King Lear

[Cannelle]

Hello everyone!
I'm actually preparing an entrance exam and we have King Lear in the syllabus.
I'd like someone to shine some light on me as I have different themes to write about.
The first one is "Serving and deserving in King Lear" which I 'm not quite sure that I fully understand the word "deserving ",although I looked it up in a dictionary.
It's quite tough on me and I'm a bit lost.
Thank -you for your help.

[neilgee]

I think "deserving" means exactly as the dictionary says in this case, Cannelle. Do characters who serve Lear well get what they deserve in this play? Think about his relationship with his three daughters. Think about how he treats Kent and how Kent responds. Think about what happens between Gloucester and Edgar/Edmund.

[Postmodernist]

You can ask yourself several questions about the serving and deserving topic: Who serves in King Lear? And who truly deserves their endings? It seems to me that serving is an act which can often be determined by yourself whereas deserving always comes with a consequence which cannot be determined or predicted. Serving also implies a kind of unequal social status and a level of respect. The one who serves the other is meant to be somewhat inferior, like a servant serving a master, a daughter serving her father, Kent serving King Lear, etc. The inferior "server" may not be satisfied with his inferior state; he may think he doesn't deserve his fate, just like Edmund asked "wherefore should I stand in the plague of custom and permit the curiosity of nations to deprive me." Anyway, I think you can think about those things for your essay...