This theme links closely with the theme of sight. Shakespeare uses this theme as a device throughout the play that is tantamount with both thought and vision. The older men are blind to what is happening right before their very eyes, and yet is it this very trust that is blinding them. This theme is emphasised greatly in Act Iii. The references to eyesight are a premonition of the abhorrence inflicted on Gloucester. His declaration of, ‘Let’s see, let’s see!’ when confronting Edmund about hiding the letter is ironic in the sense that in hindsight, it is drawing attention to sight, both physically and metaphorically. When Gloucester had the ability to physically see what was happening, he was blind to the truth when told that Edgar was betraying him. Yet in Act 3vii, when Gloucester is physically blind, he begins to ‘see’ the truth, ‘Then Edgar was abused?’ Upon realisation of his misplaced loyalty and trust in Edmund, Gloucester grasps his lack of discernment, ‘I stumbled when I saw.’ This is true not only for Gloucester, but for Lear too. Like the elements during the storm, Lear’s head appears to be in chaos as he cries. These tears blur his sight as his reality is distorted, and will continue to do so whilst, ‘madmen lead the blind’. It is through their afflictions that they truly become wise.
The use of deception and persuasion through masked identities is a major factor and links closely with the theme of sight. This is that of appearance and reality. This theme can be identified amongst various different points in the play. The characters wear disguises, either to hide their physical appearance or their character. We see Kent appear in disguise after being banished from the kingdom by Lear. We also see Edgar disguise himself as Tom O’Bedlam in Act 2. Here he takes liberties in a total role-reversal to achieve full affect of this ‘make-believe’ fool. He does this by presenting himself to Lear as mad. The irony in this is where Edgar is mad in appearance, Lear is mad in reality. Despite these disguises, the most effective character at mendacity within the whole of the play is Edmund. By masking his personality and persuading both his father and his brother that he is loyal to them both, he takes on false roles and beliefs similar to that of his father, ‘what should follow these eclipses’. With the ability to seduce both Goneril and Regan at the same time, Edmund also persuades Cornwall to embrace him, ‘Natures of such deep trust we shall much need’.
Within Edmund’s soliloquy an Act 1ii, themes such as nature and the antagonistic feelings that are brought about by the society’s attitude towards illegitimacy are brought to surface. Edmund believes, that nature as his goddess, gives him a ‘fierce quality’, whilst Edgar is just one of ‘a whole tribe of fops’. Edmund believes that following his nature will allow him to ‘top the legitimate’ and succeed.
With the use of Jacobean and Elizabethan fears about witchcraft, Edmund persuades Gloucester of Edgar’s guilt by playing on his fathers superstitious beliefs that are so inherent within the text, ‘Though the wisdom of nature can reason it… ‘ It is ironic that the enmity described by Gloucester as ‘unnatural dealing’, may be attributed to Edmund, who is synonymous with nature. Those perceived to be ethical characters refer to a ‘natural order’ as the basis for a conformist society. Conversely, it is those who are most natural who view their nature as a malicious anarchic force.
Integral to Edmund’s strategy and plot to gain power, is the theme of letters. Letters are used to great effect throughout the play. The most ruinous evidence against Edgar is the letter in Act 1ii that was forged by Edmund. This works to plan, as it is this letter that Edmund uses to betray his brother and gain his inheritance. In Act 3iii, a letter from France, ‘dangerous to be spoken’, is used by Edmund to implicate his father as a traitor. A similar letter is used In Act 3v when he betrays his father to become the Earl of Gloucester.
We can link the root of the theme of nothingness when we refer to Cordelia’s, ‘Nothing, my Lord’ in Act 1ii. It is this theme that we see linking the two plots together. Because of Edmund and his unscrupulous behaviour, we see the reduction of his brother fall from Edgar to a vagrant – Tom O’Bedlam. Edgar himself says, ‘Edgar I nothing am’. Linking Edgar with his father, we see Gloucester’s position of power, wealth and influence all dissipate, as he becomes powerless and blind. The ‘bleeding rings’ we can say represent the figure zero; the total of what he is now worth. Concentrating on the parallel story line, we also see the downfall and demise of Lear, as he too is reduced to ‘nothing’. From being the owner of a whole kingdom, Lear soon becomes exposed. He loses his kingship, his munificence and legacy, for ‘he hath no daughters’. Reduced to this, he becomes a solitary ‘foolish old man’. The realisation of the importance of this theme is that when authority is removed, that is when wisdom may surface, and the truth realised.
The theme of animal imagery is one of great reflection on the character roles within the play. We see the majority directed towards Lear’s daughters – depicting their unnatural cruelty. As described by Albany, ‘Tigers, not daughters.’ The animals they are contrasted with show their true nature. Goneril was described ‘sharp-toothed, like a vulture’, and Regan ‘looked black… most serpent like’. It is with these sorts of animals we make negative connotations with. Animals that are sly and devious, cunning and ruthless, full of an innate evil, which is so obviously present within these two daughters. They are also described not only as behaving like ‘monsters of the deep’, but also ‘pelican sisters’. It is these animal instincts that ultimately serve to consume them. However, within these descriptions of the sisters, we may see similarities surface when concerning Edmund. Although a fantastical creature, we see Gloucester’s last ounce of hope in Edgar’s defence in Act 1ii, when he states that Edgar ‘cannot be such a monster.’
In the final act we see Edmund acknowledge his fate and fortune by saying ‘the wheel is come full circle, I am here’. The irony here is that Edmund himself mocked his father, Gloucester, for believing in such things. Evidently so, the wheel has come full circle.
In my opinion, I believe that Act 1ii offers a foundation to which the rest of the play is built upon. It sets the base on which the plots of Lear and Edmund are constructed, and therefore its importance is irrefutable. It links all aspects of various different themes, both major and minor, together, to create what ultimately is, ‘The Tragedy of King Lear’. In tragic pathos, in dramatic force, in grandeur of sentiment and diction, Lear has no superior in all the wide range of the world’s drama. The language is sublime, and this Shakespearean tragedy has the advantage of dealing with human beings, human passions, and human frailties, especially those of the continuing complexities of the family, sibling rivalries, greed aging, power and love.
