"To give away thy land, / Come place him here by me / Do thou for him stand. / The sweet and bitter fool / will presently appear," (I, iv, 136-140)
Although the fool blatantly calls the King a fool for giving up his land, Lear mildly responds with,
“Does thou call me fool, boy?"
Another example of the Fool’s wisdom is when he gives these words of advice to Lear:
“Have more than thou showest,
Speak less than thou knowest,
Lend less than thou owest,
Ride more than thou goest,
Learn more than thou trowest,
Set less than thou throwest;
Leave thy drink and thy whore,
And keep in-a-door,
And thou shall have more
Than two tens to a score.”(I, iv)
Through his rhyme and language he is able to convey his wisdom to Lear without him being offended. If anyone else had delivered this criticism to Lear, this would have resulted in the King becoming violently angry, as with the case of Kent in Act 1.
The fool is also wise in that he realizes he is the only source of wisdom to Lear, therefore, he chooses to stay by his side when he says, "but I will tarry, the fool will stay."
The themes of madness and wisdom are very complex in the play, because characters such as Lear show signs of both characteristics and there is no clear relation between the two. Although the fool is never seen again after Act 3, Lear shows more signs of wisdom, as he becomes more insane. For example, when Lear reunites with Cordelia, he states,
"I am a very foolish fond old man." (IV, vii, 59)
The fact that he acknowledged his own foolishness and madness for neglecting his daughter proves the presence of his wisdom. He later recognized that Cordelia had a right to be angry with him when he states,
"I know you do not love me; for your sisters / Have (as I do remember) done me wrong. / You have some cause, they have not."(IV, vii)
This shows great wisdom, because he has finally identified which of his daughters truly loves him, something he could not do in the earlier acts, which is ironic due to his increasing madness.
As I mentioned in my first quote by Kim Pathenroth, characters turned mad after ensuing their own perceived acts of wisdom. Two examples of this are present in the actions of Edmund. In his plan to steal the inheritance of Gloucester, Edmund tries to use his wisdom to his advantage. In reality, these ambitions to attain Gloucester’s wealth actually made him mad. He also shows this same personality after he won the affections of Goneril and Regan and said,
“To both these sisters have I sworn my love;
Each jealous of the other, as the stung
Are of the adder. Which of them shall I take
Both? One? Or neither? Neither can be enjoyed,
If both remain alive…” (V, i)
Again, Edmunds ambitions to acquiring wealth have put him in a predicament which resulted in his madness. Throughout the play, Edmund’s sole goal was to become wealthy. These ambitions caused him to go mad, because he was not able to enjoy things that his life had to offer.
Madness or Wisdom?
There were also characters in King Lear which did not act upon their own personal agendas of greed. The most notable are Cordelia and Kent. These two characters never abandoned their personal values, and beliefs, and were never phased by pressure from other characters. Depending on the interpretation of the reader, views may vary on the madness and wisdom of the actions of these two characters.
In Act 1, Cordelia’s refusal to comply with Lear’s “test of affection” is one of these examples. (Class I have a question for you: How many of you think Cordelia should have lied to Lear to obtain the inheritance? How many of you think her actions were wise when sticking to her values and thinking of the bigger picture?) Cordelia’s failure to flatter her egotistic father can be seen as both mad and wise. Her actions can be seen as mad, because she lost all her father’s wealth, and she was banished from Lear’s kingdom. On the other hand, her actions can be seen as wise, because she gained the true love of France. When Cordelia refused to participate in the love test, she was not concerned with the short-term happiness of her father’s wealth. She was more concerned with staying honest and staying true to herself. She could not possibly live her life with the conscience that she had lied to her father just to obtain wealth. Indeed, she had different values than her two other sisters. Cordelia’s self-respect and integrity can be seen as wise, because she knew wealth was not the primary goal of life. Also, due to her wise actions, Cordelia received something Goneril and Regan never did; a lover who appreciated her for what she was, and no more. In his proposal to Cordelia, France says,
“Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich being poor,
Most choice forsaken and most loved despised,
Thee and thy virtues here I seize upon.
Be it lawful I take up what's cast away.
Gods, gods! 'Tis strange that from their cold'st neglect
My love should kindle to inflamed respect.”
After that being said, I would like to ask the same question again. Who thinks Cordelia should have lied to Lear? Who thinks she made the right decision?
Again, this proves the subjectivity of Cordelia’s wisdom.
Kent’s honesty also results in his banishment from the kingdom of King Lear. As previously stated, Kent did not possess the same level of wisdom with his words then the fool did. Although both characters are blunt and honest, Kent often delivered his criticism untimely and harshly. Examples of his harsh words were, "When majesty falls to folly", and he refers to Lear’s actions as "hideous rashness." Lear’s wisdom can be seen through this following quote where he criticizes Lear:
“This hideous rashness. Answer my life my judgment,
Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least,
Nor are those empty-headed whose love sounds
Reverb no hollowness.”
Although Kent’s words to Lear are wise, the manor and timing in which he presented the criticism is not. Kent said this line to Lear when he was already angry, and this did not help change Lear’s perception on the issue. Kent’s failure to appease Lear can also be considered as mad. Kent knew Lear was very stubborn and angry, yet he still decided to follow through with his blunt criticism. Kent shows signs of madness, because he does not acknowledge the nature of Lear’s personality before speaking. His bluntness and honesty ultimately cost him his spot in the kingdom, because Lear saw Kent’s actions as disrespectful, and he did not accept his views.
