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King Lear Essay - With close reference to the language and imagery in this extract, examine Shakespeare’s presentation of Lear’s state of mind at this point in the play$10.40
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King Lear Essay - With close reference to the language and imagery in this extract, examine Shakespeare’s presentation of Lear’s state of mind at this point in the play
This document is an essay for the GCSE and A-Level text, King Lear by Shakespeare. I personally created these revision notes while studying for my A-Levels between . I achieved a grade A* in English Literature, which is reflected in these notes. They are perfect for last minute revision, or if you ...
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With close reference to the language and imagery in this extract, examine Shakespeare’s
presentation of Lear’s state of mind at this point in the play
In this extract from Act four, Scene six in the play, Lear seems to have reached the pinnacle of his
madness. His speech has a ranting tone and there appears to be a strong focus on the ideas of
lust, evil and destruction, particularly in relation to women, highlighting Shakespeare’s point that
Lear has finally lost his mind.
Shakespeare begins this soliloquy by having Lear state “Ay, every inch a king”. The declarative
statement here could be suggesting that Lear still believes he holds his title and power as the
monarch, which could be used to argue for his deteriorating state of mind as it’s mad for him to still
believe he has his kingly status after all that has happened. Alternatively, by really focusing on the
quantity of his kingship, Lear could be seen here to be mocking himself. It could be read to have a
sarcastic tone, highlighting his self loathing and demonstrating that he now realises his morality
and lack of status. Perhaps this could even be used to argue against the idea that he is mad, as he
appears to have a sense of clarity for his situation in this interpretation.
Shakespeare also depicts explicitly Lear’s lack of perception as he states, “Thou shalt not die. Die
for adultery?” the rhetorical question showing how he is not understanding the irony of the
situation. Perhaps it’s also used to foreshadow Gloucester’s death as a result of having Edmund,
his illegitimate child, further highlighting Lear’s ignorance and lack of perception towards the
situation. This is also shown further on in the extract as Lear laments that “Gloucester’s bastard
son was kinder to his father than my daughters”, dramatic irony being used here by Shakespeare
to emphasise Lear’s blindness towards the truth of the situation in his desperate state of mind.
That last quote also links perhaps to the idea of Lear seemingly subverting societal values in his
current state. In seeing that illegitimate children are kinder than those conceived in wedlock, Lear
states “Let copulation thrive” emphasising that people should now ignore the morals of society and
do as they please. In turning his back on traditional values due to his turbulent state of mind,
perhaps he’s seeing what should actually be, and that the rules of society have been wrong all
along.
This idea could be linked to the idea of social justice, and that in his state of madness, Lear is
gaining clarity about the society in which they live. By using animal imagery perhaps Shakespeare
shows Lear to have some awareness of social justice. Lear says “the small gilded fly” and with the
adjective ‘gilded’ meaning ‘golden’ perhaps this is a reference to the rich and wealthy, also
referencing his speech later on in the play about gold being able to hide sins. Therefore, perhaps
his madness is bringing about a clearer state of mind as his judgement isn’t clouded by his status
as king.
This extract also has a strong focus on the evil of women in general, which may show just how
much the situation with his daughters has affected his mental state. Shakespeare appears to have
him group women together as one and take on an almost misogynistic point of view and he states
that “down from the waist they are centaurs, though women all above”. This focus on mythological
imagery also links to the idea that with women “there’s Hell, there’s darkness” creating the idea
women are similar to the devil and linking to the idea that all evil that has been created has come
from women. In women, you discover hell which is something that comes from his experiences
with his daughters, showing just how affected he is by the whole situation.
Finally, towards the end of the extract, Shakespeare creates a paradox as the language moves
from that of death and destruction to that of new life. Lear states “burning, scolding, stench,
consumption” to describe the evil that women surround you with, and this quick change of focus
could perhaps suggest that Lear is confused and has a muddled state of mind. He starts to
contradict himself here which could highlight his madness and demonstrate his lack of mental
awareness after suffering for so long, which is also furthered here as in the extract, Lear abandons
iambic pentameter, demonstrating his incoherence.
How far would you agree that in King Lear “Shakespeare shows his audience that it is the
mad who are sane and the sane who are mad”?
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