Convince point – Lear

“I’m a man more sinned against than sinning”

  • With a classical approach to this statement, I agree that he has been more sinned against than sinning.  In the time that this story was published the people religiously believed in this hierarchy where you shouldn’t show any disrespect to anything higher up in the system. King Lear  In the publics eyes, King Lear has not ever done anything wrong (or sinned). Even King Lear himself wholeheartedly believes in this system meaning he has never done anything wrong. The public then sees when King Lear’s daughters turn against him and feel very uncomfortable about the fact that they are being so disrespectful towards Lear.

2 Replies to “Convince point – Lear”

  1. I’m impressed with the sophistication of this. A lot of people struggle to see Shakespeare in the context of its time of writing. Often people are more influenced by their own perception of the characters, especially when engaging in analysis simply by putting themselves in the shoes of certain characters. You’ve gone beyond that. Nice work.

  2. Reanna, I am really interested in your statement about Lear never believing he had done anything wrong. I agree with you and think we have to consider Lear’s upbringing when analysing this quote. He believes he has been sinned against however he also acknowledges that he has possibly sinned.

    Think about how people have treated him for his entire life. He has been bought up with the knowledge that he will be/is king. What do you think this would do to a person, regardless of any selfless nature or positive attributes? What do you think Lear would consider “a sin” (what sins do you think he would admit to committing)?

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