King Lear: Examining Appearance Versus Reality in Acts I and II

This essay provides an analysis of the theme of appearance versus reality in William Shakespeare's tragedy, King Lear, specifically focusing on Acts I and II. The essay examines how the characters of Goneril, Regan, and Edmund manipulate appearances to deceive others and gain power, contrasting their false expressions of love and loyalty with the genuine nature of Cordelia and Edgar. The analysis highlights how King Lear's inability to discern reality from illusion leads to tragic consequences, including his misjudgment of his daughters and the manipulation of Gloucester. The essay explores the significance of this theme in the play, demonstrating how it contributes to the overall understanding of the characters' motivations and the play's exploration of deception, betrayal, and the complexities of human relationships. The essay references key scenes and character interactions to support its arguments, drawing from the play's text and scholarly sources to provide a comprehensive understanding of the theme's importance in King Lear.

1STUDENT’S NAME
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note
Appearance Versus Reality in Acts I and II of King Lear
King Lear, as it is popularly known to the readers, is one of the famous tragedies
which was written by popular author and playwright William Shakespeare. The tragedy tells
the readers about the story of King Lear, who grants all his land and his power to two of his
three daughters for the love that they show him. What happens next is what the tragedy is all
about. The tragedy is well known for its use of the themes of the appearance and reality in the
play itself. This theme is noticed by the readers in Act I itself in the flattery of Goneril and
Reagan when they flatter the King promising him of their love. This flattery is taken seriously
by the King without seeing the fake personality of his daughters. Moreover, this false
perception of his daughters makes him misjudge his youngest daughter Cordelia. Many
readers in the play might blame Cordelia to be ungrateful towards her father unlike her other
sisters (Roberts: 106). Both Regan and Goneril trick their father with their words of false
love. However, King Lear fails to realize the reality of Cordelia’s actions. He fails to realize
the fact that Cordelia is true to his father, which ultimately turns out to be a tragedy for him.
Moreover, the appearance versus reality is also shown in the way in which Lear makes his
poor choices throughout the rest if the tragedy itself (Roberts:106)
In Act II of the play itself, the theme of the appearance versus reality is portrayed in
the tragedy in the evidence of the forged letter written by Gloucester’s deceitful son Edmond,

2STUDENT’S NAME
for which Gloucester initially blames his other son Edgar. It is seen by the readers of the
tragedy that the letter was witten by Edmund, who is portrayed to be the bastard child to the
audience of the tragedy. This is because the character of Edmond is said to be jealous of his
brother Edgar due to which, he deliberately plans all sorts of mischief However, Gloucester
fails to recognize the fraud nature of the letter itself and blames his son Edgar, ultimately
rejecting him. Only at the end of the play does Gloucester begins to realize the fact that the
main culprit was Edmund and not Edgar. Edgar had done nothing to harm his father
Gloucester in the tragedy (Kallendorf:110).
Thus, by analysing the Acts I and II of the tragedy King Lear, it can be said that the
theme of appearance versus reality has been use by the author and playwright William
Shakespeare. It is because of the theme of the appearance versus reality in the tragedy that the
readers and the audience gets to know about the treacherous nature of the characters like
Regan, Goneril and that of Edmond as all these characters trick the protagonist and the other
characters for gaining their wealth and power themselves. It is because of this reason the
theme plays an important role in the tragedy King Lear.

3STUDENT’S NAME
Reference List
Brudevold, Siri M. "The Wisdom in Folly: An Examination of William Shakespeare's Fools
in Twelfth Night and King Lear." (2015).
Fitter, Chris J. "'The art of known and feeling sorrows': Rethinking Capitalist Transition, and
the Performance of Class Politics, in Shakespeare’s King Lear." Early Modern
Literary Studies 19.1 (2016).
Kallendorf, Craig. "King Lear and the Figures of Speech." Landmark Essays on Rhetoric and
Literature. Routledge, 2017. 101-116.
Roberts, Rachel. "“We that are young”: Youth and Age in King Lear." Ben Jonson Journal
24.1 (2017): 96-116.