The Ten Commandments in Kind Lear - Book Report/Review Example

No analysis of his works can leave out the influence and importance of Christianity. This is especially important in the context of the Elizabethan era, when England had started to gain more knowledge regarding other cultures. Christianity was the factor that bound many of the European countries together at this point of time and also what divided them. The manifestations of one of its most core theories in a play that is considered to be one of the finest tragedies of the Elizabethan era and also in the history of English literature.

The Ten Commandments are a concise list of instructions that the pious Christian is to follow on his road to salvation. According to the Bible, it was handed down to Moses. It encapsulates the different teachings of Christianity and for the believer, is an easy manual that would enable him or her to attain salvation. Historical Aspects of the era Characters from other religions are often not portrayed in a very good light in Elizabethan plays. Shakespeare however, in King Lear, shows how an inadequate practice of Christian principles such as the Ten Commandments could happen irrespective of the religion of the person involved.

The characters in this play are all Christians; however, they show scant respect for the Ten Commandments. . People were thus, during a transitional phase from Catholicism to Protestantism, confused regarding the principles of the new sect that they had become a part of. This was also owing to the fact that many were illiterate and many were unable to read the Latin Bible that was available to them. An impulse to interpret the commandments for oneself is something that one sees in the characters of Edmund, Regan and Goneril.

Edmund Edmund is a product of sexual intercourse out of marriage and thus, his very existence is a violation of the seventh commandment that forbids adultery. He is thus, not a part of the system that Christianity is an essential element of. Placed outside of this system, he tries to subvert it and thus, his attacks are directed against the upholders of the values of the old system. He seeks to upset the very line of Lear through his seduction of the rightful owners of it (under the then prevalent system of monarchy), Goneril and Regan.

He attempts to mislead his father and presents a wrong picture of his half-brother, Edmund, who is the legitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester. He seeks to subvert the list of commandments that are present in the bible for this purpose. He seeks to murder his brother, thus violating the sixth commandment. He also seeks to mislead his father and harbors no respect for him. By doing so, he violates the fifth commandment that requires one to have respect for his or her father and mother. By giving a false report against his brother, he also breaks the ninth commandment.

He seeks to commit adultery by coveting what belongs to another and thus violates the seventh and tenth commandment. As a reason for these