Oral Commentary and Analysis: King Lear Act 4 Scene 6

        This leads us to the theme of power which also plays an important role in this particular passage as it is the reason behind Lear’s madness and realization of the situation. Indeed, his loss of power and betrayal of his daughters lead to his madness, a motif in the play, that occupies a central part and is linked with both chaos and unseen wisdom. Lear’s monologue depicts the transformation of his mindset, thus, the turmoil in his mind reflects the turmoil that has fallen upon his kingdom.  Although in this extract Lear seems to say meaningless things, he swiftly moves on to speak of significant subjects, which he does, in lines 115-118. Here, we see recognition in Lear’s mind, as he understands the “sweet-talking” his daughters did earlier in the play. Despite the flattery, he now believes it is dangerous to a man of high authority. He portrays Goneril with a white beard, in which she assumes the authority of her father, thus Lear claims she has inverted chain of being. In Shakespeare’s days, women were of lower class and the fact that Goneril now has more power than Lear, demonstrates that the chain of being has been inverted. The white beard in this context symbolizes knowledge, for which becomes the guise of Goneril’s rule. He uses strong imagistic words, “rain”, “wind” and ”thunder” to proclaim that he cannot command these things for he is “not ague-proof,” hence realizing he is not perfect.

By the end of the monologue, we see that Lear comes to recognition and previously withheld information is revealed to Lear through organic imagery, resulting in the discovery of the truth of his situation, which sets a decisive change in the course for Lear. Due to this realization of his wrong doings, the reader can foreshadow the events of catharsis that will emerge later in the play. In fact, there was indeed catharsis by the end of the play, when everyone in the play dies, including Lear.  This passage has great importance in the play because it sets a turning point and changes the course of Lear’s path. Clearly, it is true that in this monologue Lear expresses his madness and insanity due to the loss of power, which was affected by the excessive adultery and sexuality of his two daughters. Shakespeare thus enhances these themes of power, gender and sexuality through the proper use of literary devices and rhetorical schemes.