The causes leading to the tragedy in king lear by william shakespeare = (nguyên nhân dẫn đến bi kịch trong tác phẩm vua lear của william shakespeare)

VINH UNIVERSITY FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT ĐINH THỊ LAN The causes leading to the tragedy in “King Lear” by William Shakespeare (NGUYÊN NHÂN DẫN ĐếN BI KịCH TRONG TáC PHẩM VUA LEAR” CñA WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE) GRADUATION THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH LITERATURE VINH - 2012 VINH UNIVERSITY FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT The causes leading to the tragedy in “King Lear” by William Shakespeare (NGUY£N NHÂN DẫN ĐếN BI KịCH TRONG TáC PHẩM VUA LEAR CñA WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE) GRADUATION THESIS FIELD: TEACHING METHODOLOGY Instructor : Student : Class : Trần Ngọc Tưởng, M.A Đinh Thị Lan 49B1 - English VINH - 2012 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For completion of this study, I have received invaluable help and encouragement from many people First of all, I should like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor, Mrs Tran Ngoc Tuong M.A for his indispensable assistance, excellent suggestion, precious advice and detailed critical comments, without which I would have not completed the work In addition, I am greatly indebted to Foreign Languages Department for offering me a great opportunity to carry out my study, to all teachers of the Foreign Language Department for their support and encouragement I would also extend my sincere thanks to my sister who gave me useful suggestions My warmest thanks are due to my family for their unconditional love, support and encouragement Finally, I would like to thank all my friends who gave me a lot of useful ideas, good advices, encouragement and spiritual support Vinh, May 8th, 2012 Dinh Thi Lan i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS .ii PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Aims of the Study Scope of the Study Methods of the Study Design of the Study PART II: DEVELOPMENT Chapter I BACKGROUND 1.1 William Shakespeare 1.1.1 His Life 1.1.2 His Career 1.1.2.1 The First Period (1590 - 1594) 1.1.2.2 The Second Period (1594- 1600) 1.1.2.3 The Third Period (1601- 1608) 1.1.2.4 The forth Period (1609- 1613) 1.2 Shakespeare’s tragedies 2.1 An introduction to “King Lear” 10 2.2 The Plot of the Play 10 2.3 The Character list 12 Chapter III THE CAUSES LEADING TO THE TRAGEDY IN “KING LEAR” 15 3.1 King Lear’s tragedy- the effect of many factors 15 3.1.1.1 The chaotic era 16 ii 3.1.1.1.1 Troublous urban 17 3.1.1.1.2 Dispersal countryside 20 3.1.1.1.3 Rebellion in imperial palace 22 3.1.1.2 Children’s ambition of money 27 3.1.2.1 The reversal of sentimental value 29 3.1.2.1.1 The reversal of love between father and daughter 30 3.1.2.1.2 The reversal of brotherhood 36 3.1.2.1.3 The decline of morality 38 3.1.2.2 King Lear’s blindness 39 3.2 Lesson learned from the play 40 3.3 The value of the play 43 PART III: CONCLUSION 46 Recapitulation 46 Suggestions for further study 47 REFERENCES 48 iii PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale As we know that “Literature is the window to the soul” It is a mirror to reflect the real world It also reflects the desire for a better life Literature is very important in the people’s mental lives, it is like a good teacher and friend, that is a reason why many people love literature and so I I love literature from bottom of my heart, especially, English literature I had not studied English literature very much until I became a student of English in Vinh University I feel that this subject is very exciting and useful The English Literature comes through many periods from the ancient to modern time, from the reign of the Queen Elizabeth to Queen Victoria In the English history, the Elizabethan period saw its peak of drama with the outstanding playwright William Shakespeare He is considered as the greatest writer in all times He wrote many works such as Hamlet, Jomeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream…His works reflected the society’s social and moral values Shakespeare wrote both comedy and tragedy, however his tragedies are considered as the towering heights has never reached “King Lear” is one of examples This play demonstrates how vulnerable parents and noblemen are to the depredations of unscrupulous children and thus how fragile the fabric of Elizabethan society actually was All about the things are main rationales for choosing my graduation thesis Aims of the Study The aims of this study are: - To understand more clearly about English literature, especially English in the Renaissance - To know more about Shakespeare’s life and his career, his attitude and his contribution to English literature - To know more about the play “King Lear” and characters in “King Lear” - To study some causes leading to the tragedy of King Lear Scope of the Study In this paper, we only focus on the causes leading to tragedy in “King Lear” Methods of the Study The methods used in this thesis include: - Collective method: Collecting relevant materials from different sources: internet, magazines, books, teacher’s lectures - Analysis and synthetic method: splitting up the issues to get core ideas and then synthesizing to have an