In this essay I intend to examine a brief etymology of the word issue, using the Oxford English Dictionary. My aim is to offer alternative interpretations of the following sentence from King Lear, spoken by Kent: “I cannot wish the fault to be annulled, its issue being so fitting” (1.1.16). The fault, or offense, mentioned by Kent is Edmund's illegitimate birth. I then argue that alternative interpretations, derived from various resonances of the word question, prove Shakespeare's deliberate choice of words to present the play as a tragedy of masculinity, in which the absence of a mother figure results in a lack of counterbalance to the male authority. to Edmund himself as a “problem” (1.1.16). Here the issue retains its third Oxford English Dictionary definition (see notation in the text) meaning (3) (formal or legal) one's own children. Although illegitimate, Edmund is Gloucester's own son. Other meanings of the word issue include: (1) a topic or issue important to debate or discussion, (2) the act of supplying or distributing an item for use, sale, or purposes official, (4) (Middle English, from Old French) the action of flowing or going out, and (5) (dated) a result or outcome of something ("Problem"). Combining some of these definitions gives us alternative interpretations to what Kent is saying in the aforementioned quote. First, the main meaning of the word question, (1) a topic or issue important for debate or discussion, associated with (3) and (5). ) above offers one of these interpretations: the child himself, i.e. Edmund, will be a problem for the parent. King Lear gives three examples of children playing the role of beloved loved ones but also being their parents' real problems. The three children – Edmund, Goneril and Regan – ...... middle of paper ......see it appropriate. We see through Goneril and Regan's selfish actions (including mutual pursuit of extramarital affairs) that they are like their father. In the same vein, one reading of Cordelia is that she is too proudly stuck to her principles, stubborn like her father in refusing to give up when she loses everything. Although this interpretation describes children as extensions of their parents, it actually describes them as extensions of their fathers (since there are no mothers in the room). Once again, fathers influence what children become; and most children fall prey to the tragedy of masculinity. If the children had had mother figures, the outcome of the play would have been different. Even Lear, who knows his days are numbered, seeks a mother figure to care for him. Old age is like a return to childishness and he too beckons to the absent mother..