Character Analysis: King Lear

Sorry it's taken so long to post about King Lear, but last week was super crazy for me. But I think I did well for the most part on my midterms :) So anyways....

King Lear is an individual that chooses to give away his power as king. He no longer wants the responsibility of governing over a people, but he ultimately still wants to feel in control and powerful. His sense of authority has been completely taken away from him, as demonstrated by his oldest daughters: Regan and Goneril. In this way, I relate him almost to a cake brownie, giving off the appearance or desire to be noble (or delicious) and then being something entirely different. Something worse off than before. A cop-out of sorts. He may feel like he has certain power, but in all reality he is viewed as nothing more than an old, senile man. With that though, there are also some redeeming characteristics to him as a character, and to cake brownies as a dessert. By the end of the play King Lear has gotten grasp of what's important in life: true love rather than the supposed importance of a title. With that, cake brownies can be quite yummy if one's in the mood for something light compared to actual brownies. 

 

Now Cordelia is incredibly loving and dependable. She knows what true love is and is not afraid to stand up for her beliefs. She doesn't hold grudges. Cordelia can be viewed as pure and someone worth trying to emulate. The food I chose to describe her as is a pear. I chose to look up the symbolism for a pear and discovered that pear trees are known for their strength and longevity. They are able to withstand everything they face and still produce delicious fruit. This is a lot like Cordelia in that by standing up to her father she showed a lot of strength and courage and was able to withstand all that occurred to her throughout the play. And although she dealt with her father banishing her and taking away her dowry, and her unfair death, she was still able to be loving and beautiful. 

Finally, Edmund is an incredibly independent individual who is constantly looking for others to see him as more than just a mistake of his father's. His desire to be loved and viewed as an equal consumes him and causes him to seek revenge cruelly, turning his father against his own son, Edgar. I feel like this can relate to something that most people automatically assume to taste nasty, such as spinach. For some reason spinach has always gotten a bad reputation and because of it most people stay away from it. I know that's how I used to be because my mom never liked it. Until I came out to college I had never tried it before. And I thought it was delicious. Edgar in a sense is like spinach in that there are so many misconceptions about him because of the illegitimacy of his birth. And no one has ever tried to get to know him, keeping that bad reputation going. Sure, that doesn't excuse his actions throughout the play, but it at least helps the reader understand why he does what he does.