overall picture Design of the Study This study consists of three main parts: Part I Introduction This part provides the basic information such as: rationale, aims of the study, the scopes, methods and the design of the thesis Part II Development The Dvelopment consists of three main parts: Chapter provides the background, giving information about William Shakespeare and his literature career and pointing out Shakespeare’s tragedies Chapter presents an introduction to “King Lear”, the plot of the play and the character list Chapter presents the causes leading to the tragedy in “King Lear”, lesson learned from the play and the value of the play Part III Conclusion The whole study is concluded References PART II: DEVELOPMENT Chapter I BACKGROUND 1.1 William Shakespeare 1.1.1 His Life William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford -upon Avon Located in the centre of England, the town was an important rivercrossing settlement and market centre He was the greatest English playwright and poet of England as well as of the mandkind His father was a glove-maker and married Mary Arden, the daughter of Robert Arden, a farmer from the nearby village of Wilmcote When was a boy, he went to Stratford Grammar School and received a good education in here However, he left school early at the age of 14 when his family fell into ruin Since then, he has to earn living by himself Five years later, he married Anne Hathaway At the time of their marriage William Shakespeare was eighteen and Anne was twenty-six They had three children, Susan (1583) and the twins Hamlet and Judith (1585) Hamlet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried 11 August 1596 Shakespeare lived in Stratford- Upon- Avon until he was twenty-one In 1587, we found Shakespeare in London where he soon became connected with stage, at the time, he wrote many for the company of actors who played at the theatre Then the new Globe Theatre was built where Shakespeare’s plays were staged These theatres enabled him to become a well-known and wealthy man In 1613, Shakespeare returned to Stratford and spent the last year of his life in the largest and finest house: New place He died on April, 23rd, 1616 and was buried in the church of Stratford Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613 His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the 16th century He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language In last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances Many writers in his same age praised him as “the honey - tongued poet” or “Evon river swan”… Although many centuries have passed, Shakespeare still lives as a superb playwright and poet William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s preeminent dramatist He is often called England’s national poet and the “Bard of Avon” His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems His plays have been translated into every major living language and performed more often than those other playwright 1.1.2 His Career William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s preeminent dramatist He is often called England’s national poet and the “Bard of Avon” His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems His plays have been translated into every major living language and performed more often than those other playwright His literary career can be divided into four periods: 1.1.2.1 The First Period (1590 - 1594) The first period is occupied chiefly with gay comedies and chroniclehistory plays In this period, his style and approach became highly individualized His plays at this time show his optimistic vision to people and the world It is best reflected in his brilliant works: * The comedies: - The Comedy of Errors (1592) - The Taming of the Shrew (1593) - The Two Gentlement of Verona (1594) - Love’s Labour’s Lost (1594) * History plays: - King Henry IV (part II) (1590) - King Henry VI (part II) (1590) - The Tragedy of King Rechard (1590) 1.1.2.2 The Second Period (1594- 1600) In this period, Shakespeare wrote the large number of history plays, also his ability was splendidly developed, the main inspiration is still pessimistic His chronicle was plays written on the subject from national history Shakespeare’s chronicle covered a period of more than hundred years of English history However, the main subjects of the chronicle are not the lives and fates of the king but history itself and the development of the country Like the humanist of his time, Shakespeare believed a centralized monarchy to be an ideal form of the state power He thought it would put to the struggle of the feudal and would create condition for the progress of the country One of the great achievements of Shakespeare was that in his chronicles he showed not only the kings, feudal and churchmen, but the lower class, too * The comedies: - A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595) - The Merchant of Venice (1596) Of her confine: you should be ruled and led By some discretion, that discerns your state Better than you yourself Therefore, I pray you, That to our sister you make return; Say you have wrong'd her, sir.” (Act II, Scene IV) “Good sir, no more; these are unsightly tricks: Return you to my sister.” (Act II, Scene IV) Regan says that she can not detain King Lear because she is not