King Lear’s Sins Pale in Comparison to those Committed Against Him Essa

male monarch Lears Sins Pale in Comparison to those Committed Against Him King Lear commits several acts that are nearly unforgivable. Not only does he shipping a trusted, loyal servant, he also banishes his throw daughter. Cordelia, unable and unwilling to submit herself to the ridiculous game of her father, is sent off to France with his curses. His subsequent action - the segmentation of the land between his 2 ungrateful daughters - is the final act, the final sin, and one that plunges the land into turmoil. However, his actions do not excuse the responses they bring from his kin and kinsmen. The sins against him - the actions of his two daughters and the wickedness of Edmund - are far greater than those he committed himself. While he may have started the series of events that eventually consumed the land in turmoil, it were those three who propagated the chaos. King Lear is definitely much more sinned against than sinning. That King Lear sinn ed, there can be no doubt. Nevertheless, a sin does not exclude the possibility that there was a sufficient cause (in his mind) for the action. Examine, for instance, King Lears decision to exile his own daughter, Cordelia. The King is of an advanced age. Though he will not, can not, admit it, senility is pass on upon him, clouding his brain and influencing his judgement. Combined with his pride, age, and subconscious fear of encroaching mortality, Lear has a great desire for flattery, and more importantly, to have the love of his children reaffirmed before him. After the two first daughters inflate his ego, Cordelia is left in the unenviable position of trying to surpass them. She too will not, can not, bring herself to do so. Thi... ...don him in his madness. Edmund, the chief(prenominal) force of evil in the play, not only comes near to destroying the country the Lear has worked so hard to maintain, he also gives the order for the death of the King and his youngest daughter. This, of course, leads directly to Lears own self-induced death. Therefore, while king Lears sins were horrible, and cannot be fully excused by his madness or his redemption, they still pale in comparison to those committed against him. While he wallowed in pettiness, they succumbed to greed, evil, and murder. Works Cited Kermode, Frank. King Lear. The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G.B.Evans. Boston Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974. 1249-54. Muir, Kenneth, ed. King Lear. London Methuen & Co, 1972 Partee, Morriss Henry. Edgar and the Ending of King Lear. Studia Neophilologica 63 (1991) 175-180.