Friday, December 13, 2019
Is King Lear Nihilistic or Hopeful Free Essays
Is King Lear nihilistic or hopeful? Satisfying, hopeful, and redemptive: some critics would say that these adjectives belong nowhere near a description of King Lear. One critic, Thomas Roche, even states that the playââ¬â¢s ending is ââ¬Å"as bleak and unrewarding as man can reach outside the gates of hellâ⬠(164). Certainly, Rocheââ¬â¢s pessimistic interpretation has merit; after all, Lear has seen nearly everyone he once cared for die before dying himself. We will write a custom essay sample on Is King Lear Nihilistic or Hopeful? or any similar topic only for you Order Now Although this aspect of the play is true, agreeing with this negative view requires a person to believe that Lear learns nothing and that he suffers and dies in vain. Indeed, this is exactly what Roche believes when he states that at the playââ¬â¢s end, ââ¬Å"Lear still cannot tell good from evil . . . or true from falseâ⬠(164). This nihilistic approach, however, not only disregards many of the playââ¬â¢s moments of philosophical insight, but it also completely misinterprets Shakespeareââ¬â¢s intent. That is not to say that Lear is without fault at the end of the play; as Shakespeare surely understood, Lear is still human, and as such, he is subject to human frailty. What is most important about Lear, however, is not that he dies a flawed man but that he dies an improved man. Therefore, although King Lear might first appear ââ¬Å"bleak,â⬠Shakespeare suggests that Learââ¬â¢s life, and human life in general, is worth all of its misery because it is often through suffering that people gain knowledge about the true nature of their individual selves and about the nature of all humanity (Roche 164). From the very beginning of the play, Shakespeare suggests that King Lear has much to learn. As Maynard Mack explains in his essay ââ¬Å"Action and World in King Lear,â⬠the reader/audience is immediately invited to sense that Lear is ââ¬Å"too deeply . . . omfortable and secure in his ââ¬Ërobes and furrââ¬â¢d gownsââ¬â¢, in his rituals of authority and deference . . . and in his childish charadesâ⬠(170). In other words, there is an immediate sense that Lear is not truly aware of the harsh realities of human life. For instance, when Lear says that he has divided his kingdom into thirds for each daughter so that he can retire and ââ¬Å "Unburthened crawl toward death,â⬠he shows that he is completely lacking in common sense by assuming that his plan will go according to his will and that the transition of power will run smoothly (1. . 43). Almost instantly, Lear is proven foolish when Regan and Goneril ââ¬Å"hit togetherâ⬠and agree to ââ¬Å"do something, and in the heatâ⬠to strip their father of any power that he has remaining (1. 1. 306, 311). Mack calls this rapid string of events that follow Learââ¬â¢s hasty abdication ââ¬Å"the waiting coil of consequences [that] leaps into threatening life,â⬠bringing with it the unmistakable message that Lear was terribly wrong in choosing to reward his false-flattering daughters with the gift of his kingdom (170). Learââ¬â¢s gift to Goneril and Regan, whose quick deception shows the falseness of their affections toward their father, proves that Lear is unable to see the love, or lack thereof, that others have for him. Likewise, when he becomes enraged at Cordelia after she refuses to flatter him, Lear reveals that he, like Goneril and Regan, is unable to have altruistic love for another person when he says to Cordelia that it would have been ââ¬Å"Better thou/ Hadst not been born than not tââ¬â¢ have pleased meâ⬠(1. . 235-236). In essence, his ââ¬Å". . . power [and his love] to flattery bowsâ⬠and he is only able to love another person when that person appeals to his sense of vanity, so when those who truly do love Lear, namely Cordelia and Kent, refuse to appease his vain nature, Lear banishes them, ââ¬Å"Without grace . . . love . . . or benisonâ⬠(1. 1. 