traglear King Lear Essays: Elements of Tragedy in King Lear :: King Lear essays

Elements of Tragedy in mightiness Lear   One Work Cited        King Lear meets all the requirements of a tragedy as defined by Andrew Cecil Bradley.  Bradley states that a Shakespearean tragedy has to be the business relationship of the hero who endures exceptional worthless and calamity.  The story must in like manner contrast the current dilemma to happier times.  The play also depicts the troubled parts in the heros life and eventually he dies instantaneously because of the suffering and calamity.  There is the feeling of fear in the play as well, that makes men see how blind they are not knowing when fortune or something else would be on them.  The hero must be of a high status on the chain and the hero must also possess a sad flaw that initiates the tragedy.  The fall of the hero is not felt by him alone but creates a chain reaction that affects everything below him.  There must also be the element of chance or acc ident that influences some point in the play.  King Lear meets all of these requirements, which have been laid out by Bradley.           The chief(prenominal) character of the play would be King Lear who in terms of Bradley would be the hero and hold the highest position is the social chain.  Lear, out of pride and anger, has banished Cordelia and split the estate in half between the two older sisters, Goneril and Regan.  This is Lears tragic flaw that prevents him from seeing the true faces of people because his pride and anger overrides his judgement.  As we see in the first act, Lear does not listen to Kents plea to see closer to the true faces of his daughters.  Kent has hurt Lears pride by disobeying his order to stay out of his and Cordelias way when Lear has already warned him, the bow is bent and drawn, make from the shaft (I.i.152).  Kent still disobeys Lear and is banished.  Because of this flaw, Lear has initiated the tragedy by disturbing the order in the chain of being by dividing the kingdom, banishing his best retainer and daughter, and giving up his thrown.          Due to this flaw, Lear has given way to the two older daughters to conspire against him.  Lear is finally thrown out of his daughters homes and left with a fool, a handmaid and a beggar.