“Let us understand that the ultimate power or order is 'moral' to mean that it does not show itself indifferent to good and evil, but akin to good and alien from evil.” (A.C. Bradley) The plot of the play is primarily about good versus evil. The first action of the play shows that hierarchy is breaking apart and order imperiled. Lear abdicates, with evasive stipulations, and divides his kingdom. His youngest and fondest daughter, Cordelia asserts her will against his. In a tirade, Lear banishes her and his loyal follower, Kent, who had tried to stay his rashness. His two elder daughters, Regan and Goneril, now conspire against him; and in the second scene, as if though a spell of corruption has fallen upon the kingdom, the Earl of King Lear, Gloucester learns of the supposed treachery of his favorite son, Edger. These disorderly events form the basis for chaotic happenings throughout the play. How is moral order to prevail over these actions? Those who become or who are already righteous shall prevail (though that does not necessarily mean that they will live). Firstly, through his madness and “blindness,” Lear finally realizes who truly loves him and what mistakes he has made. Though he ultimately dies in the end, Lear does not pass away without knowing that he is still loved by his daughter Cordelia. As for Gloucester, though he is physically blinded by Cornwall, he is now able to "see" what is really going on. He recognizes that it is Edmund who is conspiring and Edger who loved him. Those who remain immoral until the end (Edmund, through his conspiracy against his father and brother, Regan and Goneril through their treachery against their father, King Lear) ultimately lead themselves to their own demise. Albany sums it up well when he says, “"All friends shall taste / The wages of their virtue and all foes / The cup of their deservings" (5, iii, 301-303). Despite the fact that immorality and disorder are quite dominant throughout the play, when nearing the denouement, moral order seems to be restored.
Although the plot shows how order is disrupted and then restored, it is the characters that better personify Bradley’s idea of moral order. The main character, Lear best exemplifies this idea. As the play proceeds, Regan and Goneril rise in status in the Kingdom, while Lear's presence and authority as King becomes insignificant. This is an indication that order is disrupted because, traditionally the oldest person in the family is in control. Only when the King dies do his children take over his throne. Lear's insignificance is shown in a conversation with Oswald, a servant to Goneril.
Lear: Who am I, sir?
Oswald: My Lady’s father.
Lear: ‘My Lady’s father’! My lord’s knave! (1, iv, 74-76)
Lear is greatly insulted by that comment, as he is the King of England, not just his daughter's father. Oswald's comment suggests that Goneril has a higher rank than Lear. Lear's insignificance is a result of his own actions. When he banished Cordelia and Kent, he made himself vulnerable to Goneril and Regan's conspiracy, which was indicated in their conversation.
“Pray you let us hit together. If our father
carry authority with such disposition as he
bears, this last surrender of his will
but offend us.” (1, i, 322-324)
Predicting that their father poses a possible threat to them, Goneril and Regan plot against their father so he becomes helpless like a young child. This reversal of characters, that is, Lear is now the child, and Regan and Goneril are now the rulers, is clearly disorder within the characters. How does Lear come to the realization that he is being duped by his daughters and that he must retain order within his family? As reiterated before, only in Lear’s madness can he “see” what is really going on. While in the farmhouse (Act 3, Sc 6), Lear puts his daughters on “trial.” Though he is on the brink of insanity, he is able to “see” what his daughters have been doing to him. However, Lear does not realize that he must retain order within the family, but in the end the wicked daughters are punished harshly for their actions and that leads Lear to come to some sort of inner peace. In a way, moral order was restored. Regan and Goneril are no longer in power and Lear dies knowing that Cordelia still loved him. The character, King Lear confirms Bradley’s statement that, “The ultimate power in the tragic world is a moral order.”
If order is important to a Kingdom, so is the ability to maintain that order. As demonstrated in the play King Lear, the setting, the character Lear, and plot all contribute to Bradley’s idea that moral order is supreme in the tragic world. Although one may argue that, King Lear cannot be used to justify Bradley’s statement because of the “innocent” deaths, it is these innocent deaths which further support the fact that moral order is supreme. The Phrygian Stoic philosopher, Epictetus said it best, “Since it is order which shapes and regulates all other things, it ought not itself to be left in disorder” (Epictetus)
Works Cited
Bradley, A.C. Shakespearean Tragedy. London: Macmillan, 1905
Doe, John. “Open Quote” Bartelby.com
Doncaster, Sarah. "Discuss the Representation of Nature in Shakespeare King Lear." Shakespeare Online. 04 May. 2000
Epictetus. Discourses. Boston: Harvard University Press, 1928
Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Oregon: University of Oregon, 1997
Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998