King Lear Implicit Conflict

272 Words2 Pages
Upon his entrance, King Lear displays all the regal characteristics you would expect of such a high ranking official. As the king, he is on top of the social ladder and has the most wealth and servants. His use of the “royal we” and the size of his entourage further emphasises that King Lear is a character that demands respect. However, over the course of Act 1, he makes a lot of unwise decisions that contradict his appearance. The first example of this is when he decides to divide his kingdom between his 3 daughters, depending on how much they say they love him. This shows he is an egotistical person as he just wants to hear his daughter flatter him: “Which of you shall we say doth love us most?” This quotation is not an example of how a king should act and he cannot expect an honest answer from such a stupid question. This is in Act 1, so Shakespeare is trying to portray Lear as an unworthy king to the audience right from the beginning which I feel is demonstrating implicit conflict. This lack of judgement emphasises the theme of appearance and reality and how they conflict. The audience can see the contrast in Lear’s behaviour as he has started to change later in the play. He has suffered greatly at the hands of his daughters and he has realized what it its like to go through what “normal” people go through. Because of his status, Lear has been detached from normal life and after experiencing it, he is in disbelief which I also feel portrays implicit
Open Document