King Lear

Lear see’s himself as man above those around him, his understanding of life and of nature give him justification to act as he pleases, he is the king. He has a sense of patriarchy and possession over every character in the play. During his rant, Lear revokes his kinship with Cordelia by stating that he no longer claims ownership over her blood. This applies a strong sense of ascendency and control; not only does he see her as his property, he simply discards of her and her legitimacy as he pleases. This is certainly a matter of social standing, but not all are so lucky as the king; Edmund is lowborn, even as the son of an Earl. He is illegitimate, and though he was still raised by his loving father along side his brother he cannot escape his …show more content…
Asking his daughters how much they love him was perhaps an attempt to fuel his high self-esteem and express his possession of them. When Cordelia rationalizes his question and challenges his confidence, he swears his hatred of her to the universe—from the heavens “sacred radiance of the sun”, to the gods who reside and rule over the universe “the mysteries of Hectate” (likely Greek goddess Hekate). To refer to the sun, the life essential celestial body which casts its gaze over all life on earth, followed by a goddess whose knowledge and power are beyond human comprehension says that to Lear they are similar in a way—the forces that sway the course of the universe. This gives some insight to Lear’s worldview and is an example of Lear’s sense of superiority, that he may swear on such great concepts. Comparable to his attempt to command the storm “Blow, wind, and crack your cheeks! Rage, blow, You cataracts and hurricanoes …” (scene 8 line 1), he believes his opinion or desires matter to the forces of nature itself. He see’s nature as being dictated by the gods and the science of astrology. This also suggests Lear’s temperament as he increases the significance with each entity he swears on: the sun, then a deity, then absolutely every fibre of the universe! He is dramatic in the escalation of his …show more content…
According to Edmund, humans are inherently “goatish” as in devilish or ungodly. He mocks society for holding the belief that the universes influence may be responsible for this, that people do not truly make their own decisions—that one’s nature or personality and actions may be predetermined by constellations. His contempt held towards society is certainly due at least in part to prescribed status as a bastard, he is bitter towards those who accept astrology and “nature” possibly because they accept his base status. His tittle of bastard is diminished more by the alignment of celestial bodies during his conception and birth, allegedly making him “…rough and lecherous …”. It seems like he agrees with this, but not that this is a matter of destiny. Considering his violent action towards his family and his infidelity between Goneril and Reagan he certainly does abide to his birth