ready to welcome him “I pray you, father, being weak, seem so If, till the expiration of your month, You will return and sojourn with my sister, Dismissing half your train, come then to me: I am now from home, and out of that provision Which shall be needful for your entertainment.” (Act II, Scene IV) On the contrary, she warmly greets her sister - Goneril It makes the King very disappointed Especially, the tragedy reaches the peak when two daughters bargain with the old king for the stay time and number of servants going with him KING LEAR: Made you my guardians, my depositaries; But kept a reservation to be follow'd With such a number What, must I come to you With five and twenty, Regan? said you so? 34 REGAN: And speak't again, my lord; no more with me KING LEAR: To GONERIL: I'll go with thee: Thy fifty yet doth double five and twenty, And thou art twice her love GONERIL: Hear me, my lord; What need you five and twenty, ten, or five, To follow in a house where twice so many Have a command to tend you? (Act II, Scene IV) King Lear understood that they compromised together to expel him from the house They try to decrease the number of servants of king Regan declared coldly: “For his particular, I'll receive him gladly, But not one follower.” (Act II, Scene IV) They make him angry and leave in a stormy night Even they order servant to close castle gate and forbid other people to help their father “O, sir, to wilful men, The injuries that they themselves procure Must be their schoolmasters Shut up your doors:” (Act II, Scene IV) More cruelly, they had punished Gloucester who helped the king by blinding his eyes Two daughters whom Lear love so much and sacrifice his whole life to their happiness, made him disappointed The old king is abandoned and becomes madly after staying in a stormy night 35 “I will have such revenges on you both, That all the world shall I will such things, -What they are, yet I know not: but they shall be The terrors of the earth You think I'll weep No, I'll not weep: I have full cause of weeping; but this heart Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws, Or ere I'll weep O fool, I shall go mad!” (Act II, Scene IV) Hurt, surprise and anger had made the King lose his perspicacity He begins to become aware of truth about people, society and the life when he is exhausted The image of King Lear really made audiences feel great anguish when he threw into the storm In the era of King Lear, because of money, they can kill their parents to achieve their purpose Beside Goneril and Regan, Edmund is also an extreme unfilial son of Gloucester Because of Edmund, his father had been plucked out his eyes and become a blind man Shakespeare had developed the drama’s conflict to the highest In the last act of play, the death of two infilial daughters - Goneril and Regan, punishment of disloyal Edmund have a great humane meaning It likes a warning for current society: the bad can not defeat the good Rebellion is the fastest way to increase money and power, however it also the shortest way leading to the death Bad people will be punished 3.1.2.1.2 The reversal of brotherhood Beside complex relationship in family, audiences also see the reversal of moral value in love between father and son and treachery in brother hood In three daughters of King Lear, only Cordelia - the youngest princess is the most sincere and true to her father Contrary to deceitful sisters, 36 Cordelia loves the King sincerely, she volunteers to stay with father and never marry “Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters, To love my father all.” (Act I, Scene I) However the king doesn’t realize her sincerity It becomes an oppoturnity for two sisters to eliminate Cordelia and occupy all properties Cordelia understands clearly about her sisters Before leaving, she implored them to take care of King Lear “The jewels of our father, with wash'd eyes Cordelia leaves you: I know you what you are; And like a sister am most loath to call Your faults as they are named Use well our father: To your professed bosoms I commit him But yet, alas, stood I within his grace, I would prefer him to a better place So, farewell to you both.” (Act I, Scene I) It is thought that there will exist a deep attachment between Goneril and Regan because both of them are powerful and artful women But they are only unanimous to dispel and deny responsibility to their father When both are in love with Edmund, they immediately become enemy Goneril not only connives with lover to kill Cordelia but also poisons Regan to occupy Edmund Selfishness and greediness had made forget consanguinity The blind jealousy urged her to poison her sister Goneril’s death at the end of the play is not tragic enough to pay for the sins which she caused 37 In plays, Shakespeare usually puts many types of people in society to represent every aspects of life Besides these conflicts of three princesses, the combat of property and position between two sons of Gloucester is really dramatic Edgar is the victim of the play in which Edmund is the director and also main actor Edmund not only makes his father dispel his brother but also makes Edgar become the betrayer in people’s eyes Beginning from an unowned bastard son, Edmund gradually gain his father’s love and replace entirely the role of his brother