English OAC Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear is a detailed description of the consequences of one man's decisions. This fictitious man isLear, King of England, who's decisions greatly alter his life andthe lives of those around him. As Lear bears the status of King heis, as one expects, a man of great power but sinfully he surrendersall of this power to his daughters as a reward for theirdemonstration of love towards him. This untimely abdication of histhrone results in a chain reaction of events that send him througha journey of hell. King Lear is a metaphorical description of oneman's journey through hell in order to expiate his sin. As the play opens one can almost immediately see that Learbegins to make mistakes that will eventually result in hisdownfall. The very first words that he speaks in the play are :-"...Give me the map there. Know that we have dividedIn three our kingdom, and 'tis our fast intentTo shake all cares and business from our age,Conferring them on younger strengths while weUnburdened crawl to death..." (Act I, Sc i, Ln 38-41)This gives the reader the first indication of Lear's intent toabdicate his throne. He goes on further to offer pieces of hiskingdom to his daughters as a form of reward to his test of love. "Great rivals in our youngest daughter's love,Long in our court have made their amorous sojourn,And here are to be answered. Tell me, my daughters(Since now we will divest us both of rule,Interest of territory, cares of state),Which of you shall we say doth love us most?That we our largest bounty may extendwhere nature doth with merit challenge." (Act I, Sc i, Ln 47-53)This is the first and most significant of the many sins that hemakes in this play. By abdicating his throne to fuel his ego he isdisrupts the great chain of being which states that the King mustnot challenge the position that God has given him....
