An Analysis of Human Desire in King Lear

張艷霞 李艷旸

Human desire is a wide-covered topic in Renaissance literature. Human desire can be considered as a kind of ambition， longing， craving etc. At the same time， it can also be related to pleasure， avarice， aspiration， as well as vanity. As is shown in the play， human desire involves a large variety of aspects， the essay aims to analyze the desire in King Lear.

The destructive power of desire is vividly showed in Shakespeares tragedies. The desire， like the barbaric monster， has the force to devour everything. In fact， ancient philosophers have observed the dangerous and destructive effects of human desire. They argued that fame and power has no value in Nature. Aristotle noticed that mans passion and desire would lead man to the level of animals.

In King Lear， the king desires to possess all his daughters and wants to make them under his control. Lear assumes he is an almighty king that he can have everything he desires in the world. Blinded by his impulsive passion， King Lear is unable to perceive the truth of the story. He could not understand the true love behind Cordelias plain and frank language， nor realize the evil greed hidden in Goneril and Regans sweet words. Although he considers himself as an almighty king， he is just like a secular man controlled by his desire for vanity.

Goneril and Regan are typical embodiment of human desire for power. Their unlimited appetite for power transforms them into damned devils. On the contrary， their younger sister， Cordelia is presented like an angel and the antithesis of their inflating desire. Cordelia is shown as a symbol of reason， kindness and love.

Goneril and Regan are extremely foxy and vicious. They make use of their fathers tragic flaw by hypocritical flowery language to gain their fathers power and land. Once they achieve their goal， they immediately change their attitude to their father， and show the evil nature as ungrateful women.

Their behavior is totally driven by desire， without any humanity or affection. Later， Goneril poisons her sister， Regan， in order to fulfill her desire for Edmund. Their unreasonable desire not only destroys the harmonious order of society but also brings disaster to their own lives. However， Cordelia， the antithesis of desire， is a symbol of reason， truth， and forgiveness. She can discern the truth and her sisters ulterior intension. Her reason and honesty prevent her to follow her sister public show of flattery. Facing Lears misunderstanding and cruelty， Cordelia has never complained about her fate. Instead， she finally even sacrifices her life for her father. She is the angel in the world， representing the holiness of human nature.

To sum up， King Lear is a tragedy of desire which is related to darkness， hell， and devil. It is the impetuous desire that leads to the miserable result. Desire will plunge man into the hell of darkness. Overwhelmed by its destructive power， man will lose their reason finally.

Conclusion

From ancient times to modem society， desire has always been the most perpetual issue in philosophy and literature. As is discussed above， proper desire leads man to progress， maturity and happiness. But irrational desire could destroy humans life. Since the world is filled with a wide range of lures， men are often trapped in their constant and painful struggle between reason and uncontrollable desire. Unlimited desire is the key element of all human pains and suffering. Plato also believes that mans desire for fortune will prevent them from the truth. When reason overcomes desire， man will become a respectable individual with purity and holiness; but when humans are defeated by their desire， they will degenerate into inhuman animals. As a result， human nature could be transformed by the unlimited desire. Thus， we human should try to control our unjustifiable desire.

References：

[1]Aughterson， kate.ed. The English Renaissance： An Anthology of Sources and Documents. London： Routledge， 2002.

[2]Brown， Langdon. Shakespeare around the Globe： A Guide to Notable Postwar Revivals. Greenwood Press， 1986.

[3]Burnett， Mark Thornton and Wray， Ramona. Screening Shakespeare in the Twenty-First Century. Edinburgh University Press， 2006.

[4]Campbell， Gordon. The Renaissance：（1550-1660）.—（Macmillan Anthologies of English Literature;v.2）. Macmillan Education LTD， 1989.

【作者簡介】張艷霞，李艷旸，陜西省咸陽師范學院外語學院，講師。