Though at first you may not notice their ominous omnipresence, the
recurrent reference of certain "gods" in King Lear is present from the
first scene to the last. Usually it is King Lear who makes these
generally heathen references, though Edmund calls out to them in an
unseemly manner a few times. Not only are these references, especially
those made by King Lear, generally heathen, they are meant to be
unholy, evil, and perhaps barbarous. For example, when King Lear is
condemning and banishing his daughter, he says "For, by the sacred
radiance of the sun, the mysteries of Hecate and the night; by all the
operation of the orbs from whom we do exist and cease to be..." King
Lear 1.1.116-119. Whatever the religious atmosphere of almost any
Shakespearean audience, if references to sun worship, a Greek goddess
of Witchcraft and other shady practices, and worship of other heavenly
beings, it is generally considered to be a negative thing. King Lear
does not call on God, which is bad enough, but he calls on evil,
heathen gods. Edmund also has very negative connotations when he calls
on gods. He cries out "Now, gods, stand up for bastards!" King Lear
1.2.22. Since Lear and Edmund both have a very negative influence on
the play, we can assume that the gods are surely on the destructive
side of fate. France himself says, "Gods, gods! 'tis strange that from
their coldest neglect / My love should kindle to inflamed respect."
King Lear 1.1.282. The gods are surely on Lear's side.
The references or pleas to gods only happen in Lear's lines change
with Lear's character or state of mind. While he is questionably sane
and Cordelia is still in good graces with him, he makes no
exclamations to the gods. While he is disowning Cordelia and almost
through the duration of the play he makes many heathen references.
Whenever he finds Cordelia and a better state of mind, he stops all
unholy mentions and even uses God in the proper context: "As if we
were God's spies" King Lear 5.3.18. Edmund's problems with the gods
are quite different. Though he had called on the gods earlier and was
quite self assured in their graces, if his belief in the gods is
contrary to that of his belief in the heavens, that is, Edmund
betrayed the gods in his evil and was apparently in turn betrayed by
them, for Edgar says " thou art a traitor, False to thy gods, thy
brother, and thy father" King Lear 5.3.161. Soon after, "Edmund
falls."
So, are the gods simply playing the fickle gods of fate or are they
something to be called upon and even directed, as King Lear attempts
to in Scene II of Act III. When he addresses the storm he is obviously
calling on something which is akin to a god in the fact that it is a
heavenly, all-powerful, conscious being. He sends the vengeful spirit
of the storm against his daughters, for he is "a man more sinned
against than sinning." King Lear 3.2.59-60. He calls on the gods for
justice, though he did not originally give it.
So, in conclusion, the gods in King Lear are more of a symbol of evil
or a state of mind in a character than conscious gods. To quote Kent,
"Now, by Apollo, King, Thou swear'st thy gods in vain" 1.1.160-161.
The theme/motif of blindness.
King Lear himself displays the most obvious trait of blindness. In
the first act of the play, Lear misreads his daughters' intentions and
falls prey to false praises, leaving the truthful Cordelia an
outcast. The high-ranking King ought to have a decent grasp on
behavioral claims, as he is the ruler over his land and people, but he
fails to see through his daughters' words. Due to his inability to
see the truth, he s easily deceived by his two rotten daughters. He
blindly distributes his land to Goneril and Regan, neglecting
Cordelia's honest claim, and banishes Cordelia from his sanctified
presence. If Lear had seen the ulterior motives of the two evil
daughters, then maybe he would have commended Cordelia and avoided
such a great string of tragedies that take place throughout the
story. He only realizes for good what his three daughters really wish
to fulfill at the end of the story, when it is all too late. Lear's
blindness ultimately costs him his life.
Albany also shows signs of blindness. His love for Goneril also
breeds trouble. In his deep love for Goneril, Albany fails to see
that her "love" for him is but a guise for her secret desire for
Edmund. Albany has a hard time accepting Goneril's harsh treatment of
her father Lear, but through a largely one-sided bond of love, he
stays by her side through it all. It isn't until Edgar reveals the
note that contains Goneril's devious plot that Albany realizes his
devotion is meaningless, and that he had better straighten up if he is
to live and thwart Goneril and Edmund's evil schemes.
