Two Wheels of Fortune Within the Plots of King Lear

Abstract

William Shakespeare is one of the prominent and leading authors who have been beyond the times and inspired the following authors with their Works. His Works, the plays in particular, not only demonstrate the historical and cultural characteristics of the period but also opens some doors for the societies of every century. That is because he focuses on the universal themes, matters and problems which have been and are still the issues discussed on. The play King Lear, for example, is so significant that it contains the problem seen in any family all around the world. The main idea of the play is the father (King Lear) experiences tragic events due to that he believes the lies of two of his daughters (Regan and Goneril), distrusts the frankness and honesty of his third daughter (Cordelia); and portions his heritage out among them unrighteously. Indeed, as a tragic character King Lear commits a tragic flaw and gets punished. The plot of the play is fundamentally constructed on the process of this punishment. On the other hand, there is another story about a father (Earl of Gloucester) and his mistake. In the study the stories of the father King Lear and Earl of Gloucester are discussed and analyzed within the scope of the wheels of fortune. Finally, the aim of the study is to compare and contrast King Lear’s story as the main plot and the Earl of Gloucester’s story as a sub-plot so as to find out the differences between the tragic hero and a pathetic man.