Theme Of Tragedy In Shakespeares King Lear - 993 Words

Tragedy is one of the most common topics throughout literature. This theme can be found in many works of literature spanning from Biblical archives to more recent works in Blockbuster movies, and is commonly found in almost all societies today. The theme of tragedy is so universal that it is found in many of Shakespeare’s plays and poems (e.g. Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and plenty of other works). In specific, tragedy is found in one of William Shakespeare’s most popular plays named King Lear. King Lear was a tragedy that focused a lot on betrayal, however the play has plenty more important elements that define the play. There of the most noteworthy aspects that make up the play King Lear are: 1. The influence of many deaths in William†¦show more content†¦The death of his son probably influence the play to be more orientated around relationships between parent and child. In fact, Shakespeare wrote many plays (like Hamlet) around the time that his son died, and they had much to do with family and relationships between parent/child. Not only was the death of Shakespeare’s son a huge event in his life (creating influence on the play King Lear), but the death of his father and sister were also very important when it came to playwriting King Lear. Child mortality was so common when Shakespeare was young that one out of three children would die by the age of ten (Greenblatt). Shakespeare was only fourteen when his seven year old sister, Anne, passed away due to probably disease (Greenblatt). Seeing death among younger children was common and Shakespeare must have witnessed more tragedies in his youth (Greenblatt). This event of his younger sister dying, like many other children in Europe, must of had a profound effect of Shakespeare. The death of his younger sister probably had some psychological effects on Shakespeare along with a possible desensitization of death. It is predicted that William Shakespeare was influenced by his fatherâ⠂¬â„¢s death. William’s father, John Shakespeare, was a leatherworker back in his day. John eventually moved up in socio-economic status and became a town bailiff(Folger Shakespeare Library).Show MoreRelatedKing Lear : A Shakespearean Shakespearian Tragedy1540 Words   |  7 PagesThe play King Lear is what is known as a Shakespearian tragedy. All that this means is that it was written by Shakespeare, possibly one of the most famous playwrights in history, and that the play is considered to fit into the category of a tragedy. A tragedy can be simply described as a play with an unhappy ending. Shakespeare wrote a number of tragedies, and readers of the plays debate which tragedies were the best. 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