The most literal example of blindness is Gloucester. As mentioned
above, Gloucester's eyes are plucked out in Act three by Cornwall and
Regan. Gloucester was "blind" much before this tragic incident,
though. Like Lear, Gloucester failed to recognize his offspring's
evil intentions. He mixed up Edgar's innate goodness, and Edmund's
natural evil. This is due in large part to Edmund's crafty letter
framing Edgar. Convinced that Edgar, the legitimate and closest son
to the title of Earl, wants to kill him, Gloucester pits his men
against an innocent Edgar, causing him panic and torment. The painful
irony of Gloucester's blindness is that he only begins to "see" after
his physical, "working" eyes are stripped from his face. While
intact, Gloucester is blind to Edmund's horrid plans of overthrowing
him. After he is truly blinded, however, he sees that he has
misconstrued the situation and that Edgar is indeed the legitimate son
who loved him and continued to care for him through the thick and
thin.
"Filial Ingratitude!"(which always sounded like a brand name or line or something like that to me)
While the actions of Cordelia are justifiable, the actions of Goneril
and Regan arenot up to par with what a decent daughter should do.
Cordelia is forced to make a difficult decision at the beginning of
the play when her father asks her to express her love for him, she can
lie and exagerate her love as her sisters have done or she can be
honest and give her father the hard to hear truth. Cordelia may have
made a better choice in her choice of words to her father, but the
fact of the matter is that she gave him the truth and was able to
attempt to help him in the end because of her choice. Had Cordelia
chosen to lie to her father she would have most likely married
Burgundy because his desire for her dowry would have kept his intrest
in her alive and, when Lear speaks to Burgundy and France, Burgundy
appears to be the front runner in the race for Cordelia because Lear
addresses him first and gives him the first right of refusal. If
Cordelia had married Burgundy he would have had no need to help the
father of the woman he did not love because he would have already
recieved all of the blessing available from Lear. Because Cordelia
chose to be, "So young, my Lord, and true," the entire play is set in
motion; had Cordelia been a lesser person, there would be no reason
for the play.
Goneril and Reagan are guilty of most of the horrible offences in the
play. The only excuse that an be made for these two daughters is when
they are frustrated with the number of soldiers their father keeps
but, when they originally took over the kingdom they agreed to take on
the burden of the soldiers so, their argument is lost here. Goneril
and Regan are the chief evildoers of the play, they commit and attemp
murder, they blind a man, they take advantage of the figurative
blindness of their father, they attempt adultery, they lie, steal, and
many more things. The behavior of Regan and Goneril is horrid beyond
belief. The only action Goneril makes that is decent is when she
marries Albany and the only reason this is excusable is because he
challenges her and her evil sister at the end of the play. The lies
of these two daughters establish the conflict of the play and the lies
seem to have been planned for a while so that the daughters will
profit from the condition of their father. When the daughters talk
after the divison of the kingdom they seem to posses a sense of
superiority over their father which they carry into the rest of the
play, their beliefs in Lear's senility channel their drive to
overthrow his control over the kingdom and they show their true colors
from this point on.
Parallel stories - Lear and....?
Noble friend and in a tussle with his offspring himself, the life of
Gloucester most certainly parallels that of King Lear's. Shakespeare
doubly places misjudgment into both of these characters. Each of them
fails to recognize the senile charms of their respective children who
enrapture their fathers in falsity. Evidently, this misjudgment is
the sole ruin of each of the characters. Needless to say, they go
down together.
Illegitimacy is a key word which should not go unnoticed. Let us not
be blind like Lear. Although Goneril and Regan were assumed to be the
rightful beneficiaries of Lear's land, lowly Cordelia was the actual
legitimate daughter, truthful to the welfare of her father. On the
other hand and most accurately seen, Edgar is duped by the
illegitimate Edmund:
"Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land.
Our father’s love is to the bastard Edmund
As to the legitimate. Fine word—“legitimate”!
Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed,
And my invention thrive, Edmund the base
Shall top the legitimate. I grow; I prosper.
