King Lear Essay | Critical Essay #5

King Lear Critical Essay #5

Critics who assert that love is a principal theme of King Lear frequently disagree about how it is presented in the play. Many, however, have noted that the drama depicts it in several different forms. Marilyn Gaull, for example, argues that Lear focuses on two kinds: divine love, which fosters universal order, and erotic love, which inevitably results in chaos and destruction. Cordelia represents divine love, Gaull and many other commentators suggest. John F. Danby sees Cordelia as the only character in the play who understands the right relation between self-love, love of God, and compassionate love for one's fellow human beings.

In the virtual absence of romantic love in the play, several critics have contended, family love becomes of paramount importance. Thomas McFarland takes this viewpoint and further notes that despite the play's presentation of such commonplace family problems as favoritism toward one child over another, the demands...
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