William Shakespeare s King Lear - 1469 Words

In countless plays by Shakespeare, subplots are inserted to create more intricate and colorful stories. These subplots also help draw out ideas and concepts that are important for the audience to see, helping them understand the main plot better. One of Shakespeare’s plays, King Lear, has a subplot which shows the concepts of family bonds and identity. Shakespeare starts out the play with the subplot to show the audience that it is vital to know their part of the story to see the resolution of the main plot. The purpose of the subplot is to strengthen the purpose of the main characters’ lives in order to show the reader Shakespeare’s argument of humanity. The audience is quickly introduced to Gloucester and his two sons, Edgar and Edmund.†¦show more content†¦Though, this would be too easy of a way out for the main characters; Shakespeare wants to show how humanity suffers and goes through these types of hardships. By using the subplot, he wants to show drama and how it adds depth to the characters’ stories. There is character development not just for the main characters but for the secondary characters as well. When Gloucester is blinded, Albany starts to reconsider their actions and who he really is. When Albany learns about Gloucester’s fate, after yelling at Goneril for being the devil, he replies, â€Å"Gloucester, I live/ To thank thee for the love thou showd’st the King/ And to revenge thine eyes† (Act IV, Sc. III, lines 95-97). Due to Edmund’s deed Albany becomes aware of how wrong Goneril and Regan are, and starts moving to Lear’s side without revealing it to the others. Also , after gaining new power and showing initiative, tension starts to arise between Goneril and Regan, showing their jealously of love and power with Edmund. Due to Edmund’s choices, Goneril’s and Regan’s relationship deteriorates and there is rising stress between the characters, making them closer to their doom, and Albany finds the strength to become an improved person. Shakespeare parallels Edmund, Goneril, and Regan to show that humanity is selfish and that we listen to our internal