Self-awareness is a common struggle among people; self-awareness is the ability to perceive oneself and others along with how humans interact with each other. William Shakespeare's play King Lear is a tragedy with many twists and turns, self-awareness is a skill that Lear puts to the test as the play develops. Lack of self-awareness leads to madness which results in the realization of the true nature of one's inner circle and those who can bring true happiness. The lack of self-awareness is evident in King Lear predominantly in the main character King Lear. The lack of self-awareness is evident in the king from the opening acts of the play. Lear makes many tragic mistakes due to the lack of self-awareness he achieves. Lack of self-awareness ultimately leads to madness. Once they overcome the madness, they come to realize what truly makes them happy. Lear becomes aware of the things that give pure happiness. Lear is deceived by his lack of self-awareness. Self-awareness is absent in Lear in the first acts of the play. Lear's lack of self-awareness is recognized based on numerous events. At the beginning of the play, Lear, the king of Great Britain, has what he thought was a brilliant idea to divide his kingdom into three parts, one for each daughter. Lear decided to divide his kingdom prematurely in hopes of resolving any future disputes after his death. Lear explains how he will divide the kingdom among his daughters: Meanwhile we will express our darkest purpose. Give me the map there. Now that we have divided our kingdom into three... To shake from our age all worries and affairs, giving them to the younger forces while we, without burdens, crawl towards death. (1.1.37-42)...... middle of paper...... Because Lear was selfish and lacked self-awareness, he was unwilling to accept input from others, causing him to discover for himself who is the root of his happiness. Lear suffers his madness to understand who can bring him true happiness. Self-awareness is difficult to develop within a person. The play King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare that develops multiple characters throughout the play with downfalls and valuable lessons learned. Lear achieves a lack of self-awareness; because of this Lear makes many selfish mistakes. Due to a lack of self-awareness Lear becomes “mad” because he is unable to cope with all his defects. When Lear is angry, he realizes that those who truly love him and can guarantee his happiness. Unable to see his own flaws, Lear proceeds towards madness resulting in the realization of the people who can grant him true happiness..