Now, gods, stand up for bastards!"
Edmund delivers this soliloquy (1.2.1–22) just before he reveals to
Gloucester that Edgar the legitimate is plotting against his life. In
both cases truth is outlasted by a harbored falsehood.
Interestingly, when Lear flees out into the storm, Gloucester
follows. This can symbolically represent the fact that these two both
have run into the same situation. Both characters reduce themselves
in despairing, and humorous, fashion. They fall to a state teetering
on the edge of insanity. But, noticeably, they are both aided by men
in disguise who forfeit any chances of the two from falling completely
psychopathic. Lear is aided by Kent and Gloucester is led by Edgar.
Gloucester parallels Lear the most in this way because they have both
become incapable to live without a constant hand to gild them in the
right direction. It is not until the end until they realize that
their mistakes have proven to costly and therefore they both must
suffer consequences.
The Motif of Nothing
“Nothing” being the empty word that it is can be filled with meaning
depending on how or in what context it is used. The characters in
“King Lear” make use of this vacant word infusing it with their own
purposes. This makes the bread-crumb trail of “nothing” throughout
“King Lear” rather exciting.
To Cordelia “nothing” meant love. It was not that she did not love her
father; she simply could not describe her love. Her love was more than
words. It had been translated into action, and Cordelia thought Lear
knew this. So when asked to describe her love in words, “nothing” was
all that came out of Cordelia’s mouth. Cordelia’s speechless love is
made evident in Act V when she asks France to intercede for her insane
father. Cordelia’s love is nothing by way of words, but everything in
action.
Edmund’s “nothing” is a stark contrast to Cordelia’s. Edmund’s first
mention of nothing is about the letter he has “received” from “Edgar”
as he quickly dismisses to Gloucester as “nothing.” Gloucester at
first sees that this letter is truly something saying, “The quality of
nothing hath not such need to hide itself;” however, Gloucester fails
to realizes that this “nothing” is a conspiracy—an act of unlove
against him and his family. “Nothing” to Edmund is conspiracy and
betrayal. Later Edmund asks Edgar, “Have you nothing said upon his
party ‘gainst the Duke of Albany?” making sure that his evil
intentions stay hidden. Gloucester up in arms about the whole debacle
confides his relations with Lear to Edmund and pleads with him to say
nothing of it. Of course, Edmund’s lust for power spurs him on to turn
in his own father to Cornwall establishing himself as Earl of
Gloucester.
Poor Edgar, because of Edmund’s evil schemes, views himself as
“nothing.” While Edmund makes a scene about his bastardizing,
illegitimacy and his low name, Edgar is more accepting of his new
identity as a beggar, as nothing. As he makes his plan to become this
new identity as ole Tom he proclaims, “Edgar I nothing am” meaning
that his life as Edgar is worth less than his life as Poor Tom. Later
when Edgar reveals himself to his father, he says, “in nothing am I
changed/But in my garments.” In this use of “nothing” Edgar is still
referencing himself; however, he is now the true “nothing” (not the
scheming illegitimate “nothing”) that Gloucester really loves.
Lear’s Fool has several views on nothing as well he should. Making fun
of the Fool, Kent remarks that the Fool’s interjections are “nothing.”
However, the Fool replies saying that his “nothing” is just a bit of
wisdom that came for free so “can you make no use of nothing?” The
Fool’s next reference to “nothing” is quite contrasting to the first.
Referring to Lear the Fool says that the king has foolishly split up
his kingdom leaving himself no brains or nothing in the middle.
“Nothing” is foolishness. Finally, talking to Lear again the Fool
blatantly says, “I am a fool, thou art nothing.” This reference to
nothing again emphasizes Lear’s stupidity, but it also insults his
resulting loss of power. The Fool says he’d rather be the fool than be
in Lear’s lowly position.
