The Tragedy of King Lear King Lear is a tragic story by William Shakespeare is the story of a man, King Lear and his decision that led to his fate and the fate of others. With every tragic story comes a tragic hero. The tragic hero of the story is King Lear. According to the definition of a tragic hero, one must be born noble, endowed with a tragic flaw, condemned to commit a serious error of judgment, fall from great heights or high esteem, realize that he has made an irreversible mistake, face and accept death honorably meets a tragic death. King Lear fulfills all these qualities. King Lear was a tragic hero born into nobility, gifted with a tragic flaw, and condemned to commit a grave error of judgment. King Lear was born into nobility. "He owned vast amounts of land and ruled many people. Give me the map there. Know that we have divided our Kingdom into three." King Lear was not only born into nobility, but was also responsible for his own destiny. He disowned his daughter Cordelia and had his other two daughters rule over his land, once divided into three, now divided into two. His two daughters really didn't love him, they just wanted land and power. They turned against their father and had Edmund sentence him to death. Lear's death was his fault. This reason is due to King Lear's tragic flaw, his pride. Pride is also the reason he is a tragic hero. "Tell me, my daughters, - for now we will both deprive ourselves of government, of the interests of the territory, of the concerns of the state, - which of you will we say loves us more, so that our greatest generosity may extend where nature extends with merit challenge?" King Lear was selfish in the first act where he asked his daughters who loved him more. When he discovered that his favorite daughter Cordelia had little say in her love for him, he disowned her and divided his land between his two evil daughters Regan and Goneril, "By whom we exist and cease to be; here I disown all my paternal care, the closeness and ownership of blood, and as a stranger to my heart and to me I will keep you, from this, forever." This was also the error in the judgment of King Lear.