Love as a Theme In King Lear And The Faerie Queen

This paper discusses the theme of love in the two plays “King Lear” by Shakespeare and “The Faerie Queen” by Edward Spenser.

The paper details the themes of false love and true love in both plays and gives the definition of love as well as the lesson of love according to each play.
“False Love is embodied primarily by Lear’s two daughters, Regan and Goneril. When their father demands a declaration of love, the two girls offer grand declarations of love, which are also however false. These declarations win them the promised prize of land and marriage to foremost members of society. The love of their husbands is also false, since it is based upon how much the girls can offer in a material sense.
The further romantic pursuits of the sisters also prove their love to be false. When Regan’s husband dies, she competes with her sister for Edmund’s love. This not only shows her romantic love to be false, but also her love for her sister. This is also proved by the fact that they ultimately turn against each other in their conspiracies.”