your-self a cup of tea and a biscuit and try not to wallow in the sadness of everything....

You're back? Well then; CONGRATULATIONS!!! You have finished the guide and therefore the play. I'll shut up about it in a minute but just a couple of conluding thoughts.

Firstly, I always appreciate Shakespeare's genius in this play; there seems to be no winners, no restoration and no order at the end. The conventional/expected consequences of character's actions don't always happen and this leaves the audience confused and rattled at the end. Truly a tragedy full of deperation. Let's look at a couple of examples;

Gloucester. Due to his arrogance and his 'blindness' at the beginning of the play (bad action) he should be punished i.e his blindness/death. BUT, his blinding (the worst thing inflicted on him) is caused because of his LOYALTY (good action) to Lear when he does not tell Cornwall where his King is.

Kent. Oh, poor sane Kent who I feel was worse off in the play. Kent was consistently loyal, truthful and level headed when everyone around him had lost their wits. YET he does not get a reward, 'to be acknowledged is to be o'er paid' he says in Act 4 Scene 5. IT DOESN'T HAPPEN. Think about a friend that you go to the lengths of the earth to help, comfort with ben and jerrys, deal with their problems but they never appreciate you. That's a bit like Kent- how unfair is that????

Let's also point out Cordelia. She LOVES her father twice or even three times as much as her sisters and realises you can't put a price on love, but she gets -> she gets bajished. 

Starts a whole war to reinstate her father due to her love for him-> put in prison and killed. HOW IS THAT FAIR??? I argue that Cordelia has barely done anything to suffice for her death. She loved and loved her father- isn't that a good thing? Shouldn't she be saved?

These are just a few examples of the many question we are left to ponder at the end of the play. Other topics can include:

Fate: Numerous references to Gods- but is it the god propelling the actions in the play 'divine influence' or human actions? If the latter is true, are the gods just excuses and false hope?

Gender: There seems to be two different portrayals of women: what are their differences? Were Goneril and Regan justified in their coldness to their father after how he treated them (remember the cursing he did back in Act 2)?

And on and on and on it goes.... far too long to cover in this guide. That's where you come in! These questions mean that this is a great play to analyse because there are so many arguments you could write about in your essays. Yes, you might find it boring and yes, it is a long play but Shakespeare digs real deep and you must always be thinking;

What did he want to say/comment on to the audience? What's the BIG picture?

If you enjoyed this guide and want to delve more into another Discombobulated Guide then check out Book 1: The Discombobulated Guide to Rossetti.

Or check out the upcomingbook: The Discombobulated Guide to The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde!

See you soon hopefully and good luck!

The Discombobulated Student xx