Jade Bibby
“I AM A MAN MORE SINNED AGAINST THAN SINNING.” HOW RELEVANT
IS THIS STATEMENT IN THE TRAGEDY OF KING LEAR?
The character King Lear is regarded by the audience with compassion
and sympathy, as a result of the dramatic and emotive death of his
Cordelia. The King carries her lifeless body on stage in the final scene, a
tragic end for his blameless daughter. The play is a tragedy, much in the
mould defined by Aristotle. It centres on a tragic hero Lear who is
“neither good nor bad, but it is his errors of judgement that leads to the
downfall of society and raises feelings of pity and terror within the
audience.” The question of sin or sinner is relevant, as this is a key
feature of the play “.which keeps the attention so strongly fixed; which so
much agitates our passions.” (Samuel Johnson)
The context of the word sinned should be defined. Lear’s faults are
largely based on human frailty. This contrast to the clearly sinful lies, for
example, expressed by Regan and Goneril. They hate their father but
continue to express false feelings. In a speech that is full of hyperbole
and balanced rhetoric, Goneril claims her love to be “beyond what can be
valued rich or rare.” This is an important distinction that allows Lear
some moral high ground in the eyes of the audience, crucial when
assessing levels of sin within the main characters. This is acutely
relevant to the tragedy, as it is an understanding of this that allows us to
assess the true cause of the murderous conclusion.
The crux of Lear’s demise was his decision to divide his kingdom. His
wish is to pass this on to his daughters, which is deeply flawed thinking
for an experienced king. Furthermore, the King displays a startling lack
of judgement as to the nature of his children. He casts away the
affections of his one truly loyal daughter, Cordelia, whilst dividing his
kingdom between the two daughters that detest him. Lear is egotistical
and yearns flattery, which leads to this erroneous decision.
The King displays further personal weaknesses which affect the feelings
of those close to him. He declares Cordelia to be favourite daughter,
originally intending her to have a land “more opulent than your sisters?”
In addition, Goneril suggests she and Regan have grounds for feeling
rejected by their father who “always lov’d our sister most.” It seems
plausible Lear’s behaviour has unwittingly nurtured the hatred his two
eldest children feel towards him.
Jade Bibby
A further flaw is his fiery temper that negatively influences his ability to
reason. This is apparent in his disinheriting of Cordelia, and offering her
to Burgundy and France as if she were a commodity. Shakespeare
employs cold and unfeeling language as Lear declares his daughter’s
“price has now fallen,” thus demonstrating the King has a cruel and harsh
side to his nature. Lear then casts aside his most loyal follower, Kent,
who attempts to protect Cordelia. The King personifies himself as a
dragon, using threatening and violent language “come not between the
dragon and his wrath” to deter Kent. Shakespeare allows his audience to
witness the menacing nature of the old King. Perhaps at this stage we
feel a lack of sympathy for him as his “sins” or faults are obvious.
Lear’s outburst provokes a comment from Regan “such unconstant starts
are we like to have from him.” This cleverly conveys to the audience a
sense that the King is prone to such irrational decisions, fuelled by his
temper. There is also a suggestion that the King’s judgement is impaired
by age, as Goneril states “you see how full of changes his age is.” The
King’s state of mind is affected by his vanity and anger.
Lear has a more lenient relationship with the Fool, though he still offers a
threat should the jesting go too far “Take heed, sirrah, the whip.” This
combustible nature surfaces again as Lear visits Goneril, as her rejection
leads to a further outburst “Degenerate bastard! I’ll not trouble thee.”
The King uses emotive language to finally cast aside all cordial relations
with those close to him. Shakespeare employs this violent language to
demonstrate how the King’s personal flaws have left him isolated and
bitter, whilst the society he once represented has fallen into turmoil.
These weaknesses in the King’s character provide the instability from
which his decisions are made. However, the level of sin is greater in
those around him. The concept of a King passing on his land to his next
of kin is in itself rational. The King wishes to divide his land before his
death, as he has no male heir. However badly conceived, this tactic by
Lear does have logic. It could also be recognised as an act of loyalty and
a demonstration of his love for his children. The actions of Regan and
Goneril are scant reward for the King’s lavish gesture. This is relevant to
the play, as an understanding of the “blame” allows the audience to make
some sense of the moving tragedy that unfolds.