149, 266). This inability to accept love and relationships ââ¬Å"as their own reward,â⬠Mack states, is Lea rââ¬â¢s fatal flaw (170). Mack argues that relationships can lead to happiness but that they lead to heartache and despair equally as often; in order to have any good relationships, then, a person must accept others for who they are, which is something that Lear is unable and unwilling to do (Mack 170). Indeed, Lear would have been very happy living his remaining years without any meaningful knowledge about love or relationships, surrounding himself in a ââ¬Å"childish charadeâ⬠of false love and false truth; from this point forward, however, Lear will have to learn the consequences of his blindingly ignorant actions (Mack 170). The ignorance about life and human nature that Lear demonstrates in the playââ¬â¢s first scene, then, leads to his largest mistake, the mistake that serves as a turning point from which all other actions are the direct consequence. As Mack explains, because Shakespeare put the turning point at the beginning of the play, ââ¬Å"The meaning of action [in Lear] lies rather in effects than in antecedents, and particularly in its capacity, as with Lear in the opening scene, to generate energies that will hurl themselves . . . in reverberations of disorderâ⬠(170). That is, because Learââ¬â¢s fatal flaw resents itself early rather than later on in the playââ¬âas is customary for Shakespearean tragedyââ¬âthe meanings and consequences of his actions, as well as Learââ¬â¢s own thoughts/awareness, have a longer time to evolve. How the early turning point in Lear helps to emphasize Learââ¬â¢s learning experience is clarified by comparing the play with another Shakespear ean tragedy; the turning point in Othello, for example, occurs in act 3, scene 3 when the seeds of jealousy that Iago has planted throughout the first three acts finally take root inside of Othelloââ¬â¢s mind. It is not until this time that Othelloââ¬â¢s fatal flaw emerges, when, in a jealous rage, he vows that his bloody thoughts ââ¬Å"Shall nevââ¬â¢r look back . . . / Till a capable and wide revenge / Swallow them [Desdemona and Cassio] upâ⬠(3. 3. 454-457). The play is already half over before Shakespeare reveals Othelloââ¬â¢s fatal flaw, and it is not until the final scene that Othello learns how gullible he has been. In essence, Othello learns nothing from his experience; he dies in vain, humiliated and heartbroken. In Lear, on the other hand, the main action throughout the entire play revolves around Learââ¬â¢s painful suffering and his purgatorial learning experience, all stemming, of course, from his rash, ignorant behavior in the first act. In order for Lear to learn from his selfish and ignorant ways, he must first realize that he has been blind to the truth. Lear is served a cold dish of reality when Goneril and Regan disrespectfully refuse to allow their father the privilege of his noble knights, which of course, are the last symbol of his past authority and his kingly pride: GONERIL. Hear me, my lord. What needs you five and twenty? Ten? Or five? To follow in a house where twice so many à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à Have a command to tend you? REGAN. What need one? (2. 4. 259-263) Not only do these lines represent how Learââ¬â¢s daughters have contemptuously taken away his remaining power, but they also represent the loss of Learââ¬â¢s dignity by leaving him a shell of his former self, without a single conciliatory knight left to appease his sense of self-importance. Once this happens, Lear is left enraged and desperate, pridefully stating that even ââ¬Å"our basest beggars / Are in the poorest superfluousâ⬠and that he needs ââ¬Å". . . ore than nature needs,â⬠else ââ¬Å"Manââ¬â¢s life is cheap as beastââ¬â¢sâ⬠(2. 4. 263-266). In other words, Lear feels that his daughters are treating him like an animal by depriving him of his royal train. Clearly, Lear still clings to the pompous supposition that his needs are above t he needs of the ââ¬Å"basest beggarâ⬠ââ¬â¢ and he still feels like the innocent victim of his daughtersââ¬â¢ cruel behavior (2. 4. 263). Even with all of Learââ¬â¢s continuing faults, however, the seeds of knowledge are beginning to grab hold; it has been painful, but he finally sees that Goneril and Reganââ¬â¢s false tongues had blinded him from their true, unloving natures. That is, when he calls them ââ¬Å"unnatural hagsâ⬠andà à à à ââ¬Å". . . a disease thatââ¬â¢s in my flesh,â⬠he finally sees what love is not (2. 