Summary:
Essay looks at the list of criteria for an Aristotelian tragedy and discusses if William Shakespeare's "King Lear" meets the criteria. Also analyzes which aspects of the text are ignored or neglected by reading it in this manner.
King Lear would be classified as an Aristotelian tragedy if it is to be measured against the Aristotelian criteria for a tragedy. The play possesses most, if not all, the characteristics of a tragedy as defined by Aristotle. Such includes an unhappy ending, characters of superior moral quality, a spectacle which arouses fear and pity, a plot built on a catastrophe, and a hero and heroines undone by a their character flaws. However, should King Lear be restricted such a reading many aspects of the play are neglected. The play can also be read from a Freudian aspect, which would reveal its psychological and philosophical depths. It can too, be read in a feminist perspective to unravel some of its social and cultural values.
Firstly, without any need for argument, King Lear has a tragic ending. The.....
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