In this video response to King Lear, the creator explains multiple themes that are present in the play. Some of which include the impact of power and its ability to create greed in those who were born into a family that possesses it and the idea that humans have a materialistic nature which emerges when there is an absence of moral character. He also discusses the fact that Lear is the oldest man in the play; however, he is the least wise in terms of his ability to be so easily manipulated.
The reason that I chose this video response and why I like it so much is because the narrator mentioned something that I agree with very much. He said, “it is not necessarily who we are that determines how we act but our environment that regulates how we behave”. We can see this in Lear’scharacter and the distinction in the way he behaves when he is in the position of the King versus when he is no longer the king and homeless. The narrator says that his character changes to almost the level of an animal. I like this quote and this play as a whole because it makes me think about how the things that we own like our houses and other materialistic objects that we think we can’t live without can be taken away from us so quickly and so we should not use these things to define who we are because they really don’t. It makes you realize that what is important is who you are without all the things — your relationship with others, your morals, values and so on because these are not as easy to lose and therefore, are a more reliable way to determine your character.