in family Edmund, Goneril and Regan were just depicted as icons by Shakespeare in order to help audiences imagine and frighten for a society where brotherhood was distorted 3.1.2.1.3 The decline of morality Shakespeare used the story about King Lear’s family as a thumb-nail picture of the recession of social moralities at that time In XV century, there was a civil society, every individual respected and obeyed King’s orders But the rule was reversed in here The servant either disobeys or betrays to the master Oswald despises King Lear’s orders, slanders Kent and finds any way to flatter Goneril to be rewarded Earl of Kent has ever been dissatisfied with insolent attitude of Oswald “That such a slave as this should wear a sword, Who wears no honesty Such smiling rogues as these, Like rats, oft bite the holy cords a-twain Which are too intrinse t' unloose; smooth every passion That in the natures of their lords rebel; Bring oil to fire, snow to their colder moods; Renege, affirm, and turn their halcyon beaks With every gale and vary of their masters, Knowing nought, like dogs, but following.” (Act II, Scene II) 38 This character is an efficient lackey of aristocracy at that time He carries out his master’s orders and abets other people bad things He delivered Goneril’s letter to Edmund in which Goneril urged her lover to kill her husband - Duke of Albany He was also in collusion with Goneril to harm King Lear and Albany His death is the punishment for treacherous servants Shakespeare criticizes strongly people who become depraved in morality as Oswald Moral principles between husband and wife were even shaken As soon as Goneril had an affair with Edmund, she quickly found way to harm her husband to live with her lover She ordered Oswald to send a letter for Edmund in which she urger her lover to kill duke of Albany Though her plot was not successful, audiences could see Goneril’s artfulness Because of this stealthy love, she was ready to kill her husband and poisoned her sister To Goneril, family love, love between husband and wife and brother hood are nothing compared with her selfish desire Bulding this character’s image, Shakespeare wants to show the awesome reality of majority at that time They live in a practical way, forget humanity and human love This is a new, progressive discovery of Shakespeare in English society at that time 3.1.2.2 King Lear’s blindness Because of Lear’s high position in society, he was supposed to be able to distinguish the good from the bad, unfortunately, his lack of sight prevented him to so Lear’s first act of blindness came at the beginning of the play First, he was easily deceived by his two eldest daughters’ lies, then, he was unable to see the reality of Cordelia’s true love for him, and as a result, banish her from his kingdom with the following words: “ for we Have no such daughter, nor shall ever see 39 That face of her again Therefore be gone Without our grace, our love, our benison.” (Act I, Scene I) Lear’s blindness also caused him to banish one of his loyal followers, Kent Kent was able to see Cordelia’s true love for her father, and tried to protect her from her blind father’s irrationality After Kent was banished, he created a disguise for himself and was eventually hired by Lear as a servant Lear’s inability to determine his servant’s true identity proved once again how blind Lear actually was As the play progressed, Lear found reality He realized how wicked his two eldest daughters really were after they locked him out of the castle during a tremendous storm More importantly, Lear saw through Cordelia’s lack of flatterings and realized that her love for him was so great the she couldn’t express it into words Unfortunately, Lear’s blindness ended up costing Cordelia her life and consequently the life of himself 3.2 Lesson learned from the play “King Lear” is the disintegration of ideology, feudal ethics and patriarch It also exposes serious collapse of relationships between people and people: love between father and son, brother hood, friendship and family love Individualism is considered as the product of new era - the pre- recapitalist in the UK It won illusions of King Lear, earl of Gloucester But individualism has destroyed people who worshipped it as reason for living Such as: Goneril, Regan, Cornwall, Edmund and Oswald In Act V of the play, both good and bad people are dead Responding to King Lear’s invocation to punish unfilial daughters in the stormy night, it is not the judgement of god for Goneril and Regan Moreover, thunder and storm caused the king’s tragedy more sorrowfully 40 King Lear becomes a different man through challenges King Lear has changed from a blind man to a kind-hearted man “King Lear” had shown conflict between kindness and selfishness, exposed the moral depravity in the relationship between parents and children, husband and wife At the end of the play, King Lear died after going mad, but how his heirs - Duke of Albany, Earl of Kent, Edgar will rebuild the country? in what way? and how to not repeat the tragedy of King Lear? At the beginning of the play, audiences hate an arbitrary, conservative king However, at the end of the play, a lot of people sympathize with King Lear, they return to hate an injustice society Power and money fall into some people’s hand and make