From the time when William Shakespear first produced "King Lear" till
now it has not lost any of its original fortitude. Although the settings and
characters are of time period long ago, the basic human emotions can still be
found with in our hearts today. The play "King Lear" there are many strong
human emotions present however of these the strongest are pity, guilt, and
Pity is the grief one feels for anothers misfortune. We see examples of
this in the play such as when Edgar sees the King in his deteriorated state and
says to himself "My tears began to take his part so much,...." (3.6.59). We
also se an example of pity in act four scene one when Gloucester is left on
his own to smell his way to Dover an old man comes to his aid. In society
today we also feel pity for loved ones and strangers alike such as the
innocent civilians of afganhistan who are being slaughtered for the crimes of
the Taliban. Although this is happening today and Gloucesters eyes were
plucked out several hundred years ago, we still feel the same sorrow for him
who does not exist as we feel for those people who are very real today.
Altough pity is felt with in the play it is felt much greater by the audience
however guilt is is much greater emotion found with in the characters of the
Guilt is the feeling of remorse for having committed an offence. In the
play there are three characters wich clearly show their guilt, Lear, Gloucester
and Edmund. Lear clearly identifies that he has made a grave mistake for
having banished Cordelia " I'll kneel down,/ Anbd ask of thee
forgiveness:..." (5.3.10-11). Gloucester shows his guilt for having betrayed
his son Edgar when he discovers that Edmund had orchestrated the entire
scheme "O my follies! Then Edgar was abus'd/
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