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William Shakespeare’s King Lear - A Lesson in FREE WILL Versus DESTINY!!!!!! William Shakespeare’s King Lear demonstrators how free will and destiny function in the play. It also ponders on the concept of evil and literal and figurative sight. The plot gives a story of good and evil characters exercising their own free wills. King Lear foolishly divides up his kingdom to his two deceitful, older daughters who plot to overthrow their father. The King disinherits Cordelia, his honest, dutiful because she refused to give him phony compliment like the other two daughters did. There is a similar subplot involving the Earl of Gloucester. His illegitimate , Edmund, is jealous of Gloucester’s legitimate , Edgar. Edmund tricks Edgar into leaving and fools Gloucester into believing Edgar was plotting going to kill his father. In the Beginning, Lear and Gloucester trust the with evil intent. However, as the plot unfolds, Lear and Gloucester learn through that Cordelia and Edgar are the ones worthy of their trust and admiration. There are also elements of destiny in King Lear. When Gloucester is told Edmund’s story about Edgar’s alleged plans of murder, the Earl blames it on an eclipse: "These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend no good to us: though the wisdom of nature can reason it thus and thus, yet nature finds itself scourged by the sequent effects" (I, ii, 112-127) [pp. 55-56]. After Gloucester leaves, Edmund speaks his mind on the subject of predestined fate. "This is the excellent foppery of the world, that, when we are sick in fortune,--often the surfeit of our own behaviour,--we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars; as if we were villains on necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves, and treachers by spherical pre-dominance; drunkards, liars, and adulterers by an enforced obedience of planetary influence; and all that we are evil in, by a divine thrusting on: an admirable evasion of whoremaster man, to lay his goatish disposition to the charge of a star!" (I, ii, 128-131) [pp. 56] Given how easy Edmund fools Gloucester in the same scene, it seems that Shakespeare is encouraging the audience to see Edmund’s view as the more intelligent and reasonable compared to Gloucester’s belief. However, the author’s true views are questioned again in the last act. After the failure of Edmund’s plot to disgrace his brother, Edgar says the gods are just, and Edmund agrees, "The wheel is come full circle." (V, iii, 246) Evil is dependent on free will; it cannot exist in a completely predestined world. While the definitions of evil vary, a general description of an evil character is one that deviates from moral standards, is mischievous, or intends to harm others. If one is not in control of one’s actions, intent is not an issue; one simply acts as fate dictates. This reduces mankind to pre-programmed, biological robots. While Edmund and the older daughters from King Lear appear evil, could their actions be completely dictated by destiny? Do the daughters truly love their father or did the eclipse make them it? If their actions are indeed controlled by fate they would not be evil. It is also possible that all the characters in the play had free will. It would be an amazing coincidence if it happened by chance, but it is possible. The actions of Edmund and the older daughters are popularly thought to be of their own volition. Is it silly to think otherwise? In King Lear, Lear and Gloucester both have the opportunity to see the truth but some they refuse. Lear would rather hear lavish compliments than the less glamorous truth. Gloucester is very oblivious to the situation; when he asks about Edgar, "But where is he?" Edmund replies, instead of responding to the question, "Look, sir, I bleed" (II, I, 43-4). Gloucester is blind to not notice that at all! However, by the end of the play, both Lear and Gloucester can see the truth. Lear eventually sees that Cordelia is his only faithful , and Gloucester discovers Edmund’s wicked plans. Lear and Gloucester had all the clues in front of them but decided instead to see what they wanted to see. They are responsible for their poor judgment. Many elements of our lives are dependent on our free will. How many faiths rely on man’s free will? Religion may lose importance in a predestined world, because without free will there is no choice between good and evil. The fact that King Lear’s characters have free will is backed up by the judgments made by the characters. King Lear and Gloucester bring their fate upon themselves by ignoring the truth. Living in a world with free will comes with the responsibility of making good judgments. In the original Play - The Good Dies and the Good become King. In later versions of the play. The Good survives and marries the Good who becomes the King.  Abracadabra  |
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