King Lear/Inferno

Paper Assignment #2 (Inferno / King Lear) Both Shakespeare’s King Lear and Dante’s Inferno explore the reasons for and results of human suffering. Both works postulate that human suffering comes as a result of choices that are made. That statement is not only applicable to the characters in each of the works, but also to the readers. The Inferno and King Lear speak universal truths about the human condition: that suffering is inevitable and unavoidable.

While both King Lear and the Inferno concentrate on the admonitions and lamentations of human suffering, there is one key difference between the works: the Inferno has an aspect of hope that is not present in King Lear. The unavoidable aspect of human suffering is depicted brilliantly by Shakespeare in King Lear. Seemingly insignificant choices that King Lear makes throughout the play end up completely changing his life for the worse. Not only does Lear lose his kingdom, but he also loses his family and his home.

His situation is only made worse by him not recognizing his fault in his own actions. Lear’s lack of responsibility when it comes to his own problems is best described by Kent: “It is the stars, the stars above us govern our conditions” (Shakespeare 101). Kent and Lear blame all of their suffering on the will of a higher being, neglecting that their own actions brought them to a place where they have to suffer. By not recognizing his responsibility in the events that are happening to him, Lear causes more strife for himself and those around him.

Order custom essay King Lear/Inferno with free plagiarism report

450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery

Get Essay Help

He continues to make the same mistakes like falling victim to Regan and Goneril’s flattery and ignoring Cordelia’s wise words. In addition, Lear was constantly advised by the Fool and Kent not to make such poor choices. Lear’s own stubbornness prevented him from seeing the wisdom in the Fool’s words. Similarly, in the Inferno, Capaneus is a man whose punishment comes as a result of his own defiance. Capaneus was told that his fate would be to almost conquer a city, but fail. Capaneus fought against his fate and defied it, but he ended up in Hell all the same.

Capaneus became his own punishment: “no torment other than your rage itself could punish your gnawing pride more perfectly” (Dante 198). Both Lear and Capaneus show excessive pride and stubbornness throughout their respective works, and fail to see their own faults. They were forewarned about their punishments, yet they continued down the path that would bring them the most suffering. Even though suffering is an inevitable part of living and there is no path in life that does not include some sort of suffering, these two men chose the ones that would bring them the most pain.

The Inferno is a tale of cautionary advice. In each circle, Dante the pilgrim speaks to one of the shades that reside there and the readers learn how and why the damned have become the damned. As Dante learns from the mistakes of the damned, so do the readers. And as Dante feels the impacts of human suffering, so do the readers. Virgil constantly encourages Dante the pilgrim to learn why the shades are in Hell and what were their transgressions while on Earth. This work’s purpose is to educate the reader.

The work’s assertions on the nature of human suffering are mostly admonition, with each shade teaching Dante the pilgrim and by extension the reader not to make the same mistakes. Dante views his journey through hell as a learning experience and that is why he made it out alive. King Lear shows an extreme of human suffering. While there is some foreshadowing to the tragic end of the play and some reproof is given, the play mostly focuses on the lamentations of the characters. Edmund laments being born a “bastard” and the circumstances surrounding his birth.

He believes that it is in his “nature” to be subversive, evil, and manipulative. Yet, unlike Lear, Edmund does not place the blame of his unfortunate life on the stars: “I should have been that I am, had the maidenliest star in the firmament twinkled on my bastardizing” (Shakespeare 20). Edmund does, however, blame society for his actions, which is just as harmful as Lear blaming the stars. If anything, this play illustrates that as humans we are completely responsible for our actions and that our own suffering is a consequence of poor judgments.

Both the Inferno and King Lear depict the horrific aspects of human suffering, but there is one key difference. There is a complete absence of hope in King Lear and it shows in the tragic ending of the play. Not only do most of the characters die, but also none of them achieve redemption or are able to achieve forgiveness for their actions (with the exception of Edmund). King Lear makes a discouraging statement about humanity and the extent of human suffering: that suffering is a perpetual aspect of human life and it cannot be overcome: “We that are young shall never see so much, nor live so long” (Shakespeare 142).

This statement made by Edgar shows the hopelessness of the circumstances Edgar, Albany, and Kent have found themselves in at the end of King Lear. In the Inferno, Dante walks through Hell, literally, and comes out on the other side alive, something that no one else has been able to achieve. Dante the pilgrim and Dante the poet saw the worst of humanity and have been able to come out of the experience with hope: “I saw the lovely things the heavens hold, and we came out to see once more the stars” (Dante 383).

This observation at the end of the Inferno by Dante shows that he still believes that there is good in the world and that human suffering is not all there is to life and death. Dante the poet also maintains the reader’s hope throughout the work by showing that Dante the pilgrim made it through hell: “But I remained… to tell about without more evidence” (Dante 328). The Inferno makes a powerful statement about humanity and human suffering by adding an aspect of hope to the work: even though human suffering is inevitable and unavoidable, there is hope and suffering can be overcome.

Both the Inferno and King Lear have aspects of desperation, but the final tone of the works illustrates their differences. King Lear and the Inferno are both tales of human suffering that explore the depth and width of suffering. However, even though they both state that human suffering is inevitable and unavoidable, there is levity in the Inferno that is completely absent in King Lear. The final message of King Lear is the pervasiveness of human suffering and that one’s choices not only cause one’s own suffering, but can cause the suffering of others. King Lear ends on a note of eternal sadness.

Inferno’s final message is a much more hopeful one: one can be touched by human suffering and one can experience human suffering, but that does not mean that all hope is lost. In the Inferno, suffering is just one aspect of the human experience, not the only aspect, and it does not have to define one’s life. Overall these works tell us about the unpleasant, yet necessary, parts of the human experience that will affect everyone at some point in their lives, but it is how we handle human suffering that matters most. Works Cited Dante. Inferno. New York: Penguin, 2003. Print. Shakespeare, William. King Lear. New York: Penguin, 1999. Print.

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Run a free check or have your essay done for you

Check my essay Hire Writer