Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.
Justice
King Lear is a brutal play, filled with human cruelty and awful, seemingly meaningless disasters. The play’s succession of terrible events raises an obvious question for the characters—namely, whether there is any possibility of justice in the world, or whether the world is fundamentally indifferent or even hostile to humankind. Various characters offer their opinions: “As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; / They kill us for their sport,” Gloucester muses, realizing it foolish for humankind to assume that the natural world works in parallel with socially or morally convenient notions of justice (IV.i.37–38). Edgar, on the other hand, insists that “the gods are just,” believing that individuals get what they deserve (V.iii.169). But, in the end, we are left with only a terrifying uncertainty—although the wicked die, the good die along with them, culminating in the awful image of Lear cradling Cordelia’s body in his arms. There is goodness in the world of the play, but there is also madness and death, and it is difficult to tell which triumphs in the end.
**King Lear - Theme of Blindness**
**King Lear - Theme of Blindness**
In Shakespearean terms, blinds means a whole different thing.
Blindness can normally be defined as the inability of the eye to see,
but according to Shakespeare, blindness is not a physical quality,
but a mental flaw some people possess. Shakespeare’s most dominant
theme in his play King Lear is that of blindness. King Lear,
Gloucester, and Albany are three prime examples Shakespeare
incorporates this theme into. Each of these character’s blindness was
the primary cause of the bad decisions they made; decisions which all
of them would eventually come to regret.
The blindest bat of all was undoubtedly King Lear. Because of
Lear’s high position in society, he was supposed to be able to
distinguish the good from the bad; unfortunately, his lack of sight
prevented him to do so. Lear’s first act of blindness came at the
beginning of the play. First, he was easily deceived by his two eldest
daughters’ lies, then, he was unable to see the reality of Cordelia’s
true love for him, and as a result, banished her from his kingdom with
the following words:
“..................................for we
Have no such daughter, nor shall ever see
That face of her again. Therefore be gone
Without our grace, our love, our benison.”
(Act I, Sc I, Ln 265-267)
Lear’s blindness also caused him to banish one of his loyal followers,
Kent. Kent was able to see Cordelia’s true love for her father, and
tried to protect her from her blind father’s irrationality. After
Kent was banished, he created a disguise for himself and was
eventually hired by Lear as a servant. Lear’s inability to determine
his servant’s true identity proved once again how blind Lear actually
was. As the play progressed, Lear’s eyesight reached closer to 20/20
vision. He realized how wicked his two eldest daughters really were
after they locked him out of the castle during a tremendous storm.
More importantly, Lear saw through Cordelia’s lack of flatterings and
realized that her love for him was so great that she couldn’t express
it into words. Unfortunately, Lear’s blindness ended up costing
Cordelia her life and consequently the life of himself.
Gloucester was another example of a character who suffered
from an awful case of blindness. Gloucester’s blindness denied him of
the ability to see the goodness of Edgar and the evil of Edmund.
Although Edgar was the good and loving son, Gloucester all but
disowned him. He wanted to kill the son that would later save his
life. Gloucester’s blindness began when Edmund convinced him by the
means of a forged letter that Edgar was plotting to kill him.
Gloucester’s lack of sight caused him to believe Edmund was the good
son and prevented him from pondering the idea of Edmund being after
his earldom. Near the end of the play, Gloucester finally regained
his sight and realized that Edgar saved his life disguised as Poor Tom
and loved him all along. He realized that Edmund planned to take over
the earldom and that he was the evil son of the two. Gloucester’s
famous line: “I stumbled when I saw” (Act IV, Sc I, Ln 20-21) was
ironic. His inability to see the realities of his sons occurred when
he had his physical sight but was mentally blind; but his ability to
see the true nature of his sons occurred after having his eyes plucked
out by the Duke of Cornwall. Fortunately, the consequences of
Gloucester’s blindness throughout the play was minimal, after all, he
was the only one to die as a result of his tragic flaw.
Albany was another character suffering from the classic case
of blindness, but luckily for him, he survived his battle. Albany’s
case of blindness was purely a result of the love he had for Goneril.
Although he disapproved of Goneril’s actions, he would only mildly
argue his case. When Goneril forced Lear to reduce his army so that
he could stay in their castle, Albany protested:
“ I cannot be so partial, Goneril,
To the great love I bear You -”
(Act I, Sc IV, Ln 309-310)
Albany’s deep devotion to Goneril blinded him from the evil she
possessed. His inability to realize how greedy and mean Goneril was
after she flattered Lear with a bunch of lies and then kicked him out
of their home, just goes to show you how much Albany loved Goneril.
