Another way in which this rashness is shown is in Lear’s attitude to the human race. When Lear is yelling out to the storm he says “Into her womb convey sterility.” This horrified me because he is asking for his daughter to become sterile, which would mean no grandchildren to carry on the genes or family name. Lear takes this extreme dislike of woman even further by accusing all women has being evil. Lear expresses his view that the vagina is a “sulphurous pit” because it allows the birth of children. Since Lear has been betrays by his children he blames women for bringing evil into the world by having children. I find it appalling that the words “hell” and “darkness” are also used because these words are commonly associated with evil. Lear seems to be suggesting that women are the cause for the world’s evil but Lear forgets that it isn’t children in general that are evil, it van be the way the are brought up by the parents. Lear’s misanthropy to the extreme by saying to the storm “crack Nature’s moulds, all germens spill at once” This makes Lear appear insane and erratic because is asking for the end of the entire human race all because of the mistakes of his past. Lear is unable to cope with the consequences of his actions and therefore finds it easier to put the blame on everyone else and end everything. Shakespeare creates an animosity towards Lear because he is asking for everyone else to take the punishment for his mistakes.
Forlornly, Lear begins to descend into a downward spiral of insanity and irrationality. With this insanity Shakespeare makes the audience feel an overwhelming sense of sympathy for Lear because this descent back into insanity was inevitable due to the errors of his past. There was no chance of ever leaving his past behind and the pressure of this only forced him further back to the irrational man he was before. In act three scene six after the storm when Lear is imagining he his in a court room putting his daughters on trial he says, “I’ll see their trial this honourable assembly”. There is no assembly only Edgar, Kent and Gloucester who are in no state to be an assembly anyway. Then Lear says, “I here take my oath before her there…why hast thou let her escape.” Lear actually believed she was there and he could see her. Shakespeare makes the audience feel sympathy or Lear because he has come to such a state he is beginning to imagine. I feel a sense of relief once Lear realises he needs help. Lear says “let me have surgeons, I am cut to th’ brains”. I was repulsed by this image of surgeons cutting up this delicate brain which as gone through so much self-discovery and change. It is an upsetting thought that an amazing organ of thought could be destroyed in the slice of a knife. When Lear awakens again he is still mentally and emotionally shattered. He feels “bound upon a wheel of fire”. I interpreted the wheel as Lear’s problems and he is “bound” to them because he cannot erase his past, it is with him forever and the fire his the consequences burning away any chance of a peaceful future. Lear doesn’t even wish to carry on living because he is so haunted by his past. I feel sympathy for Lear because he is willing to drink poison from his own daughter because he feels he has done her so wrong. Yet Cordelia is willing to forgive Lear. Shakespeare wants to remind the audience that true love will always stand firm against the tests of time and emerge stronger still.
Even King Lear’s sudden wisdom is extreme. Shakespeare portrays Lear in a way that encourages the audience to question society and justice. When Lear is discussing justice he puts forward a thought provoking idea of how the “strong lance of justice” breaks so easily at the rich because thy can “Plate sins with gold”. On the other hand “a pigmy’s straw does pierce” the poor so easily because they have nothing or little to protect them. This phrase brings to the surface the terrible flaws of our justice system which is meant to offer a fair trial but because the poor are unable to afford the best defence they are easier to incriminate. Lear has become insightful since his ordeal with his daughters. He also realises that he too has mistreated the poor in act three scene five Lear says, “I have taken too little care of this”. I feel a sense of warmth towards Lear because he has made the difficult step of realising and admitting to his mistakes. Lear also questions the way we react towards people in power. Lear states that even “a dog’s obeyed in office”. This brought a most unusual image to my mind of a dog sat in a throne wearing a crown. The word dog is used to exaggerate how we treat people of power. Most people just accept the ruler’s decision. Therefore what they say must be right. I found this statement powerful because it is true even in today’s society. An example of this could be the war on Iraq. Some people believe the government only agreed to the war because George Bush held such a high position of power, the president of the USA. George Bush was helped very much in his political career by his father, who was a former president during the last Gulf War and who also backed his campaign for president. George Bush is not believed to be highly educated and a wise intellectual, but he was helped in several ways. He also had a lot of money. Which can have a very strong influence on people has already mentioned by Lear earlier on about justice. These things do not necessarily make George Bush a great leader but the influence of them is stronger. It was clear most people disagreed with the war, yet it still went ahead.
Lear also has moments of extreme honesty. Lear realises that when the thunder would not peace at his bidding, “there he found’em”. Lear has realised that all along he was Lead to believe that he was all powerful and he could do anything he desired has king. Now Lear realises he is “not ague-proof” and he has made terrible decisions in the past. He has changed from being self-centred to self-aware in such a short period of time. I feel a sense of relief that he has saves himself from his arrogance but I also feel sorrow because the damage is done. Again Shakespeare presents Lear in a way that demonstrates the importance of our past decisions. For Lear the most damaging decision was dividing his kingdom between his daughters. The way he disclaimed Cordelia and how he treated friends. When Gloucester Asks Lear if he may kiss his hand Lear replies, “Let me wipe it first, it smells of mortality”. I find it unusual that Lear says “it smells of mortality” because you can’t actually smell mortality it is just something we are. Lear is feeling vulnerable because he no longer processes the power e once did and he has discovered it so quickly. He now feels more exposed to danger that he was once protected from.
Shakespeare captivates the audience even more with Lear’s extreme emotional bravery in act five scene three when Lear enters with Cordelia in his arms. An atmosphere of sorrow is created because the audience know she is dead and know the tremendous pain Lear must be feeling for the reason that he has only just started to rebuild his relationship with her. I admire Lear for his emotional strength to hold his dead daughter in his arms so soon after being reunited with her because he sees her dead knowing she is “gone forever”. With this scene Shakespeare encourages the audience to realise that no matter how much we change it doesn’t mean our past never happened. We may regret the past later when it is too late. For Lear this means his decision to “disclaim all paternal care” to Cordelia because he was not capable of knowing what would happen in the future. Lear is deeply offended when Albany, Edgar and Kent do not show emotion to Cordelia’s death. Again Lear goes to an emotional extreme and yells that if he had their eyes and tongues he would use them so “That Heaven’s vault should crack”. The use of the word “crack” makes a strong impact on the audiences’ emotions when they realise that Lear’s love is so intense he feels capable of defeating the unknown powers of Heaven. This reveals the incredible change in Lear and reveals that he really is a willing and kind-hearted man. Strangely, I feel a sense of fear towards Lear because he seems merciless and uncompromising when it comes to seeking revenge for hurting someone he loves. Another word which I found powerful was “vault” because vaults are strong containers that are very tough to break. They can only be opened by a code. I viewed this as Cordelia’s death being the box which has trapped Lear inside with no way because Cordelia’s life is the code, but she is gone. Without this code Lear cannot open the vault yet he feels he could open it with his emotions alone. This shows that Lear is a man of great mental strength to believe that he could break open a vault that no one else could. My admiration for Lear deepens has his true character begins to emerge from the emotionless Lear. Shakespeare wants to show the audience Lear is capable of emotional strength but years of being King is what made him arrogant.
Shakespeare presents Lear as a man of many extremes, encouraging the audience to question people in power and how they affect society. The interesting way in which Shakespeare order’s Lear’s many extreme characteristics is important in emphasising these questions. The way Lear changes from arrogant and selfish to caring and self-aware moves. The audience is so moved by the transformation in his character, it makes us begin to question ourselves because if someone was once so arrogant can become so wise we too should consider trying to improve the world for the better.