Shakespeare’s masterpiece, King Lear, continuously proves itself as one of the greatest classic works throughout all of history. The agonizing play revolves around an ignorant king who has grown senile in age and brought suffering upon himself through selfish decisions. The most well known retelling of King Lear to date, A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley, closely parallels Shakespeare's work through plot, however, instead of being royalty and nobly acclaimed by society, the characters in A Thousand Acres are farm owners; working day in and day out to make a living. Despite the separation of class distinction in society, the novel and play share mirroring tragic arcs and are inclusive in the use of elements pertaining to classical, Shakespearean,…show more content… Blatantly, King Lear’s focus pertains to Learś tragic arch caused by corruption and family disfunction. However, the pain and suffering endured is not limited to Lear, although he is the play’s protagonist. No character within the pages of King Lear goes untouched by some form of pain, little or immense. Edgar, for example, after being tricked out of his own home by a bitter half brother, is, by good nature, forced to take care of his betrayed father, Gloucester, after the gouging out of his eyes. “Met I my father with his bleeding rings,/ their precious stones now lost, became his guide” (V.iii.201-202) stated Edgar as he described the event to the villainous crowd before him after the fight between her and his brother, Edmund. Edgar’s astonishment and disgust at the sight of his father’s wounds, another result of other characters’ course of action, is one representation of Shakespeare’s expansion of pain and suffering beyond the protagonist. The happiness, or despair, of each character lies in the hands of one another and the majority of the time the decisions result in agony upon one another due to selfish intentions. Edgar and
