King lears emotional stages
King lears emotional stagesKing Lear’s Emotional Stages
Throughout the play King Lear, Shakespeare portrays King Lear as a
normal human being with a very complex and fragile character. In this very
sentimental play, Shakespeare places Lear through the worst anguish of his
life (Bruhl 312). The anguish Lear goes through helps him finally realize that
human nature is not always loving, caring, and giving as his kingship
disguises him to think. One may describe the mental states Lear goes through
as myriad mental states. Throughout the play Lear reaches many realizations
through his mistakes and symbolic madness, people’s wrong doings toward
him, and his return to sanity through redemptive salvation.
Lear makes many mistakes at the end of his lifetime. The want of an
untroubled life of second childhood without the responsibilities of a well
respected king is the main mistake Lear makes. The slippage of his self-
image finally causes him to go mad (Dominic 233). Before Lear goes mad he
realizes the state in which he is turning when he states, “My wits begin to
turn.”( III.ii.67). Lear’s suffering is primarily mental and climaxes when
Regan throws him out in the storm (Bruhl 317). The main mistakes appears “
as he [Lear] enters the phantasmagoria [fantastic imagery, as in a dream] of
his madness”( Halio 192). This type of thinking makes Lear become mentally
unstable.
One can attribute King Lear’s main mental anguishes to the direct act
of wrong doing towards him. The wrong doings cause so much suffering
because it comes from the two people he thought loved him more than any
person on earth, Goneril and Regan. These ungrateful daughters strip Lear of
his knights when he gives over his power (Dominic 233) of which this quote
makes an exemplary example:
Regan: And speak’t again, my lord. No more with me
Lear: Those wicked creatures yet do look well favored
When others are more wicked: not being the worst
Stand in some rank of praise. I’ll go with thee.
Thy fifty yet doth double five-and-twenty
And thou are twice her love....
To view the complete essay, you be registered.