Albany was also blind to the fact that Goneril was cheating on him and
that she was plotting to kill him. Fortunately, Edgar came across a
cure for Albany’s blindness. A note outlining Goneril’s evil plans
was all Albany needed to see. Finally, Albany recognized what a devil
he was married to and for once let out his emotions when he said:
“O Goneril,
You are not worth the dust which the rude wind
Blows in your face!”
(Act IV, Sc II, Ln 29-31)
Unlike Lear and Gloucester, Albany didn’t suffer much during his bout
with blindness. Not only did he survive his battle, but he lived to
remain the ruler of what was once Lear’s kingdom.
Authority versus Chaos
King Lear is about political authority as much as it is about family dynamics. Lear is not only a father but also a king, and when he gives away his authority to the unworthy and evil Goneril and Regan, he delivers not only himself and his family but all of Britain into chaos and cruelty. As the two wicked sisters indulge their appetite for power and Edmund begins his own ascension, the kingdom descends into civil strife, and we realize that Lear has destroyed not only his own authority but all authority in Britain. The stable, hierarchal order that Lear initially represents falls apart and disorder engulfs the realm.
The failure of authority in the face of chaos recurs in Lear’s wanderings on the heath during the storm. Witnessing the powerful forces of the natural world, Lear comes to understand that he, like the rest of humankind, is insignificant in the world. This realization proves much more important than the realization of his loss of political control, as it compels him to re-prioritize his values and become humble and caring. With this newfound understanding of himself, Lear hopes to be able to confront the chaos in the political realm as well.
Reconciliation
Darkness and unhappiness pervade King Lear, and the devastating Act V represents one of the most tragic endings in all of literature. Nevertheless, the play presents the central relationship—that between Lear and Cordelia—as a dramatic embodiment of true, self-sacrificing love. Rather than despising Lear for banishing her, Cordelia remains devoted, even from afar, and eventually brings an army from a foreign country to rescue him from his tormentors. Lear, meanwhile, learns a tremendously cruel lesson in humility and eventually reaches the point where he can reunite joyfully with Cordelia and experience the balm of her forgiving love. Lear’s recognition of the error of his ways is an ingredient vital to reconciliation with Cordelia, not because Cordelia feels wronged by him but because he has understood the sincerity and depth of her love for him. His maturation enables him to bring Cordelia back into his good graces, a testament to love’s ability to flourish, even if only fleetingly, amid the horror and chaos that engulf the rest of the play.
Motifs
Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.
Madness
Insanity occupies a central place in the play and is associated with both disorder and hidden wisdom. The Fool, who offers Lear insight in the early sections of the play, offers his counsel in a seemingly mad babble. Later, when Lear himself goes mad, the turmoil in his mind mirrors the chaos that has descended upon his kingdom. At the same time, however, it also provides him with important wisdom by reducing him to his bare humanity, stripped of all royal pretensions. Lear thus learns humility. He is joined in his real madness by Edgar’s feigned insanity, which also contains nuggets of wisdom for the king to mine. Meanwhile, Edgar’s time as a supposedly insane beggar hardens him and prepares him to defeat Edmund at the close of the play.
Betrayal
Betrayals play a critical role in the play and show the workings of wickedness in both the familial and political realms—here, brothers betray brothers and children betray fathers. Goneril and Regan’s betrayal of Lear raises them to power in Britain, where Edmund, who has betrayed both Edgar and Gloucester, joins them. However, the play suggests that betrayers inevitably turn on one another, showing how Goneril and Regan fall out when they both become attracted to Edmund, and how their jealousies of one another ultimately lead to mutual destruction. Additionally, it is important to remember that the entire play is set in motion by Lear’s blind, foolish betrayal of Cordelia’s love for him, which reinforces that at the heart of every betrayal lies a skewed set of values.
Symbols
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
The Storm
As Lear wanders about a desolate heath in Act III, a terrible storm, strongly but ambiguously symbolic, rages overhead. In part, the storm echoes Lear’s inner turmoil and mounting madness: it is a physical, turbulent natural reflection of Lear’s internal confusion. At the same time, the storm embodies the awesome power of nature, which forces the powerless king to recognize his own mortality and human frailty and to cultivate a sense of humility for the first time. The storm may also symbolize some kind of divine justice, as if nature itself is angry about the events in the play. Finally, the meteorological chaos also symbolizes the political disarray that has engulfed Lear’s Britain.
Blindness
Gloucester’s physical blindness symbolizes the metaphorical blindness that grips both Gloucester and the play’s other father figure, Lear. The parallels between the two men are clear: both have loyal children and disloyal children, both are blind to the truth, and both end up banishing the loyal children and making the wicked one(s) their heir(s). Only when Gloucester has lost the use of his eyes and Lear has gone mad does each realize his tremendous error. It is appropriate that the play brings them together near Dover in Act IV to commiserate about how their blindness to the truth about their children has cost them dearly.
