"As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; / They kill us for their sport." 4.2.37-38. Gloucester speaks these words after he is blinded, cast out, and betrayed by his son. By the end of the play, both good and bad characters have died. In the world of the play, is the universe indifferent to matters of good and evil? Is there just punishment for evil? Is virtue rewarded? What do you think, based upon your reading of King Lear?
Gloucester's statement referring to people being flies that boys kill for fun, is referring to his own son, Edmund. He is stating that human life is valued at the life of flies--not valued at all. At the end of Act 5, scene 2, Edgar makes a powerful statement, "Men must endure their going hence, even as their coming hither; Ripeness is all" (1214; 9-11). This strong and truthful statement is stating how no one can choose their time of death; along with time of birth. I believe this statement sets the tone for the rest of the act for how the good and evil people die. Unfortunately, I think that justice for the evil people is carried out through time, not specifically at deserving time. This play illustrates that people, good and bad, are killed or die when it is their time, whether deserving or not. Gloucester and Lear die from shock and natural causes. They were both considered some of the good characters. Cordelia was murdered; she was the most pure of them all and she still died. This proves my point that people die when it's their time. Time does not discriminate or choose people based on whether they are good or evil. The evil characters such as Edmund, Regan, and Goneril were killed, committed suicide, out of their own wrong doings. Goneril poisoned Regan out of jealousy then killed herself. I believe justice was served in that sense. Edmund was wounded from fighting his brother, Edgar. He eventually died as well. Justice was served for the evil characters who deserved to die. However, the good characters did not recieve justice but rather, betrayal and wrong doings. Cordelia had the most pure virtues and still was murdered. However, Albany had decent virtues and received victory and finally got rid of his evil wife (haha!).
ReplyDeleteIn the world of the play I do believe that the universe is indifferent to the matters of good and evil. In the end no matter how virtuous or malicious the characters were throughout the play, death caught up with almost all of them. Gloucester’s comparisons of the human life being like the flies that boy’s kill for fun is a perfect for this setting. The value of a human life draws close to zero. The fact that Cordelia‘s life is abruptly ended when she had done nothing wrong to anyone throughout the whole play proves that virtue is not always rewarded. I do believe in the long run there is punishment for evil in Lear’s world however it takes a while for it to set in. Goneril and Regan were rewarded in the beginning for fooling their father and taking all his power all the while treating Lear as if he were no more than a piece of dirt. Their evil ways catch up to them in the end by taking both their lives. Goneril poisons Regan, and then later Goneril takes her own life. I agree with modernmyth91 on the fact that this universe for the most part did not care whether you were “good” or “evil”, death came for one when it was their time to go, whether they deserved it or not. Although Lear makes the early mistake of giving all his power to Regan and Goneril, he realizes his mistake and tries to fix it however; he struggles throughout the whole play and in the end dies after seeing his daughter dead. In the end, all the characters deserving of death do eventually perish however, and at some cost justice could be seen as being served. Kent, Albany and Edgar are the only ones left alive in the end, and Albany states, “All friends shall taste The wages of their virtue, and all foes The cup of their deserving(5.3.303-05).” He believes that justice has triumphed over evil and in some way I do believe that is true. Albany, Kent and Edgar were among the more virtuous characters however, the death of Cordelia makes one question if justice really was served.
ReplyDeletetest- hawk
ReplyDelete