them haughty The road to truth of King Lear is painful Many characters in Shakespeare’s tragedies like Othello, Hamlet…King Lear is the most tragic character Along with King Lear family’s tragedy, a subplot of the play involves another family (that of the Earl of Gloucester) torn apart by a scheming child (Edmund plots against his half-brother, Edgar) Both fathers suffer a great deal for their inability to see the truth about their children King Lear had lost all things before he realized the authentic values Until Gloucester was blind, he saw the truth Sitting on throne, the king thought that he was great and perspicacious He really became greater when he was neglected and abandoned He became insane, but his mind was more insightful than at any other time “What, art mad? A man may see how this world goes with no eyes Look with thine ears: see how yond justice rails upon yond simple thief Hark, in thine ear: change places; and, handy-dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief? Thou hast seen a farmer's dog bark at a beggar?” (Act IV, Scene VI) 41 The death of his beloved daughter is the biggest pain to King Lear, it made him collapse Lear’s death ended all suffering in life The lesson which is recommended in the play is expressed deeply in the process of awareness of King Lear His understanding of true happiness is not above others but close to everybody “Poor naked wretches, whereso'er you are, That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides, Your loop'd and window'd raggedness, defend you From seasons such as these? O, I have ta'en Too little care of this!” (Act III, Scene IV) Meaningful life does not need money and power, only needs the piece of mind Heartfelt love remains last forever Princess Cordelia doesn’t receive father’s love however she is the most sincere daughter to Father Although Lear has chased her without any belongings, she doesn’t feel angry She always waits for the king’s news When she heared that King Lear was abandoned by her sisters and went mad, she immediately returned to England When she saw her father in his madness, she felt compassion for him “Alack, 'tis he: why, he was met even now As mad as the vex'd sea; singing aloud; Crown'd with rank fumiter and furrow-weeds, With bur-docks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers, Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow In our sustaining corn A century send forth” (Act IV, Scene IV) 42 As before, she refused to marry the rich suitor who only wants her dowry, now she is willing to give up her property to cure father’s disease “What can man's wisdom In the restoring his bereaved sense? He that helps him take all my outward worth.” (Act IV, Scene IV) Cordelia and French army come back England not because of politic intrigue That is her love to the poor father “O dear father, It is thy business that I go about; Therefore great France My mourning and important tears hath pitied No blown ambition doth our arms incite, But love, dear love, and our aged father's right: Soon may I hear and see him!” (Act IV, Scene IV) The play ends with a question: where is the meaning of life if both good and bad people were killed? Shakespeare raises social reality to provoke people’s thought Looking at reality, readers drew useful lessons for themselves: Shakespeare called upon people to fight against the evils to build an equal and clear society Shakespeare presents people’s idea about social justice People call upon actions to demand social justice This is the angry scream of the play 3.3 The value of the play Unlike comedy, Shakespeare’s tragedy fills with heavy thinking about conflicts Humanistic ideal and reality of social evil are opposite aspects which are shown in each of his plays 43 Thist tragedy depicted clearly the deadlock of humanistic ideal to solve politic, social proplems The play finished with dead bodies on stage Goneril poisoned Regan and then killed herself Edgar defeated Edmund Corwall was killed by Gloucester’s servant Gloucester died in pain Lear finally died out of grief at Cordelia’s passing In Shakespeare’s era, although the bad has been defeated, the good is unlikely to win When Lear is weeping for Cordelia’s corpse on the stage, Shekspeare lets Kent ask a question “Is this the promise end?” (Act V, Scene III) After witnessing the scenes that Cordelia is hanged, King Lear and Gloucester are dead, Albany has said that: “He weight of this sad time we must obey; Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say The oldest hath borne most: we that are young Shall never see so much, nor live so long.” (Act V, Scene III) Realistic value and humane value of the play “King Lear” has expressed playwright’s dream: “the social conflicts are resolved!” Conflicts appear in love, in family, in politic context and between thinking and action All are solved reasonably under the pen of Shakespeare In the era of Shakespeare, feudalists fight each other to gain power and interest Recently, bourgeoisie rises up however it is still weak People have to tolerate the oppression and exploitation of the feudalism Shakespeare drew the social picture by using anguished words but it always full of hope and undaunted belief He believes in a better future He dreams to resolve social conflicts by sincere love and gives strong action