The Tragic Tragedy Of William Shakespeare s King Lear

Tear stained eyes, puffy noses, and pensive faces are just a few of the physical signs of truly reaching an audience following a tragic drama. A purging of emotion that inspires fear and pity is what the ancient Greeks called, catharsis. William Shakespeare was a master of catharsis, as was evident in many of his tragedies. Many of these tragedies ended with the majority of characters, including the main protagonist meeting their death. The unfortunate heroes of these dramas helped the audience feel catharsis through what is known as their hamartia. Hamartia is another Greek drama term that means a character trait that is â€Å"missing the mark†. This archery-turned-drama phrase does not necessarily mean that the trait was always bad; it could have been a trait that initially made the person wonderful. The important part of hamartia is that the trait leads to the character’s undoing. The title characters in King Lear and Macbeth are two individuals that while they share the same hamartia of hubris, the resulting catharsis is different due to their ending circumstances. The superior view of ‘self’ in appearances extends to both characters and leads them to becoming a different person. King Lear’s pride in appearance manifests when he suggests a game between his daughters to compete for sections of his already divided kingdom. King Lear asks his daughters to publicly declare their love for him, their father. When Cordelia, the youngest and the apple of his eye, refuses toShow MoreRelatedIs King Lear A Tragic Hero Essay1358 Words   |  6 PagesKing Lear, one of William Shakespeare s greatest tragedies, depicts a society in grim circumstances. As with all tragedies, there exists a tragic hero [1] , one who possesses a fatal flaw that initiates the tragedy and all the sufferings that follow. In this play, the tragic hero is undoubtedly the title character, King Lear. 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