Not a Fan of Tragedies...

Sarah Scheidel
ENGL 2200

I wasn't pleased with the ending of this play.  Regan, Goneril, and Edmund all died, which I was completely fine with considering they were bad, terrible characters throughout the entire play. However, I was genuinely upset that Cordelia was not saved and Gloucester passed.  Cordelia honestly did nothing wrong to anyone in this entire Shakespearean play. Yet, she is punished for helping her father, who banished her in the beginning.  She never stopped loving or supporting him.  Gloucester, another character that was extremely apologetic for his poor decisions, also died after discovering that his true son, Edgar, helped him along his journey despite the circumstances. I was unsure how I felt about the death of King Lear; Lear was rude to Cordelia in the beginning of the play and only came around once his two "most beloved' daughters betrayed him.  I believe that he got what he deserved in the end, even though he apologized to Cordelia for his mistake.  I was, however, pleased that Albany, Edgar, and Kent lived and were reinstated into their former positions.  They were loyal and true throughout the play, and I greatly respected them.  In the end, I am not a big fan of tragedies.  This Shakespearean tragedy made me unhappy.  I still cannot get over Cordelia's death; I knew it was going to happen from the beginning, but I still was not prepared for the ending.  She was absolutely pure and precious and most certainly did not deserve the treatment she received throughout the entire play.