King Lear the realm of which the king is head, not to Lear himself, and he tells Lear to behave better for the good of the realm. By contrast, Lear makes an argument similar to James that as king, he holds absolute power and could disregard the views of his subjects if they displease him whenever he liked. In the play, the characters like the Fool, Kent and Cordelia, whose loyalties are institutional, seeing their first loyalty to the realm, are portrayed more favorably than those like Regan and Goneril, who insist they are only loyal to the king, seeing their loyalties
James S. Shapiro His most recent book, "The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606," was awarded the James Tait Black Prize for Biography as well as the Sheridan Morley Prize for Theatre Biography. He is currently at work on a book about Shakespeare in a divided America. He is married, has a son, and lives in New York City. Shapiro presented a three-part series on BBC Four called "The King & the Playwright: A Jacobean History" about Shakespeare, King James VI and I and the Jacobean era. James S. Shapiro James S. Shapiro (born September 11, 1955) is Professor of English and Comparative