Jade Bibby
However, this was not Shakespeare’s only purpose as King Lear also
“…offers serious comment on matters of concern to society as a whole,
such as injustice, power and the distribution of wealth” (David
Margolies). This theme would also have been relevant to the audience at
the time, as it was a time of change when society began to question world
order.
The King is eventually stripped of his power, with the “reservation of one
hundred knights.” The retention of the knights is symbolic, an
understandable reminder to Lear of his past status. However, Regan and
Goneril show no respect for Lear’s human needs and Goneril promotes
this amongst their entourage particularly Oswald. Lear demands
recognition from Oswald who identifies Lear only as “my lady’s father.”
This mental cruelty is evident as the King asks “who is it that can tell me
who I am?” Shakespeare uses this question to extract sympathy from the
audience for the isolated King. Goneril and Regan show no mercy.
The play is fused with the cruelty of these two daughters. There is no
love as they threaten “perpetual displeasure” against Gloucester, if he
displays any sympathy to the king. Regan is deeply vindictive, and is
instrumental in the blinding of Gloucester who has both eyes ripped out.
There is more sin in the actions of Lear’s daughters than in the King
himself. The most harrowing example of which is Goneril’s poisoning of
her sister, driven by jealousy concerning Edmund and her own greed.
The play also demonstrates a number of positives in Lear’s nature,
relevant to the concept that Lear is less sinful, than sinner. The King’s
close ally Kent risks his life to protect the former leader, and even dons a
disguise to continue serving the King who banished him. This is evident
where Kent beats Oswald, Goneril’s steward, after he is rude to Lear.
This suggests Kent recognise good within the King’s nature, perhaps a
reflection of the old King’s former qualities as a leader.
Gloucester arranges for Lear to meet Cordelia at Dover, on her return to
England. This loyalty is not only bred from recognition of Lear’s
qualities but also an understanding of the terrible sins inflicted against
him. Albany sees the evil his wife and her sister have concocted against
their father and Gloucester and vows to avenge the latter claiming he will
“revenge thine eyes.” This is clearly relevant to the apportionment of
blame and therefore the tragedy of King Lear.
Jade Bibby
The return of Cordelia is perhaps the greatest example of Lear attracting
loyalty. He has cast this daughter aside, but she returns with the French
army only with the aim of rescuing her father “but love, dear love, and
our ag’d father’s right.” This language employed by Shakespeare here is
soft, caring and deeply loving. This play begins with the abdication of
the eighty year old Lear, but these continual displays of loyalty strongly
suggest to the audience that he had been a good and fair King. In Act 3
Scene iv Lear also shows sympathy. He is unwilling to seek shelter
whilst out in a brutal storm, but repents when he realises the Fool is
shivering.
Shakespeare intends his audience to see the suffering from Lear’s
perspective, with empathy for his position. However, the faults within
the King’s character must be recognised as this is clearly relevant to the
outcome. He makes catastrophic errors of judgement that contribute to
his downfall. His inability to understand the falsity of Regan and
Goneril’s proclamations of love is a prominent example. Ultimately
though, the audience cannot fail to recognise the validity of the King’s
claim that he “is more sinned against than sinning.”
This bears comparison with “Othello,” a character displayed by
Shakespeare as a heroic leader misled by his evil associate Iago, who
preys on his master’s jealousy. The result is a tragic series of deaths.
However, Othello would not be described as a sinner despite his this flaw
of jealousy. It is fair to say Lear has more apparent faults than Othello
but the principle is the same. King Lear is the victim and tragically “more
sinned against.” Thus, he cannot be charged with causing the tragedy.
His “sins” are the human frailty of an old man, who sadly fails to
understand those he loves most deeply.
Word Count 1547
Jade Bibby
Bibliography:
King Lear workbook provided by college section “Tragic Hero”
Oxford School Shakespeare – King Lear
Oxford School Shakespeare – King Lear section “What the critics have
said.”
“Othello” (Film 1965 version with Laurence Olivier)
Spark notes – plot overview “Othello” internet
The Alexander Text of the Complete Works of Shakespeare.
