The Tragic and Pitiful King Lear The overall plot of King Lear revolves primarily around the conflict between the king and his daughters, although there is a definite and distinct subplot dealing with the difficult and tragedy also of Gloucester. One of the main themes that Shakespeare chooses to focus on in King Lear is the dysfunctional nature of not only the royal family and Gloucester, but also the anguish and emotional tension that accompany being a parent and having to make a decision that will divide the family. your life. children. This play focuses not only on the consequences of this decision, but also on how it affects the king, his sons, and his subjects. A strong case can be made for King Lear as Shakespeare's most tragic play of his career. The fact that almost the entire cast of this play is murdered or dies with little to no redemption is the strongest evidence of this. In almost every other Shakespearean play, except perhaps Othello, at least some characters enjoy some redemption or salvation with the resolution of the conflict. The characters in King Lear are unaware of either of these two aspects. The bitterness, sadness and reality of the human psyche contained in this work, however, best demonstrate its tragic nature. The emotional and physical bond between a father and a daughter (or son, in relation to the Gloucester/Edmund/Edgar plot) is something entirely different from the husband-wife or boyfriend-girlfriend in many other Shakespeare plays. At the beginning of the play, when Lear foolishly divides his kingdom between his three daughters, and after asking Cordelia's two older sisters what they "think" of him, he turns to her and asks the same question. His response shows the true nature of his character, for he says, "Unhappy to be, I cannot put my heart in my mouth. I love Your Majesty according to my bond, no more, no less." (1.1, ll. 91-93) His words could almost be considered threatening declaring that his reluctance to express his love in words could "ruin his fortunes." We are privy to the ultimate foreshadowing with Cordelia's response of, "Good my lord, you have begotten me, reared me, you have loved me. I return to you those duties as they are right, I obey you, I love you, and most honor you"..