English 2610

The overall meaning of King Lear is a bit hard for me to articulate. So, I'll talk about the Shakespeare ending vs. a "happier" ending. Maybe that will shed some light on what I think the overall meaning of King Lear is for me. If Cordelia and King Lear had both lived at the end of the play, for example, the message of loyalty and pure love would be obvious. The hero and the heroin would ride off into the sunset and everybody's actions in the play would have an obvious good or bad consequence. It appears to me, however, that Shakespeare doesn't want to let the audience off the hook so easy. Shakespeare is a master at spinning a tale in ambiguity so as to confuse the natural reactions of the audience. This way, the audience has to think twice about how they really feel about the out come of the play. For example, when Lear and Cordelia die it is not overtly clear if their actions throughout the play have been rewarded. If Cordelia had lied to Lear at the beginning wouldn't she still be alive? If Lear hadn't "weathered the storm", so to speak, and had a change of heart would he still be alive? I don't know the answers to all these questions, but I do think that Shakespeare was making a bigger point by killing off Lear and Cordelia. I think Shakespeare wanted us to realize that death is not the ultimate punishment and that some things are worth sacrificing your life for. In the case of King Lear, I think that loyalty and love ultimately prevailed, even though all the sisters and Lear end up dead. There are many themes in King Lear and I think that's the beauty of Shakespeare's writing. One can see the ending of King Lear as proof that you must do whatever you have to do to get ahead in life because we will all end up dead some day. On the other hand, one can see the ending of King Lear as a triumph of the heart, a mighty change, a joyous reunion between Father and child.