Throughout the play Lear continues to see “nothing” as nothing. First
talking to Cordelia Lear says, “Nothing can come of nothing.” Later in
response to his Fool’s wisdom and Kent’s skepticism Lear replies,
“Nothing can be made of nothing.” Lear’s blindness, however, prevents
him from seeing past the surface of the empty vessel that is
“nothing.” He can’t see Cordelia’s “nothing” filled with love or the
Fool’s “nothing” filled with wisdom and honesty. Lear at one point
amidst the storm says, “I will say nothing” and later asks himself
“couldst thou save nothing?” At this point Lear is realizing his true
identity as that of “nothing.” He is blind and mad, yet he is able to
realize that he is empty. Soon there will be nothing left.
The Storm - Symbol, Climax, Perfect.
Lear realizes that he is no control over anything anymore. His life
is in the hands of the gods, his daughters, or any man. The storm
symbolizes the loss of control and power, but it also says that
nothing is as it seems. There is always two sides to everything.
Most of the time there is a good and a bad side.
Lear first realizes that he is losing control of his court when
Cordelia does not put her pride aside and proclaim undying love to
Lear like her sisters. Cordelia is his favorite daughter. He expects
her to please him now as she has always done, but she does not.
Instead of being his sweet little Cordelia she is almost hard in her
response to proclaim her love for Lear. Cordelia says, "Nothing".
Lear later replies, "So young and so untender?" Cordelia ends that
part of the conversation with, "So young, my lord, and true" (1.1
98,118-119) Lear is so taken aback that he disowns Cordelia. He
transforms from a sweet father to one that will "spit, fire! and
Sprout, rain!"
The next loss of control is between a father and his child again.
This time it is between Gloucester and Edmund. Edmund easily
convinces Gloucester that Edgar was plotting his death because he
wanted his inheritance now. Edmund was then seen as the best son.
His illegitamicy was forgotten because of the unselfish way that he
was helping his father. Gloucester proclaims, "I will proclaim it
That he which finds him shall deserve our thanks, Bringing the
murderous coward to the stake; He that conceals him, death" and "And
of my land, Loyal and natural boy, I'll work the means To make thee
capable" (2.1 70-74,97-99) Gloucester did not know that when he gave
Edmund this land and respect that he was really signing over his life
along with all his possessions
The ultimate way the storm was illustrated was when Goneril and Regan
turned their backs on Lear. They refused to house him and his men,
and then they just kicked him out into the storm. Lear had no control
or power over them anymore. The sisters did not love let alone
respect Lear anymore. This upset Lear so much that he called on the
gods to curse his daughters. Lear cries out, "You heavens, give me
that patience, patience I need! You see me here, you gods, a poor old
man As full of grief as age, wretched in both. if it be you thats
stirs these daughters' hearts Against their father, fool me not so
much To bear it tamely." (2.4 313-318) Lear was completely baffled
because these were not the women just a few days earlier that
proclaimed their unwavering full love for him. Lear is at a loss.
Another person that is at a loss is Albany. He knows that Goneril is
not the best kind of person, but does not argue with her when she
harshly tells Lear he can not house his company of men at their
house. Albany probably had grown to expect and accept these strong
words and actions from Goneril, but he never expected her to plot his
death. He definitely was not going to accept it either. He had
completely lost control of his wife. First of all she was sending
secret letter plotting his death in Act IV, but her plan gets foiled
when Edgar kills Oswald and delivers the letter meant for Edmund to
Albany. He then decided to confront her and Edmund about their plot
to end his life. Albany says, "Edmund, I arrest thee On capital
treason; and, in {thine attraint,} This gilded serpent.--For your
claim, fair {sister,} I bar it in the interest of my wife. 'Tis she
is subcontracted to this lord, And I, her husband, contradict your
banns. If you will marry, make your loves to me. My lady is
bespoke" (5.3 98-106)
Albany is the only person that regains his control after losing it.
He was not being defeated with a fight which he won. The storms that
were in all the characters lives really affected them for the worst.
None of them were the same. Lear and Gloucester died while Albany
lost a wife. The storm brought not a "sweet sway", but it did "spit,
fire! and Sprout rain!" in every life it touched
Besides mine, I have left the authors anonymous. If you would like to know an author or you think no one will care, I'll post a list in order of appearance. Can I just say, I love my AP English class? I think we're pretty awesome.
