Chapter Themes of King Lear - Study Guide by William Shakespeare

for lust and infidelity (Edmund is an illegitimate son). The characters suffer according to their capacity for suffering as opposed to what they deserve.

POLITICAL

Lear mixes up various systems, demanding filial love in court situation. He wants truth in lip-service. He does not have clearly delineated property to give away. He gives away the crown and property yet at the same time expects the respect due to a king. Edmund has his own political agenda. Characters such as Regan, Goneril and Cornwall represent a new regime which is traditional whilst simultaneously self-seeking. Within the play there is no real King, no court and no formal justice. Furthermore the ending is wholly dissolute with no promising ideology emerging.

REDEMPTION

There is no promise for a future court or family reunion. We are left with the futility of Cordelia’s death and Edmund’s sudden integrity and understanding come too late to both Lear and Gloucester. Only the heroism of the pure-hearted Edgar and the possibility for redemption of the soul are heartening. However, we must not forget that we refer to earthly hope. Lear, Gloucester and Edmund have all redeemed themselves in the sight of a Christian god at least and their deaths are less tragic than Macbeth’s, Othello’s and Coriolanus’s because they are complete: all is understood and self-knowledge heals them.

FORTUNE

She seems predictable towards Edgar, Kent, the Fool and Edmund at his death ("The wheel has turned full circle"). When the Fool calls her an "arrant whore" in implies that it is totally random. There are images of Fortune’s wheel – Edgar thinks that in being Tom and placing himself at the very bottom of the wheel he is protecting himself as his situation will not be able to get any worse.

The Storm

Different characters interpret this differently at different times. There is the idea that it is linked with pleas to the gods and therefore invoked by Lear as an illustration of the power of the gods. Its personification ties up with the identification of Lear with the gods and their anger.

It can also be linked with the great flood in The Bible: Lear believes that it will cleanse the world of all the wrong doers and their corruption. It seems to be a reflection of the state of Lear’s mind ("I will not weep") and of the natural elements. It is also a reflection of the turmoil and confusion within the society which is the macrocosm it reflects as opposed to the microcosm of Lear’s mind.

It is also a very strong dramatic device which enables Shakespeare to show the extent to which Lear has been rejected. It dramatises the extent of hostility of the whole world towards Lear. Furthermore violence, tension and increased pace are added on a dramatic level.

The storm also makes Lear more aware of the suffering of others. He realises that he is not the only one to endure difficulties and thus it makes him think about the nature of necessity. He recognises his Fool’s weakness before he sees his own. It dominates so greatly that it puts everything else in perspective: it acts as leveller.