Act 5 Fallout

After finishing King Lear, I can honestly say I've never been happier reading literature than when Goneril and Regan die. They have got to be two of the most annoying characters (besides any character played by Nicolas Cage) that I've ever witnessed, and all I can say is I'm glad that they ended up biting the dust. From the start of the story, it was frustrating seeing them manipulate their father while conspiring to take over the kingdom, and my annoyance only grew when I saw them portrayed as old, unattractive hags in the movie. I found it ironic that the two ended up dying over Edmund, especially considering that their original intent was strictly gaining land. As is the case with many downfalls, emotions often get in the way, and this was true in this case...As for Cordelia, it was pretty obvious that she wasn't making it out of this one alive. After all King Lear is a tragedy, and there was just no way she could have survived considering she was the most  honorable character in the play. The one character that surprised me in the end was Kent. As honorable and trustworthy as he had been towards Lear, I would have thought that he would have ended up dead as well, but it was interesting to see him come out alive. Overall, I thought the ending was fairly predictable with a few exceptions, but all in all I enjoyed the finale.

King Lear: Bad to Worse

After getting into act four, one recurring theme that seems to stand out to me is how the story is moving closer and closer to being a true tragedy. For most of the "good" characters in the story, things are dramatically going from bad to worse, and the reader can only assume its a matter of time before Lear's kingdom is torn completely to shreds. For Lear, this was seen a little earlier on in his arguing with Goneril and Regan about how many knights he can have while at their castles. Instead of reaching an agreement however, he was instead banished and forced to wander around in the storm with his fool. As for Gloucester, situation takes an incredible turn for the worse when he is convicted of assisting King Lear. As punishment, he is blinded by an enraged Cornwall, then banished. While Kent suffers no physical damage in this section of reading, you could say that his feelings of despair only grow when he sees Lear start to lose it mentally and his companion Gloucester without his eyesight. For Edmund, it seemed that he thought his troubles had reached their height when he saw how bad Lear was doing after being betrayed by his daughters. His problems only escalade though when he sees his blinded father being led by a servant. Gloucester sums up this theme well when he says,"As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; they kill us for their sport." He is showing that a state of total disorder is almost at hand, and there is little anyone can do now to stop Goneril and Regan. Through these events (and the ones to come) it is clear that this story is quickly shaping up to be a prime example of a tragedy. 

The Unrewarded Courage Seen in Kent

After finishing most of act two of King Lear, there have been several situations so far that have led me to automatically take sides regarding the conflict of the story. While at first I saw myself sympathizing with Edmund for being the rejected son who his father makes fun of, my views towards his character have drastically changed after seeing his actions against his brother. While Gloucester had made fun of Edmund (apparently a number of times), the text provides no evidence of Edgar treating his brother poorly. For Edmund to lead his father into banishing his own son for no reason seems to be more cruel towards Edgar than Gloucester, and for this, it is clear that Shakespeare intends Edmund to be one of the major villains in the entire story.
On the other side of the spectrum, I would have to say that I have been most impressed with the character qualities shown by Kent. From the beginning of the story, it appears that Kent is one of the finer men that Lear has as a friend, and his actions thus far have only confirmed this. After standing up for Cordelia in Act 1, Kent is banished unfairly by King Lear. Instead of being angry towards his king however, Kent puts himself at an even greater risk by dressing up as a peasant in order to remain a servant of Lear. While anyone else would have wanted nothing to do with Lear, he stood up for his friend and refused to abandon his loyalty towards the king. His loyalty is even further tested when he picks a fight with Oswald who had previously disrespected Lear. Because of this, he puts not only his identity at risk, but his life. As a result he is placed in the stocks as punishment, all for someone who had betrayed him. Through these examples from the text, it is clear in my mind that Kent has undoubtedly shown the most courage and integrity of all the characters thus far.