traglear Tragic Hero in King Lear Essay - 1591 Words

The definition of tragedy in Webster’s dictionary is, drama of elevated theme and diction and with unhappy ending; sad event, serious accident, calamity.nbsp; However, the application of this terminology in Shakespearean Tragedy is more expressive.nbsp; Tragedy does not only mean death or calamity, but in fact, it refers to a series of steps that leads to the downfall of the tragic hero and eventually to his tragic death.nbsp; Lear, the main character in King Lear was affirmed as the tragic hero because the play meets all the requirements of a tragedy.nbsp;nbsp; In order for a character to be qualified as a tragic hero, he must be in a high status on the social chain and the hero also possesses a tragic flaw that initiates the†¦show more content†¦nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; The downfall of Lear is not just the suffering of him alone but the suffering of everyone down the chain of being.nbsp; For instance, Lears pride and anger caused Cordelia and Kent to be banished, and Gloucester loses his position and eyes.nbsp; Everything that happened to these characters are in a chain of reaction and affected by Lears tragic flaw.nbsp; If Lear did not lack of personal insight and if he did not havenbsp; such an obstinate pride, he would not have banished Cordelia and Kent, then Goneril and Regan would not be able to conspire against Lear. Without the plot of Goneril and Regan, Gloucester would not have been betrayed by Edmund and lose his eyes and status due to the charge of treason.nbsp; Moreover, the chain of reaction was continuous