King Lear is a Shakespearean tragedy that largely revolves around one central theme, personal transformation. Shakespeare shows in King Lear that the main characters of the play experience a phase of transformation, in which they are significantly changed through their suffering. Over the course of the play Lear is the most transformed of all the characters. He goes through seven major stages of transformation on his path to becoming an omniscient character: resentment, regret, recognition, acceptance and admission, guilt, redemption, and optimism. Shakespeare identifies King Lear as a contemptuous human being who is purified through his suffering into a kind of god. The first stage of Lear's transformation is resentment. At the beginning of the play it is clear that Lear is a proud, impulsive and short-tempered old man. He is so self-centered that he simply cannot stand being criticized. The strength of Lear's ego becomes evident in the brutal images with which he expresses his anger towards Cordelia: “The barbarous Scythian, / O he who messes up his generation / To satiate his appetite, it will be to my breast / To be as close, pitied, and uplifted,/as you might sometimes do, daughter.” (1.1.118-122). The powerful language that Lear uses to describe his intense hatred towards Cordelia is so immeasurable to the cause, that there can only be one explanation: Lear is so passionately wrapped up in his particular self-image, that he simply cannot understand any point of view ( about himself) that differs from his (no matter how politely framed). It is this anger and resentment that sets in motion Lear's suffering and final purification. Lear's feelings of resentment eventually turn into feelings of regret when he believes that... middle of paper... that he can no longer live. in the natural world, he must live among the gods. This new Lear is certainly very different from the arrogant king we saw at the beginning of the play. Shakespeare transformed Lear from an ignorant old king into a sort of god, using a seven-step process: resentment, remorse, recognition, acceptance and admission, guilt, redemption, and optimism. Lear's transformation can be simply described as a transition from blindness to sight. He didn't see the value in listening to others, but eventually gained a sense of optimism and idealism. There is no doubt that Shakespeare portrayed Lear as a flawed figure, who, through his misfortune and suffering, transforms from a contemptuous human being to someone who has been purified into an omniscient and divine character, demonstrating that ignorant people they can really change into becoming caring individuals.