Clothing In Macbeth And King Lear

Shakespeare's Macbeth is meant to trace the detrimental effects of rampant ambition and greed, whereas King Lear is intended to show how good intentions and generosity can reveal the true nature of humans and lead to madness. The themes are best shown through Shakespeare's use of the motif of clothing. Through the motif of clothing, corruption and treachery are shown to run rampant in Macbeth. After receiving the Thane of Cawdor’s robes and title which had been stained by Cawdor’s treachery, Macbeth succumbs to disloyalty and hubris out of his own lust for power. Likewise in another of Shakespeare's works, King Lear, clothing is used to establish the larger, underlying theme of deception and the fall from rank. After Lear gives up his title of king and has a falling out with his two eldest daughters, he strips off his own clothes, symbols of a rank he no longer has claim to. The motif of clothing is also used to …show more content…
In Macbeth, the motif is also used to demonstrate the effects of corruption on a person through the perceptions of others. On the other hand, clothing in King Lear is used to show how characters’ fall from their former ranks and delve into deception. In both Macbeth and King Lear, clothing is equated to power by using clothing and power interchangeably. Macbeth’s initial reluctance to take on a new title demonstrates clothing’s tie to power, and later clothing reveals Macbeth’s corruption through his illegitimate ascension to the position of king by revealing him to be unfit for the position he committed murder to achieve. Clothing focuses more on a fall from rank and deception in King Lear through the loss of formal wear by Lear and the use of clothing by Edgar and Kent to hide their identities from others. The motif of clothing plays a pivotal role in both Macbeth and King Lear as it serves as an essential part of Shakespeare's