King lear : Theme
Natural vs. Culture: Family Roles
This is an important theme in the play, as from the very first scene it brings about much of its action and relates to other key themes such as language versus action, authority, and interpretation. For instance, Edmund argues that his status as an illegitimate son is merely the consequence of abnormal social constructs. He also goes so far as to say that he is more valid than his brother Edgar because he was born pursuing their natural drives in a romantic, although deceptive, relationship, the product of two humans.
However, at the same time, Edmund disobeys the supposedly natural drive of a son to love his father and to act so unnaturally that he plans to kill his father and brother. Regan and Goneril plot against their father and sister in the same “unnatural” manner, and Goneril also plots against her husband. The play thus shows concern for family relationships and their relation with the natural versus the social.
Nature vs. Culture: Hierarchy
In a slightly different way, Lear grapples with the theme of nature versus society, seen in what has become the iconic scene on the heath. The scene is rich in interpretation, as the image of the helpless Lear is a strong one in the midst of a colossal storm. The storm on the heath, on one side, clearly represents the storm in the mind of Lear. Just as he yells, “Let not the weapons of women, waterdrops, stain the cheeks of my man!” (Act 2, scene 4), through the irony of “waterdrops,” Lear links his own teardrops with the raindrops of the storm. In this way, the scene shows that man and nature are far more in tune than the unnatural brutality of the family members depicted here indicates.
However, Lear attempts at the same time to create a hierarchy over nature and thus to distinguish himself. “He demands, for example, accustomed to his role as king: “Blow, wind, and crack your cheeks!” (Act 3, Scene 2). While the wind blows, it is obvious that it does not do so because Lear has requested it; instead, it seems that Lear is trying fruitlessly to order the storm to do what it had already decided to do. Perhaps, for this reason, Lear cries, “Here I am your slave […] / yet I call you [] (Act 3, Scene 2).
Language, Action, and Legitimacy
Although Edmund most obviously grapples with the theme of legitimacy, Shakespeare not only presents it in terms of children born out of wedlock. Instead, what “legitimacy” really means is called into question: is it just a word told by social norms, or do acts prove legitimate to a person? Edmund indicates that it’s just a word, or maybe he hopes it’s only a word. He rails against the term “illegitimate,” which means he is not Gloucester’s real son. He ends up, however, not behaving like a real son, trying to get his father killed, and succeeding in torturing and blinding him. Lear is also concerned with this theme, meanwhile. He tries to relinquish his title, but not his strength. He soon discovers, however, that language (in this case, his title) and action (his power) can not so easily be separated. It becomes evident, after all, that his daughters no longer regard him as a legitimate monarch, having inherited his title.
In a comparable vein, Lear is the one who aligns legitimate succession with being a trustworthy and caring child in the first scene. The reaction of Cordelia to Lear’s flattery request centers on her argument that she is his rightful heir because of her actions, not because of her language. “She says: “I love you no more no less according to my bond” (Act I, Scene 1). Implicit in this statement is that a good daughter loves her father intensely and unconditionally, so Lear should be assured of her affections in understanding she loves him as a daughter should, and therefore her legitimacy as both his daughter and his heir. In comparison, Regan, and Goneril are the ungrateful daughters who harshly harsh.
Perception
This theme is most clearly manifested by the blindness on the part of certain characters to knowing who, exactly, to trust—even when it seems resolutely obvious to the audience.
For example, Lear is fooled by Regan and Goneril’s flattering lies to him, and disdains Cordelia, even though it is obvious she is the most loving daughter. Shakespeare suggests that Lear is blind because of the societal rules he has come to trust, which cloud his vision of more natural phenomena. For this reason, Cordelia suggests that she loves him as a daughter should, meaning, again, unconditionally. She relies, however, on her actions to prove her words; meanwhile, Regan and Goneril rely on their words to trick him, which appeals to Lear’s social—and less “naturally-informed”—instincts.
In the same way, Lear balks when Regan’s steward Oswald calls him “My lady’s father,” instead of “king,” rejecting the steward’s familial and natural designation rather than the social one. By the end of the play, however, Lear has grappled with the dangers of trusting too much in the societal, and cries upon finding Cordelia dead, “For, as I am a man, I think this lady / To be my child Cordelia” (Act 5, Scene 1).
Gloucester is another character who is metaphorically blind. After all, he falls for Edmund’s suggestion that Edgar is plotting to usurp him when it is in fact Edmund who is the liar. His blindness becomes literal when Regan and Cornwall torture him and put out his eyes. In the same vein, he is blind to the damage he has caused by having betrayed his wife and slept with another woman, who birthed his illegitimate son Edmund. For this reason, the first scene opens up with Gloucester teasing Edmund for his illegitimacy, a theme obviously very sensitive for the often-spurned young man.
For this reason, the first scene opens with Edmund being mocked by Gloucester for his illegitimacy, a theme obviously quite sensitive to the young man who is always spurned.