Themes, Motifs & Symbols
Themes
Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.
Justice
King Lear is a brutal play, filled with human cruelty and awful, seemingly meaningless disasters. The play’s succession of terrible events raises an obvious question for the characters—namely, whether there is any possibility of justice in the world, or whether the world is fundamentally indifferent or even hostile to humankind. Various characters offer their opinions: “As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; / They kill us for their sport,” Gloucester muses, realizing it foolish for humankind to assume that the natural world works in parallel with socially or morally convenient notions of justice (IV.i.37–38). Edgar, on the other hand, insists that “the gods are just,” believing that individuals get what they deserve (V.iii.169). But, in the end, we are left with only a terrifying uncertainty—although the wicked die, the good die along with them, culminating in the awful image of Lear cradling Cordelia’s body in his arms. There is goodness in the world of the play, but there is also madness and death, and it is difficult to tell which triumphs in the end.In Shakespearean terms, blinds means a whole different thing. Blindness can normally be defined as the inability of the eye to see, but according to Shakespeare, blindness is not a physical quality, but a mental flaw some people possess. Shakespeare’s most dominant theme in his play King Lear is that of blindness. King Lear, Gloucester, and Albany are three prime examples Shakespeare incorporates this theme into. Each of these character’s blindness was the primary cause of the bad decisions they made; decisions which all of them would eventually come to regret. The blindest bat of all was undoubtedly King Lear. Because of Lear’s high position in society, he was supposed to be able to distinguish the good from the bad; unfortunately, his lack of sight prevented him to do so. Lear’s first act of blindness came at the beginning of the play. First, he was easily deceived by his two eldest daughters’ lies, then, he was unable to see the reality of Cordelia’s true love for him, and as a result, banished her from his kingdom with the following words: “..................................for we Have no such daughter, nor shall ever see That face of her again. Therefore be gone Without our grace, our love, our benison.” (Act I, Sc I, Ln 265-267) Lear’s blindness also caused him to banish one of his loyal followers, Kent. Kent was able to see Cordelia’s true love for her father, and tried to protect her from her blind father’s irrationality. After Kent was banished, he created a disguise for himself and was eventually hired by Lear as a servant. Lear’s inability to determine his servant’s true identity proved once again how blind Lear actually was. As the play progressed, Lear’s eyesight reached closer to 20/20 vision. He realized how wicked his two eldest daughters really were after they locked him out of the castle during a tremendous storm. More importantly, Lear saw through Cordelia’s lack of flatterings and realized that her love for him was so great that she couldn’t express it into words. Unfortunately, Lear’s blindness ended up costing Cordelia her life and consequently the life of himself. Gloucester was another example of a character who suffered from an awful case of blindness. Gloucester’s blindness denied him of the ability to see the goodness of Edgar and the evil of Edmund. Although Edgar was the good and loving son, Gloucester all but disowned him. He wanted to kill the son that would later save his life. Gloucester’s blindness began when Edmund convinced him by the means of a forged letter that Edgar was plotting to kill him. Gloucester’s lack of sight caused him to believe Edmund was the good son and prevented him from pondering the idea of Edmund being after his earldom. Near the end of the play, Gloucester finally regained his sight and realized that Edgar saved his life disguised as Poor Tom and loved him all along. He realized that Edmund planned to take over the earldom and that he was the evil son of the two. Gloucester’s famous line: “I stumbled when I saw” (Act IV, Sc I, Ln 20-21) was ironic. His inability to see the realities of his sons occurred when he had his physical sight but was mentally blind; but his ability to see the true nature of his sons occurred after having his eyes plucked out by the Duke of Cornwall. Fortunately, the consequences of Gloucester’s blindness throughout the play was minimal, after all, he was the only one to die as a result of his tragic flaw. Albany was another character suffering from the classic case of blindness, but luckily for him, he survived his battle. Albany’s case of blindness was purely a result of the love he had for Goneril. Although he disapproved of Goneril’s actions, he would only mildly argue his case. When Goneril forced Lear to reduce his army so that he could stay in their castle, Albany protested: “ I cannot be so partial, Goneril, To the great love I bear You -” (Act I, Sc IV, Ln 309-310) Albany’s deep devotion to Goneril blinded him from the evil she possessed. His inability to realize how greedy and mean Goneril was after she flattered Lear with a bunch of lies and then kicked him out of their home, just goes to show you how much Albany loved Goneril. Albany was also blind to the fact that Goneril was cheating on him and that she was plotting to kill him. Fortunately, Edgar came across a cure for Albany’s blindness. A note outlining Goneril’s evil plans was all Albany needed to see. Finally, Albany recognized what a devil he was married to and for once let out his emotions when he said: “O Goneril, You are not worth the dust which the rude wind Blows in your face!” (Act IV, Sc II, Ln 29-31) Unlike Lear and Gloucester, Albany didn’t suffer much during his bout with blindness. Not only did he survive his battle, but he lived to remain the ruler of what was once Lear’s kingdom.Authority versus Chaos
King Lear is about political authority as much as it is about family dynamics. Lear is not only a father but also a king, and when he gives away his authority to the unworthy and evil Goneril and Regan, he delivers not only himself and his family but all of Britain into chaos and cruelty. As the two wicked sisters indulge their appetite for power and Edmund begins his own ascension, the kingdom descends into civil strife, and we realize that Lear has destroyed not only his own authority but all authority in Britain. The stable, hierarchal order that Lear initially represents falls apart and disorder engulfs the realm.