4. 277, 221). In this way, Lear has had his idealized vision of the truthââ¬âone where he is flattered, pampered, and adoredââ¬âpainfully stripped away from him; even still, it will take a purgatorial storm and subsequent repentance before Lear learns what the true meaning of love is. Fittingly, as Lear storms out of the castle and into the harsh weather, Regan states that ââ¬Å"the injuriesâ⬠that ââ¬Å"willful menâ⬠do ââ¬Å"themselves procure / Must be their own schoolmastersâ⬠(2. . 301-303). What Regan means by this is that the storm will teach Lear that he must swallow his pride, but the statement also foreshadows how Lear will learn something much more important about human nature while he suffers from the elements. In fact, it is in the rage of the storm, interspersed with his own ra ge, that Lear has his first unselfish thoughts, as is evident when he asks the Fool ââ¬Å"How dost my boy? Art cold? â⬠and he (Lear) says to him ââ¬Å"Poor Fool and knave, I have one part in my heart / Thatââ¬â¢s sorry for you yetâ⬠(3. 2. 68, 72-73). Lear further portrays the empathy that he has for others when he stands alone on the heath and, in a moment of heartfelt lucidness, laments over the houseless masses: à à à à à à à Poor naked wretches, wheresoeââ¬â¢er you are, That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides, à à à à à à à Your looped and windowed raggedness, defend you à à à à à à à From seasons such as these? (3. 4. 28-33) Not only does Lear express sincere concern for others during this soliloquy, but he also expresses regret for the way that he has treated his subjects when he says that ââ¬Å"O, I have taââ¬â¢en / Too little care of this! (3. 4. 33-34). Indeed, this is the first time in the play that Lear admits any kind of wrongdoing, and as such, it is the first time that he looks inside himself at his own soul and sees that it, like his eldest daughtersââ¬â¢ souls, is far from spotless. Following Learââ¬â¢s profo und insight on the heath, he moves into the hovel where, after meeting Edgar, who is disguised as the beggar Poor Tom, he begins to question the nature of all humanity. When Lear sees Edgarââ¬â¢s cold, shivering, and ââ¬Å"uncovered body,â⬠he asks the eternal question ââ¬Å"Is man no more than this? â⬠(3. 4. 105). When Lear says that ââ¬Å"The unaccomodated man is no more / but such a poor, bare, forked animal,â⬠he is essentially saying that human beings, like their naked bodies, are pitiable creatures (3. 4. 109-110). Likewise, when he proceeds to strip of his garments, he is making the symbolic gesture that he is no better than Poor Tom; that is, he realizes that he, too, is pitiable. Learââ¬â¢s recognition that his own body is pathetic, the literary critic Paul Jorgensen argues in his book Learââ¬â¢s Self-Discovery, is Learââ¬â¢s first insight. Jorgensen argues, ââ¬Å"self-knowledge means understanding the vileness of the fleshâ⬠; in order to attain wisdom, he asserts, people must be willing to recognize that they ââ¬Å"are born of the seed of Adamâ⬠and as such, are ââ¬Å"impure . . . and abominable before Godâ⬠(26). Shakespeare, however, does not suggest that Lear is necessarily doomed because he is the Son of Adam. Rather, the episode with Poor Tom in the hovel simply suggests that all of humanity, including its royalty, is flawed; using Learââ¬â¢s insight as an example, Shakespeare suggests that in order for people to be redeemed by God, they must first realize humankindââ¬â¢s shortcomings and learn to pity one and all. Learââ¬â¢s compassion toward Edgarââ¬â¢s frailty and his insistence that he have the company of the naked, ââ¬Å"noble philosopherâ⬠proves that he has learned more than just empathy and self-awareness; he has also learned to value his relationships with people despite their flaws, regardless of what he might gain from these relationships (3. . 