Consider The Accuracy Of Lear'S Claim That He Is "A Man / More Sinned Against Than Sinning"

King Lear is throught the whole play a man who is a sinner and the victim of the evil deeds of those who surround him, those he keeps most close mostly are the worst sinners against him. He thinks he does the right good things but has to find out that almost everything he did out of meaning well by the people he considered as the good ones at the time he did it were the wrong moves. When Lear realizes that his moves seem to have been wrong he tells Kent and the Fool during a storm that he is "a man / More sinned against than sinning", knowing that he also made mistakes, not only the others. But is King Lear really more of a victim than a guilty one?

The most shocking and maybe also the most fatal sin of King Lear is the disinheriting and chasing out of Cordelia by her own father right at the beginning of the play. When Cordelia is asked by Lear to tell him how much she loves him she answers in a way Lear did not expect by not telling him sweet words he liked so much when they were told to him by Goneril and Regan before. She tells him that she loves him like a daughter loves her father and nothing more. Lear gets mad at her and calls for France and Burgundy, to give her to one of them as his wife. Lear disinherits Cordelia and she has to leave her home to become the wife of France.

When King Lear sends away Cordelia he also sends away his most loyal man, Kent. Kent tries to warn Lear about making a big mistake by sending away Cordelia and only listening to what Goneril and Regan say, not thinking about the consequences the disinheriting of Cordelia might have. King Lear banishes Kent and says that he will have Kent executed if he dares to ever come back again. King Lear can't realize that Kent is one of the true loyal men around him. Kent is even after that horrible treatment still loyal to his king so he comes back and serves him again in disguise. King Lear's rage doesn't allow him to see that Kent's advise is only ment to protect and help his king, not to show and kind of disrespect to him.

The King is obviously not able to see that Goneril and Regan both are lying to him and that they both are only trying to blind him even more to reach their goals. Both daughters use the knowlegde they have about their father to take advantage of him. His personality helps them a lot because the king seems to be a man that enjoys and loves to be blinded by sweet words rather than thinking about the words and actions of the people close to him. To think about those things may seem to be too much work to the king or maybe just unnecessary

for a king. Lear's blindness could be a result of his believe in his power as a king. He just can't imagine that somebody would try and fool the king like that.

In my eyes another sin of King Lear is his incapacity of listening with his heart and soul. Lear only can listen with his ears. He can't understand what Cordelia is telling him by opening her heart and soul to him because his heart and soul are not open to words and can't be reached that way. King Lear only hears sweet words. If his heart was not closed to words he would have realised that Cordelia's words sound way more true and honest than Goneril', who tells her father that she loves him more than her eyesight, as much as she loves her life (1.1.54-61), or Regan's, who goes even beyond the things that Goneril said. But because only his ears listen, Lear isn't able to understand that what Cordelia says is worth a lot more than what his other daughters are telling him. This lack of judgement is fatal and costs Lear a lot in the end.

If you try to take a look at King Lear's sins in a Christian way you will also find some of the worst of all sins in his personality. Of the Seven Deadly Sins which are Envy, Pride, Lust, Gluttony, Wrath, Sloth, and Greed, I find the maybe worst of them in this king. The sins of Wrath and Pride are the most striking features of Lear's personality, and in my eyes he commits the sin of Sloth in a minor case as well. King Lear belives that he will always be respected and honored as the king because he was born royal, even if he gives away his power to his daughters. And he wants to hear how much his daughters love him to show him how great he is. King Lear himself thinks very very high of his own person and he wants to hear this as well from all people around him. Wrath and Pride lead him to sending away both Kent and Cordelia, Pride makes him listen to Goneril and Regan. The minor case of Sloth in my eyes shows because King Lear does rather listen than think about what he is told, as I mentioned before already. If Lear was not a bit lazy in his mind he would sooner have realized that his daughters, except for Cordelia, are just