King Lear - Seven Deadly Sins
The Seven Deadly Sins In the play King Lear Shakespeare demonstrates the tragedy that can occur once humans allow themselves to be taken over by any one of the seven deadly sins.
Greed The sin of greed is perfectly exemplified in the character of Edmund. Throughout the play Edmund’s greed is the motivating factor behind all of the decisions that he makes. Edmund, as the illegitimate son of Gloucester plots against his brother in order to obtain his inheritance completely ignoring all familial responsibility in the pursuit of land and money. At the beginning of the play you see that he merely wants to take his brother’s inheritance but as greed gets the better of him he begins to plot against …show more content…
Gluttony
Gluttony is evident in the character of King Lear as well. When he first arrives at Goneril’s castle he immediately calls for dinner to be made for him without any further delay. Even when he is at somebody else’s home and he is guest he cannot wait for his food. He is impatient when it comes to being served his dinner. This is the only evidence of gluttonous behavior however.
Pride
King Lear’s fatal flaw that leads to his death is pride. Lear’s egoistical demand for total love from his daughters sets the stage for his downfall. At the beginning of the play Lear decides that it is the correct time for him to pass on his authority and divide his kingdom up amongst his three daughters and their husbands. When Lear’s favourite daughter