to fight against evils and protect equality 44 In addition, literature is a mirror reflecting reality of life, so that Shakespeare displays England in transitional period with the struggle between good and bad, progressive and outdated, lofty and mean In the past, “King Lear” was often identified as a play which used to teach about morality Chidren must be dutiful toward their parents, the ones who are unhumane, will be retributive However there also exists sociopolitical meaning The play is a miniature picture of British society in Renaissance Surely Honoré de Balzac was affected by “King Lear” when he wrote “Le Père Goriot” Although the French writer and British playwright live in different period, they have same thought Both concentrate on family’s contradictions to show society’s nature, human nature Shakespeare has written a play that has either fairy form or modern form In the play, the blend between tragic and comic elements has expressed outstanding talent of Shakespeare 45 PART III: CONCLUSION Recapitulation Each character of Shakespeare is different in thought, in character, in lifestyle All create “universal soul” and show clearly the spirit of age The context of characters in Shakespeare’s play was symbolized on the basis of reality Shakespeare has said that “Man is a wonderful masterpiece” and he has shown this masterpiece profoundly and diversified He has put all aspirations in his works A happy family is a reliable support for him, it is a convenient condition for his talent to flourish Under the eyes of an enthusiastic person, he can not ignore to what is happening around him And he chose to recount the life in his works Through the work, he expressed his view, thought and his dream This is a positive factor which creates perfection in Shakespeare’s plays “King Lear” is one of the best tragedies of all time The playwright created it on the basis of folklore He not only recounts the tragedy but also arouses conflicts In the play, Shakespeare gradually expresses character’s psychology Then he explains causes leading to drama contradictions Shakespeare put all kinds of people in society into the play Many aspects of life are deeply exploited by Shakespeare The play’s context is not bounded in a room, a small part of castle So it can spread to mountain, field, and to living conditions of all classes King Lear tragedy partly is caused by the bourgeois society which changed individual’s thought and point of view in life The turmoil of age leads to a troublous context in urban, dispersal in countryside and rebellion in imperial palace King Lear tragedy has originated from the reversal of sentimental value: love between father and daughter, brotherhood, and 46 friendship People who run after money will be blind by interests and ambition They can any thing to gain their purpose, even harm other people Beside accusing the affection of money on life, this tragedy is a warning about world affairs Shakespeare gives out a problem that still remains it’s value until now: when people live together with love, happiness will be last forever People just only escape from power, money and position by loving each other From the real life, writer has drawn profound humane lessons They urge people to fight against bad things to build social justice Today, with deep ideological values, the play also presents a unique artistic talent and impressive aesthetic point of view of Shakespeare The audiences watch “King Lear” to understand human nature in general They also learn about “King Lear” to live altruistically, to give and receive love and to find reliable happiness Suggestions for further study Due to the limited time and the requirement of a graduation thesis, the study can not go further in the other tragedies of Shakespeare Therefore, the author would like to suggest some more topics for further study: - The causes leading to the tragic death of Macbeth in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare - The cause leading to the tragic death of Hamlet in “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare 47 REFERENCES A group of translators, (2006), Tuyen tap tac pham - William Shakespeare Theatre Publisher Websites: http://www sparknotes com/shakespeare/lear http://en wikipedia org/wiki/William_Shakespeare http://shakespeare mit edu/lear/full html http://www enotes com/king-lear http://www enotes com/king-lear/author-biography http://records viu ca/~johnstoi/eng366/lectures/lear htm http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/ http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/kinglear/kinglearintro.html http://www.field-of-themes.com/shakespeare/essays/Elear7.htm 48 ...VINH UNIVERSITY FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT The causes leading to the tragedy in ? ?King Lear? ?? by William Shakespeare (NGUY£N NH¢N DÉN ĐếN BI KịCH TRONG TáC PHẩM VUA LEAR CủA WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE) ... contribution to English literature - To know more about the play ? ?King Lear? ?? and characters in ? ?King Lear? ?? - To study some causes leading to the tragedy of King Lear Scope of the Study In this paper,... An introduction to ? ?King Lear? ?? 10 2.2 The Plot of the Play 10 2.3 The Character list 12 Chapter III THE CAUSES LEADING TO THE TRAGEDY IN ? ?KING LEAR? ?? 15 3.1 King