175). Another example of Lear learning altruistic acceptance comes from his relationship with the Fool, who, as A. C. Bradley explains, makes ââ¬Å"incessant and cutting reminders of [Learââ¬â¢s] folly and wrongâ⬠; indeed, Lear gets nothing from the Fool other than insults, such as when the Fool suggests that L ear has ââ¬Å"a little tiny witâ⬠(Bradley 24; 3. 2. 74). Yet despite his lack of reward, Bradley argues, ââ¬Å"Lear comes in his affliction to think of others first, and to seek, in tender solicitude for his ââ¬Ëpoor boy,ââ¬â¢ the shelter he scorns for his own bare headâ⬠(24). In essence, Lear has learned how to accept his relationships as ââ¬Å"their own reward,â⬠which, as surely Mack would agree, is the first step in learning how to love (Mack 170). Clearly, the relationship that Lear has with his Fool is unusual; in fact, the Foolââ¬â¢s role in the play is so unusual that one critic, Jan Kott, argues in his essay ââ¬Å"King Lear, or Endgameâ⬠that the Foolââ¬â¢s character represents the theme of the entire play, namely, ââ¬Å"the decay and fall of the worldâ⬠(152). In an absurd world where no action has any real meaning, Kott states, the Fool is the only character to realize that ââ¬Å"the only true madness is to regard this world as rationalâ⬠(167). Certainly, what Kott says about the Fool is correct, to a point. The soliloquy he gives while in the hovel in which he prophesizes that ââ¬Å"the realm of Albionâ⬠will ââ¬Å"come to great confusionâ⬠certainly proves that the Fool does represent an absurdist viewpoint, but Kott misinterprets Shakespeareââ¬â¢s intent when he states that the play is itself absurd (3. 2. 91-92). One must remember that Shakespeare makes the Fool disappear at the end of act 3 for a reason. Surely, life is meaningless during the first half of the play when Lear blindly lives his life without truly learning anything about the nature of humanity, but as Lear suffers in the third act, he also learns how to feel for the weak and houseless poor, to ââ¬Å"discern the falseness of flattery and the brutality of authority,â⬠and to ââ¬Å"pierce through rank and raiment to the common humanity beneathâ⬠(Bradley 24). As a result of learning, Shakespeare suggests, the worldââ¬âand Learââ¬â¢s part in itââ¬âceases to be absurd; consequently, the Fool, and his philosophy, quietly disappear. It is by no coincidence that Learââ¬â¢s suffering and subsequent learning in the third act occur during a miserable storm. In fact, Shakespeare uses the storm as a physical representation of the raging storm of emotions that occurs in Learââ¬â¢s mind; that is, the ââ¬Å"contentious stormâ⬠symbolizes and embellishes what Lear himself calls ââ¬Å"The tempest in my mindâ⬠(3. 4. 6,12). Likewise, it is by no coincidence that Goneril, Regan and Cornwall grow worse from their success; they all remain warm, dry, and comfortable during the storm and they have all gained great power, but not one of them learns anything during the course of the play. Indeed, as Bradley explains, ââ¬Å"The warm castle becomes a room in hell and the storm swept heath a sanctuaryâ⬠(33). The power of comfort to corrupt is apparent several times during the play, but it is perhaps most shocking when Cornwall gouges out Gloucesterââ¬â¢s eyes and proceeds to stomp on them, telling the old man that ââ¬Å"Upon these eyes of thine Iââ¬â¢ll set my footâ⬠(3. 7. 69). It is in these lines that the reader/audience sees how powerful, and indeed untouchable, people feel when they have all of the comforts of the world to support them (3. . 69). Cornwall, like Lear at the beginning of the play, feels invincible, but unlike Lear, he never learns that he is ââ¬Å"not ague / proofâ⬠(4. 6. 105-106). Therefore, by contrasting Cornwall, and the other ââ¬Å"badâ⬠characters, to Lear, Shakespeare not only reinforces the idea that knowledge and redemption come to those who suffer through physical and emotional storms, but he also suggests tha t people who have power and comfort often feel that they are superhuman and have nothing left to learn (Bradley 33). Of course, the eventual demise of all of the wickedly comfortable proves otherwise. In addition to the evil characters acting as foils to Lear, Gloucesterââ¬â¢s symbolic blindness and subsequent literal blindness also help to emphasize how Lear gains knowledge through