Nature is not a mere theme in William Shakespeare's King Lear; it is the foundation of the entire play. The concept of nature is articulated throughout the whole play but the only natural occurrence (pertaining to earth's atmosphere) happens towards the end of act two (2) scene four (4): a storm [and a tempest]. At this moment in the play, Lear, Goneril and Regan are in Gloucester’s castle. In this scene, the three (3) are in the midst of a feud and Lear goes into a rage (pursuant to the 'divine order' during the Elizabethan period, the problems within their family dynamic are completely disordered). As Lear progressively descends into madness, a storm is progressively descending outside of the castle. Goneril and Regan order to have the castle gates closed and they make sure that their father stays outside in the storm. Prior to leaving the
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Lear argues that human beings should not be limited to what is strictly necessary for them [in terms of survival]. If human beings were limited to only [strict] necessities, then the life of a human being will be nothing more than the life of an animal: “Man's life's as cheap as beast's.”2 This speech is extremely pivotal within the play; it is so pivotal, that even within the speech itself Lear endures a [mental] turning point. After his demand of the necessity of having many knights with him, Lear comes to a realization. In actuality, he does not need one (1) knight let alone one hundred (100) knights. All that he needs is patience. “You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need!”3. This is a moment of self recognition4. Lear realizes that he compared what he actually needed with something that merely masked what was truly essential for him. A genuine moment of insight in the play is when Lear says: “You see me here, you gods, a poor old man, / As full of grief as age; wretched in
Lear argues that human beings should not be limited to what is strictly necessary for them [in terms of survival]. If human beings were limited to only [strict] necessities, then the life of a human being will be nothing more than the life of an animal: “Man's life's as cheap as beast's.”2 This speech is extremely pivotal within the play; it is so pivotal, that even within the speech itself Lear endures a [mental] turning point. After his demand of the necessity of having many knights with him, Lear comes to a realization. In actuality, he does not need one (1) knight let alone one hundred (100) knights. All that he needs is patience. “You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need!”3. This is a moment of self recognition4. Lear realizes that he compared what he actually needed with something that merely masked what was truly essential for him. A genuine moment of insight in the play is when Lear says: “You see me here, you gods, a poor old man, / As full of grief as age; wretched in