Interpreting “Ultimate Concern” in King Lear

Since Paul Tillich proposed the idea of "ultimate concern," it has often been presented as the fundamental ethical ideal. However, Tillich's further discussion is precisely aimed at the myth of "self-righteousness";when Northrop Frye continues this topic, he simply returns to the diametrically opposite "primary concern." Shakespeare's King Lear provides a vivid explanation:the illusion that "I am a man more sinned against than sinning" is in fact the vanity of "self-sanctification" and "self-legalization." The paradox of reason, history, and even belief reconstructs the question of "the Ultimate," for it is highly likely that the pursuit of "the Ultimate" is the root of the absence of "the Ultimate" per se. This paper attempts to reinstate Shakespeare's text to the historical context of "things gone wrong." By re-reading King Lear in light of Tillich's and Frye's discussions, it also provides a literary interpretation of the notion of the "ultimate concern" in King Lear.