Shakespearean tragedies, such as King Lear, have indeed held an enduring

nature since it was performed in Elizabethan times. King Lear is not just for
Shakespeare contemporary audiences, as it contains a universality themes and values
demonstrated within it. This plays most predominant themes and values are power,
loyalty and trust. Shakespearean playwrights have held an enduring nature because
these themes are still valued in the modern era.
In Shakespearean audiences, King Lear tested the definition of power within the
feudal system. The beliefs of the citizens of the Elizabethan era were that god owned
everything and entrusted a certain amount of land onto the king, which the king had
complete power over (Musesrealm 1997-2000). At the start of the play King Lear,
King Lear had complete authority over everything within the land that he ruled. This
meant that he possessed great power. But during the opening of the play, Lear
misused his authority as king by splitting and donating the land that he ruled to his
daughters, based on their protests of love for him. Through this representation, and
the lens of the Elizabethan world, modern audiences are challenged to assess the
nature of power correctly exercised. The quote, Only we shall retain The name and all
th addition of a king. clearly shows Lears intentions of removing the intentions of
being a king, whilst maintaining he was a king by name (I, i, 135-136). But the
achievements of his actions were that, even though King Lear was still seen as the
most dominant figure in society, the real power and control of the lands was with
whoever made the decisions regarding the monarchy that this play took place in. In
this case, the power that was once Lears was transferred to Gonereil and Regan. Even
the one hundred knights that Lear thought he had power over were actually controlled
by Gonereil and Regan. Later in the play, all the power that Lear had obtained was
stripped off him, with his name the only thing remaining in his belonging. Through this
representation, the definition of power is altered. Even though one figure of society
portrays themselves as powerful, another figure of society actually possesses all the
power. This is also evident in modern day society. Shakespearean playwrights have
endured through time because the conflict of power is relatable in the modern era.
Loyalty is represented and tested within the personal drama regarding this play
inside the family Lear. Loyalty is an important value in modern society, and is one of
the reasons why Shakespearean plays have endured through time. In the family of
Lear, Cordelia remains loyal to King Lear throughout the whole play whilst Gonereil
and Regan are always disloyal to Lear. In the opening of the play, Lear was disloyal to
Cordelia by banishing her for failing his test of protesting her love for him. Even after
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Cordelia is banished by Lear, she still remains loyal to him. This is shown by her
marrying the King of France in order to rescue her father from her villainous sisters.
Gonereil and Regan fake their speeches of love towards Lear in an attempt to inherit
their fathers lands and his power. They later strip Lear of what little he owned, such
as his one hundred knights. The quote,

If it be you that stir these daughters hearts

Against their father, fool me not so much
.
Stain my mans cheeks! No you unnatural hags,
shows Lears negative emotions towards Gonereil and Regan when he discovered that
they were both disloyal to him (II, iv, 275-279). Kent and the Fool also remain loyal to
Lear, as they accompany him in the storm, after he has lost everything other than his
name. Shakespearean plays position the audience to embrace characters that are
loyal and reject characters that are disloyal, thus reflecting the values of the
Elizabethan era to the modern era, allowing these plays to endure through time.
Loyalty is also tested in the family of Gloucester. Edmund was always disloyal to
Gloucester and Edgar, whilst Gloucester was disloyal to Edgar and Edgar was always
loyal to Gloucester. Edmund a bastard, had devised a treacherous plan to bring
himself power by comprising the downfall of Edgar and Gloucester. This was done by
creating a forged letter which contained details of Edgar plotting to murder his own
father. Edmunds disloyalty is shown in the quote,
Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed,
And my invention thrive, Edmund the base
Shall to th legitimate. I grow, I prosper.
Now, gods, stand up for bastards!
as his intentions of writing a forged letter are displayed and his goal to obtain more
power than his legitimate brother, Edgar, and prove a point that bastards can be
accepted in society. (I, ii, 19-23). Gloucester is disloyal to Edgar as he did not trust and
properly question Edgar. Instead, he took the word of his illegitimate son, whom he
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was already embarrassed of. This forced Edgar to flee for his safety. Later in the play,
Gloucester, who is loyal to King Lear, realises the treachery of Gonereil and Regan. He
makes an attempt to save Lear, but because of his loyalty, he had his eyes gauged
out. After this event, Edgars loyalty for Gloucester is shown in the play when he
pretends to be a pauper named Poor Tom and help his father, despite the fact that
Gloucester mistrusted him. The story of the Gloucester family is replicated in modern
era, by the film Thor. In the film, Thor is loyal to his father, Odin, but Thors disloyal
brother

Loki

deceives

Odin

and

causes

Thor

strife

(Merpandderp

2003).

Shakespearean plays, such as King Lear, have endured through time because
themes like loyalty are still valued today. They also endure because the audience is
positioned to accept traditional Elizabethan values, such as loyalty.
The concept of trust is tested within the play King Lear by the treachery of
Gonereil and Regan to King Lear. Shakespearean plays have endured through time
because of concepts like trust being tested, as it so often does in reality. In the
beginning of this play, during Lears test to his daughters about exclaiming their love
for him, Gonereil and Regan told King Lear everything he wanted to hear, even though
it was not their true emotions. Because of this, Lear misplaces his trust upon these
two daughters. Because of the trust that Lear had shown to Gonereil and Regan, he
donated to them all his power. This proved to be a very influential mistake, as he later
lost everything he owned to the cunningness of Gonereil and Regan. Who Lear should
have trusted from the beginning of this play was Cordelia. But because she could not
describe her emotions during Lears test, she is rejected by Lear. The quote,
Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich, being poor;
Most choice, forsaken; and most loved, despised!
shows that even though Cordelia was Lears most favoured daughter, she was still not
trusted because it did not appeal to the ears of Lear (1, i, 253). Lear had failed his own
test, as he placed his trust on the two daughters who were not truthful, not the only
daughter who was. Shakespearean plays, such as King Lear, have endured through
time as truthfulness is still valued in society today, and is still tested in society.
Shakespearean playwrights continue to endure throughout time because the themes
that Shakespearean plays possess, such power, loyalty and trust, resinate through
modern audiences. Through the outcomes of the play King Lear, it is clearly evident
that the themes of power, loyalty and trust, which are so common in the modern era,
were being tested back in the Elizabethan era. Shakespearean playwrights are morally
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edifying for all audiences, thus Shakespearean playwrights have endured and will
continue to endure because the themes that they portray are still valued today.
References
Musesrealm, 1997-2000, Shakespeare for Elizabethan England, viewed 29 April 2013,
http://www.musesrealm.net/writings/shakespeareengland.html.
Merpandderp,
2003,
Spark
Notes,
http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/lear/.

viewed

Shakespeare, 1564-1616, King Lear, The Challis Shakespeare, England.

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May

2013,