Summary of Joyce Carol Oates's Is This the Promised End Essay

Summary of Joyce Carol Oates's Is This the Promised End - Essay Example He could not rely on his common sense and did not see the difference between real and unreal world. The author connects the tragedy with transcendence as the main driven force of the tragedy itself. Joyce Carol Oates uses oppositions to unveil transformations in Lear's personality: real vs unreal, "self" vs "other", flesh vs soul, which "poetically symbolized by a union of male and female elements" (Oates, 1974). The notion of grace is opposed to masculine tyranny of Lear. Cordelia is the bearer of "grace" embodied in her personality. A special attention is devoted to historical process as the tool of dramatization depicting that the world exists in history. The main questions arisen from this essay are: Is it necessary to Lear to become insane What is the role of transcendence in the tragedy Is "King Lear" really a tragedy or triumph of justice For Lear, It is necessary to become insane because only in this state he can achieve spirituality and distinguish between "self" and "other. His insanity is a journey into self. Shaking up a thinker involves demolishing his reliance on "common sense", but common sense is not a quality of heroes, and Lear cannot achieve his status as a hero within a system linked to it.