Write 9 page essay on the topic Consider the depiction of masculinity in King Lear and Richard II. What association is Shakspeare drawing between manhood and le.Download file to see previous pages...

Write 9 page essay on the topic Consider the depiction of masculinity in King Lear and Richard II. What association is Shakspeare drawing between manhood and le.

Therefore, in both the plays, we can witness an association between manhood and leadership as the control and leadership does not lie with the male characters showing feminine values in the play whether their decisions are correct or false. The control is with the characters that are masculine in nature and not in sex. The main characters, King Lear and Richard II, both are more feminine as compared to masculine and their leadership hath a downfall on the basis of their feminine traits. King Lear while taking the decision of dividing his kingdom between his daughters conducts a ridiculous test just to flatter himself. He asks just a childish question and wishes to listen big announcements of love from his daughters whether they be true or false as he asks them, “Which of you shall we say doth love us most?” (Act 1, Scene 1) King Lear, the king of the land, the patriarch of the family is unable to recognize the true love and obsequious remarks of his daughters. He keeps all the power to bless his daughters or deprive them. Previously, he decides to divide the kingdom in three equal parts between his daughters but then, he puts a test to check the wordy love of his daughters in which, Cordelia fails to succeed and hence gets deprived of her right in the kingdom. The King shows a feminist way of cursing his daughter Cordelia for not saying elevated words for showing her love for him and gives her hand scornfully to the King of France without any blessing. Her speech was full of truth as she says, “Why have my sisters husbands, if they say They love you all?” (Act 1, Scene 1) She points towards her sisters and informs that their representation of extensive love for Lear is false as they cannot have husbands if they love their father to such a great extent as they cannot tolerate to leave their father at someone else’s hands. However, her sisters have no intention to live for their whole lives with their father and without husbands. However, Lear ignores his daughter Cordelia’s honest words and threats her that she would be unable to get her fortune showing his power as he says, “How, how, Cordelia! mend your speech a little, Lest it may mar your fortunes.” (Act 1, Scene 1) Lear knows that as the head of the family, as a patriarch, he has all the power to exercise on his daughters and make them work as per his own wishes. As a male head of the family, he is also aware of his manhood and wants his daughters to acknowledge his superiority by praising him and showing their overwhelming love for him ignoring every other male creature of the world. When Cordelia says that she loves her that much that is her duty and will give the due share of her love to her husband, Lear at once is aggravated as his masculine power over his most beloved daughter is threatened. Lear initially decides to give away his power but shows an emotional response that is feminist in nature as Jackson (2007) says, “The removal or transfer of (masculine) power represented by land, power, or the&nbsp.infliction of an&nbsp.injury results&nbsp.in&nbsp.an overwhelmingly (female) emotional response” (70). As per the writer Jackson (2007), Lear shows a more feminine nature instead of a masculine nature. He gets emotional when he sees that he is going to lose everything including his belongings and his daughters. Richard II on the other hand shows much more masculine power as compared to King Lear.