Free King Lear Essays: The Element of Disguise :: Essays on King Lear

Lord Lear - The Element of Disguise   The play â€Å"King Lear† is, above all else, a play about kingship.  Lear is a confiding in ruler, each inch a lord, who in his mature age carries annihilation to himself, certain people in his own hover, and to his country.  â€Å"King Lear† is a play which removes the external covers of human character.  Pious and blameless appearing individuals who are contemptible, are uncovered in their actual nature, and the comparative is revealed for what it is, as it works destruction.  This is done in a world in which most men are continually looking for their own progression, a court where brown nosers are continually hiding, and in which a lord ought to be continually vigilant and cautious to follow the exhortation of such genuine men as Kent.       Within the initial two demonstrations of â€Å"King Lear†, the component of mask is established.  The ruler's two little girls, Regan and Goneril, use blandishment as a disguise.  They cover their actual emotions, scheming to assume control over the land.  Goneril says:    Sir, I love you beyond what word can weild the issue;  Dearer then visual perception, space, and freedom; . . . Past all  manner of so much I love you. (II 56-63)   Regan talks:    I am made of a similar metal as my sister,  And prize me at her value.  In my actual heart  I discover she names my very deed of adoration,  Only she comes excessively short, that I affirm  Myself and foe to all different delights  Which the most valuable square of sense has,  And discover I am distant from everyone else congratulate  In your dear Highness' affection. (II72-80)       Clearly, the daughters’ words are stacked with flattery.  The third little girl, Cordelia, can't wear the cover that the other two wear, I love your Majesty According to my bond, no more nor less. (II 97-98)  It is consequently that Cordeila is ousted from the realm.       An undeniable case of mask is with the Earl of Kent, as he enters the play as Tom of Bedlam.  Even however he was banished from the realm, he has come back to ensure Lear.  His extraordinary dependability to the ruler, powers Kent to chance his life so as to bamboozle Lear.    Lear : What craftsmanship thou?  Kent : A legitimate hearted individual, and as poor as the ruler.         (I, IV, 18-20)