The failure of authority in the face of chaos recurs in Lear’s wanderings on the heath during the storm. Witnessing the powerful forces of the natural world, Lear comes to understand that he, like the rest of humankind, is insignificant in the world. This realization proves much more important than the realization of his loss of political control, as it compels him to re-prioritize his values and become humble and caring. With this newfound understanding of himself, Lear hopes to be able to confront the chaos in the political realm as well.
Reconciliation
Darkness and unhappiness pervade King Lear, and the devastating Act V represents one of the most tragic endings in all of literature. Nevertheless, the play presents the central relationship—that between Lear and Cordelia—as a dramatic embodiment of true, self-sacrificing love. Rather than despising Lear for banishing her, Cordelia remains devoted, even from afar, and eventually brings an army from a foreign country to rescue him from his tormentors. Lear, meanwhile, learns a tremendously cruel lesson in humility and eventually reaches the point where he can reunite joyfully with Cordelia and experience the balm of her forgiving love. Lear’s recognition of the error of his ways is an ingredient vital to reconciliation with Cordelia, not because Cordelia feels wronged by him but because he has understood the sincerity and depth of her love for him. His maturation enables him to bring Cordelia back into his good graces, a testament to love’s ability to flourish, even if only fleetingly, amid the horror and chaos that engulf the rest of the play.Motifs
Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.
Madness
Insanity occupies a central place in the play and is associated with both disorder and hidden wisdom. The Fool, who offers Lear insight in the early sections of the play, offers his counsel in a seemingly mad babble. Later, when Lear himself goes mad, the turmoil in his mind mirrors the chaos that has descended upon his kingdom. At the same time, however, it also provides him with important wisdom by reducing him to his bare humanity, stripped of all royal pretensions. Lear thus learns humility. He is joined in his real madness by Edgar’s feigned insanity, which also contains nuggets of wisdom for the king to mine. Meanwhile, Edgar’s time as a supposedly insane beggar hardens him and prepares him to defeat Edmund at the close of the play.Betrayal
Betrayals play a critical role in the play and show the workings of wickedness in both the familial and political realms—here, brothers betray brothers and children betray fathers. Goneril and Regan’s betrayal of Lear raises them to power in Britain, where Edmund, who has betrayed both Edgar and Gloucester, joins them. However, the play suggests that betrayers inevitably turn on one another, showing how Goneril and Regan fall out when they both become attracted to Edmund, and how their jealousies of one another ultimately lead to mutual destruction. Additionally, it is important to remember that the entire play is set in motion by Lear’s blind, foolish betrayal of Cordelia’s love for him, which reinforces that at the heart of every betrayal lies a skewed set of values.Symbols
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
The Storm
As Lear wanders about a desolate heath in Act III, a terrible storm, strongly but ambiguously symbolic, rages overhead. In part, the storm echoes Lear’s inner turmoil and mounting madness: it is a physical, turbulent natural reflection of Lear’s internal confusion. At the same time, the storm embodies the awesome power of nature, which forces the powerless king to recognize his own mortality and human frailty and to cultivate a sense of humility for the first time. The storm may also symbolize some kind of divine justice, as if nature itself is angry about the events in the play. Finally, the meteorological chaos also symbolizes the political disarray that has engulfed Lear’s Britain.
Blindness
Gloucester’s physical blindness symbolizes the metaphorical blindness that grips both Gloucester and the play’s other father figure, Lear. The parallels between the two men are clear: both have loyal children and disloyal children, both are blind to the truth, and both end up banishing the loyal children and making the wicked one(s) their heir(s). Only when Gloucester has lost the use of his eyes and Lear has gone mad does each realize his tremendous error. It is appropriate that the play brings them together near Dover in Act IV to commiserate about how their blindness to the truth about their children has cost them dearly.