Shakespeare always has a way of captivating his audience, constantly reminding us to never let our pride get in the way of our family and even ourselves. In his play King Lear, he uses Lear to illustrate the tragic downfall of the selfish king. Shakespeare shows us how great self-admiration led King Lear to lose his kingdom, his daughters, and his sanity. Was Shakespeare trying to tell us something about our ego? King Lear died accepting the fact that he would never be who he once was because of his ego. This essay will analyze King Lear's ego and how this led to his tragic downfall. In the first act, the setting is the king's palace, here Lear is at his peak. He is on his throne, in his kingdom and has supremacy over everything. Shakespeare begins to develop Lear's ego when he says, "Give thither the map, know that we have divided our kingdom into three" (1.1.37). What Shakespeare does in this line is present Lear as a powerful king. Lear wants his daughters to stroke his ego for a piece of his kingdom. His cocky nature fuels his ego. King Lear is a presumptuous character, he considers himself invincible. Lear considers his youngest daughter Cordelia a traitor when she does not flatter him. Why would such a powerful man be offended by his daughter's refusal to praise him? This is Shakespeare's first step in Lear's downward spiral. At this moment Lear went from an all-powerful king to a mere "daddy", Cordelia's innocent nature affected his autocratic ego. Lear still hurt by Cordelia's rejection says: “Better that you had not been born than that you had not pleased me more.” Kent, the king's steadfast supporter, urges Lear to reconsider, but Lear refuses, saying, “Peace, Kent! Do not stand between the dragon and his wrath!” (1.1.120). The dis... in the center of the paper... your sisters, if I remember correctly, have wronged me: you have some reason, they have not” (4.7.72). Cordelia so kindly responds with “no cause, no cause”. Shakespeare uses this scene to reassure us that there is still hope in every situation. Towards the end of act 5 Lear carries Cordelia's corpse shouting: "a plague upon you, murderers, traitors all!" (5.3.269). Kent in the midst of this says, "If fortune boasts of two people she hath loved and hated, we see one" (5.3.279). Old Lear, realizing what Kent meant to him, says, "He's a good boy, I can tell you that" (5.3.280). Shakespeare shows us Lear's tragic fall from power due to his overbearing ego, but without this tragic fall he would not know what truly matters in life. The lesson that Shakespeare represents in King Lear is to never let your pride get in the way of yourself and, most importantly, your family.