suffering. Indeed, Gloucester acts as a foil to Lear throughout the play: both are initially blind to the actions of their wicked children, both disown their loyal children, and, in turn, both learn the truth in very painful ways. Until his blinding, Gloucester believes that Edgar is a ââ¬Å"strange and fastened villainâ⬠who has betrayed him and that Edmund is a ââ¬Å"loyal . . . boy,â⬠but the quickness with which Gloucester realizes Edmundââ¬â¢s true intent after Cornwall has blinded him, screaming ââ¬Å"O my follies! Then Edgar was abusedâ⬠strongly implies that, like Lear, Gloucester had to suffer in order to see the light (2. 1. 79-86; 3. 7. 92-93). In this way, Shakespeare uses irony to reinforce the idea that those who have eyes are often blind to the truth and those who suffer often see more truth than their bodies and minds can handle. Yet another person one might compare Lear to is his loving and loyal daughter, Cordelia, who is so angelic that her tears are like ââ¬Å"holy waterâ⬠that from ââ¬Å"heavenly eyesâ⬠flow (4. 3. 31). In essence, she is the ââ¬Å"goodliestâ⬠of human figures and a model to which Lear can aspire to become more like (4. 3. 17). Indeed, Lear shows that he has become more like his blessed daughter after he reconciles with her and tells her that ââ¬Å"When thou dost ask me blessing, Iââ¬â¢ll kneel down / And ask of thee forgiveness . . .â⬠(5. 3. 10-11). This humble, indeed shameful statement seems not to have come from the same selfish, egotistical king who banishes his daughter for not proving her love to him, and in fact, it does not. Lear is a changed man. What his purgatory has prepared him for, his reunion with Cordelia, the playââ¬â¢s Christ-figure, has set in stone. Lear has finally and completely learned how to love, and for that, he is forgiven and completely redeemed. There are some critics, of course, who believe that Lear does not learn how to love, or learn anything else for that matter. In his essay ââ¬Å"ââ¬ËNothing Almost Sees Miraclesââ¬â¢: Tragic Knowledge in King Lear,â⬠Roche even argues that Shakespeare intended Lear to be a ââ¬Å"total failure, in fact and in visionâ⬠(168). Roche continues by stating that at the end of the play, Lear ââ¬Å"sees nothingâ⬠because ââ¬Å"every gesture of his love is countered by an equal and opposite gesture of hatredâ⬠(164). Indeed, Roche is correct when he states that Lear is still flawed at the end of the play. After all, he still feels like a victim to Goneril and Reganââ¬â¢s cruel behavior and he is still vengeful, as is evident when he proudly states to Cordeliaââ¬â¢s corpse that ââ¬Å"I killed the slave that was a-hanging theeâ⬠(5. 3. 276). Even in his defense of Learââ¬â¢s knowledge, Jorgensen states that ââ¬Å"Lear is still pathetically unwise in worldly matters at the end of the play,â⬠but he continues by stating that none of this matters because Lear ââ¬Å"has learned that which, especially for a dying man, is all-importantâ⬠(7). That is, Lear has learned about the meaning of love, the pitiable frailty of the human form, and the miseries of the unfortunate. In essence, he has learned what it means to be a human instead of a king. Therefore, it does not matter that Lear still has faults because his suffering has taught him eternal truthsââ¬âtruths that are worthy of his redemption. In the end, King Lear almost ceases to be tragic (Bradley 32). Certainly, Learââ¬â¢s suffering is severe, but Shakespeare shows that it is Learââ¬â¢s suffering that leads to his learning and his subsequent redemption. Prior to Learââ¬â¢s painful banishment, he is a pampered, flattered king living a false life, full of false love. It is excruciating for Lear to face that his life has been 80 years of lies, but in order to learn the truth, he must first suffer through the pain, and as Shakespeare clearly shows, it is better to learn through suffering than to remain comfortable and ignorant. Therefore, Learââ¬â¢s life is worth all of the agonies it incurs; after all, it is only after Lear begins to suffer that he truly begins to live. How to cite Is King Lear Nihilistic or Hopeful?, Essay examples
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