The Importance of the First Two Scenes in King Lear

The Importance of the First Two Scenes in King Lear King Lear, as I see it, confronts the perplexity and mystery of human action. (Shakespeares Middle Tragedies, 169) As the previous quotation from the scriptures of Maynard Mack implies, King Lear is a very complex and intricate play which happens to be surrounded by a lot of debate. The folio of 1623, which was, as is well known, edited by two of Shakespeares fellow actors (Notes and Essays on Shakespeare, 242), contains not only historical errors, but errors which pertain to certain characters speaking other characters lines. Amidst all the controversy one fact can be settled upon by all; King Lear is one of Shakespeares best tragedies.†¦show more content†¦The fact that the two most important pieces of plot information are structuralized in the two opening scenes of the play add a profound amount of credit towards Marilyn Frenchs opinion that everything about the play hangs on the first two scenes. The plot of King Lear is not the only part of the play that rests on the first two scenes. An enormous amount of the dialogue is specifically used to reveal the values and morals of each character. It is very important to know the values that each character has in order to have a greater understanding of why the play unfolds the way it does. For example, it would be hard to believe that Goneril and Reagan could be so contemptible to their own father, without the incident in the first scene where both Goneril and Reagan show that they are morally corrupt, by making exaggerated claims of love and devotion to their father. The first scene plays a huge role in disclosing the views of Lear, Goneril, Reagan, and Cordelia while the second scene exposes Edmund for what he really is. The views of King Lear himself are more apparent in the first scene than the views of any other character. When the play starts out, Lear is very much in control of his kingdom but the very first scene gives us a hint of how Lear is going to loseShow MoreRelatedImportance of Self Knowledge and Forgiveness in King Lear Essay1215 Words   |  5 PagesThe importance of self-knowledge and forgiveness is strikingly obvious in the play King Lear. If we accept that the two characters most lacking in self-knowledge are Lear and Gloucester, we can examine how the importance of this quality for them is shown in the play. Whilst these two characters lack self-knowledge, the world around them quickly deteriorates. 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