Daddy's Little Girls: Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

Tragedy is the key word when judging King Lear and Oedipus Rex. Both are tragedies, given that they both end on a low plateau. They also both have dark tones throughout. But which is, for the lack of a more appropriate phrase, better at being a tragedy. It's a weird concept.

In my opinion, King Lear is the greater tragedy. First things first, I am trying to muffle the thoughts about the purely sad images pulling at heart strings and such. Oedipus features sad children, which I believe is usually sadder than sad adults. Certainly it does in this context. However, I'm thinking about the characters and the play as a whole, among other things.

King Lear begins by establishing King Lear as a cantankerous old man. As evidenced by previous blog posts, Lear's personality and culpability are controversial. I come from a perspective that Lear is a victim of his inherent mental disability. His peers suggest that he's always been that way. Given the time period, I find it sad that Lear has lived so long with such a problem. I pity him. The play goes on to further torture, physically and emotionally, a dying old man. In the opening scene, Goneril and Regan give grandiose speeches about their love for him. Having seen the Ian McKellen film adaptation, I take this scene in that context. Lear is happy. I think it's sad to see a smiling, joyful old man, unaware of the horrors to come. When his daughters betray him in Act 2, the tragedy grows. Lear doesn't understand that his daughters lied about their love until they bluntly express it. Lear's monologue when he is on the verge of tears is heartbreaking. Lear goes on to experience mental and physical decay throughout the rest of the play. And finally, Act 5 is where the sadness peaks. Having come into reality and realizing his mistakes, Lear reconciles with his beloved daughter Cordelia. When ready for prison, he promises her that they will sing and laugh. But the happiness doesn't come. Lear holds his murdered daughter in his arms before he dies of heartbreak.

King Lear is a greater tragedy than Oedipus Rex. It performs (in my opinion) the traits of tragedy  far better than Oedipus. It develops and spreads its sadness throughout the play, rather than saving it all for a big reveal. The topic is easier: (fathers, their daughters, and love) > (undeniable fate). In a literary(?) sense, King Lear is the greater tragedy. And come to think of it, it's also just more sad in general.