ABSTRACT
William Shakespeare, English playwright, poet, and actor, wrote over thirty-five plays, tragedies and comedies, histories, and romances. In this chapter the author examines the two Shakespearean plays, King Lear and The Tempest, whose protagonists are old men aware of their approaching deaths, who make provisions for the future in order for others to live well. By contrasting Lear and Prospero, Shakespeare asks whether life must eventuate in tragedy, as Lear’s did, or whether even a life nearing its end might be captured in a romantic comedy, as Shakespeare does for Prospero in The Tempest. King Lear traces the actions that lead to and intensify the play’s tragedy, as well as the resources that its characters draw on to deal with life-crushing adversities. Lear presents his plan for the tri-partition of England and his abdication of his throne at a public ceremony at the beginning of the play.
