In William Shakespeare’s poem King Lear, the character King Lear is an aging king with no male heir to inherit his throne, who decides to play a game with his three daughters, Cordelia, Goneril, and Regan in order to determine who would inherit the biggest piece of his land after his death. King Lear was unable to perceive the truth about what was going on in his kingdom. He didn’t realize that Regan and Goneril didn’t love him. They were only pretending while his daughter Cordelia who truly loved her father refused to play the game. This clearly showed a power struggle within the family. The two daughters Regan and Goneril decided to make a run for the power like a government coup. In this poem there is another relationship shown with King Lear and Gloucester. Gloucester is this guy that has two sons Edgar, the legitimate son and Edmund who is illegitimate. Gloucester speaks badly of his illegitimate son Edmund in public. Doing so causes a family rift where Edmund wants to find a way to hurt Gloucester.

This shows another power struggle where the children rise up in some way against their parents. Different circumstances leads to different to different power struggles. Parents are supposed to provide a safe environment for their children. The way a parent handles certain situations makes a great deal of difference. It is stated in the Bible in the 10th commandments Thou shalt honor thy mother and father. The meaning of honoring our parents is a command, which we dare not ignore. But there is a second reason for carefully studying the 5th commandment. Honoring our parents is one of the highest callings and greatest tasks we face in life. In Lear’s situation, the way that his power can be shown as being taken for granted is at the beginning of the when he divides up his kingdom between his daughters. Lear’s plan is to give the biggest piece of land from his kingdom to the child that loves him the most. Out of all of Lear’s daughters, his favorite daughter, is named Cordelia and he knows that she will win the challenge that he has put up.