Free English Literature Dissertations - As Thomas More Claims, i Know That Many One Will Say That The Bare
As Thomas More claims,
I know that many one will say that the bare remembrance of death alone, if a
man consider it and advise it well, were able to bereave a man of all the pleasure
of his life. How much more, then, should his life be painful and grievous, if, to
the remembrance and consideration of death, a man should add and set to, the
deep imagination of the dreadful doom of God, and bitter pains of purgatory,
or hell, of which every one passeth and exceedth many deaths17
King Lear implicitly rejects any thoughts of death, but Cordelia’s death provides the dramatist with an opportunity to uncover this important issue of person’s existence and demonstrate that death is not always fair. Cordelia’s death is tragic, because this female protagonist has many virtues and reveals unusual devotion to her father; but her death reveals Lear’s selfish nature and his inability to accept reality18. The very essence of Shakespeare’s tragedy is based on this conflict between good and evil, life and death; Lear’s mistakes result in Cordelia’s death, while her death causes the death of King Lear who is unable to live without his beloved daughter. The holding of Cordelia’s body symbolises the reality that King Lear avoids. Other characters of the play, like Regan, Goneril, Gloucester, Edmund, end their lives off-stage, but Cordelia’s corpse appears to be a comment on death and justice. As Lear ponders over Cordelia’s body, he makes an attempt to understand this injustice of life, but his sudden death in madness leaves the issue of death open. On the other hand, Lear’s death intensifies the tragedy; when Lear reunites with his daughter Cordelia, he is extremely happy, but her death deprives Lear of everything that he starts to realise and value. As a result, King Lear is left without his daughters, friends and kingdom, and Cordelia’s death appears to be the final collapse that destroys Lear. In this regard, Shakespeare stresses the importance of Cordelia’s death; the dramatist interprets her death as the direct cause of Lear’s death. A short reconciliation between Lear and Cordelia signifies the moment of complete happiness; however, Cordelia’s death brings back Lear’s madness.
Thus, Shakespeare identifies madness with death in King Lear; madness deprives a person of any reasonable thinking, gradually destroying him/her. For William Shakespeare, madness is already the sign of death; and, in the case of King Lear, madness wins, preventing Lear from finding peace at death. The dramatist considers madness as punishment that takes a person away from reality and reason. It is this madness that provides readers with the possibility to predict Lear’s death, as the play progresses. As a result of his madness, Lear looses his self, turning into a psychological death that finally brings him to a physical death19.
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