February 24, 1997

Below is a free term papers summary of the paper "February 24, 1997." If you sign up, you can be reading the rest of this term papers in under two minutes. Registered users should login to view this term paper.

Term Paper Title	February 24, 1997
# of Words	5411
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	21.64

                            February 24, 1997
ENLU 1000.02                             Professor S. Fox
              The Deception in King Lear

     William Shakespeare's play King Lear is a play full of deceit, betrayal and meaningless promises.  This becomes evident in the first few lines.  We first learn of the empty words of Goneril and Regan as well as their hatred for their father, King Lear.  This becomes the center of the play and also leads to the madness that the king suffers from.
     The first words that Goneril speaks are totally empty and are the complete opposite of what she really feels.  She says, "Sir, I love you more than word can wield the matter; Dearer than eye-sight, space and liberty;" (I.i.54-55)  The reason why there are no words to express her love for her father is that she has no love for him and it does not exist.  The same goes for her sister, Regan, who is plotting against her father as well.  She says that she feels the same way as her sister and expresses how Goneril has named her very deed of love.  Regan adds a little twist to this and professes that she loves Lear more than her sisters and that Goneril's affection for her father "comes too short." (I.i.71)  By uttering these words, Regan shows that her love is even less true than that of her sister's.  She goes even farther to say:
        "...that I profess
         Myself an enemy to all other joys
         Which the most precious square of sense possesses,
         And find I am alone felicitate
         In your dear highness' love."
                                       I.i.71-75

This goes to show that she is more greedy than her sister and her words are also falser.  She wants more than her sister and will do anything to attain her goal.  Her ambition to get what she wants is evident in the words that she speaks.  She claims herself to be "an enemy to all other joys" but she is really the enemy to her father.
     The next person King Lear calls to speak is his soft-spoken daughter, Cordelia.  Lear does not have much respect for her because she does not flatter him and put him on the pedestal that he feels that he should be put on.  This is exactly what his other daughters do and he feels very strongly that Cordelia should do the same.  Because of all the flattery that was given him by his other two daughters, he gives them most of his possessions.  The first thing that Cordelia says when the King asks her to speak is "nothing."  The king is enraged by ...

This is not the end of the termpaper! Register below to see the complete version of this term paper.

Membership Plans	Credit Card	Check

1 month membership

3 month membership (You Save 50%)

6 month membership (You Save 67%)

Copyright © 2002-2007 Mid Term Papers. All rights reserved. This term papers website is used for research purposes only.
If you have forgotten your username or password, please click here.
If you like to cancel your account, please click here.

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22