Summary:
King Lear values appearances more than reality. When he cannot deal with reality he seems mad. Lear shows his "darker purpose" of human nature at the beginning of the play, by testing the love of his daughters.
In King Lear, written by William Shakespeare, the most important and emphasized theme is madness. Madness is developed by the protagonist and the tragic hero, King Lear. Lear plays a role of a father figure and the almighty King of England whose weaknesses dominate his mind. He demonstrates his madness at the beginning of the play and it develops throughout The events that lead King Lear into his downfall and madness are his desires; flattery, power, and love.
King Lear values appearances more than reality. When he cannot deal with reality he seems mad. Lear shows his "darker purpose" of human nature at the beginning of the play, by testing the love of his daughters. In Act I, Scene i, the king seems to value a flattering society. This is why he asks his daughters "which of you shall we say doth love us most" (I, i, 53), as opposed to "which of you doth love us most." This demonstrates his flattering nature because he uses the word "shall" instead of asking his daughters to express their true feelings towards him. His two older daughters take advantage of Lear by telling him lies, "I am alone felicitate in your dear Highness' love" (I, i, 78-79). His actions initially seem impervious to their lies and as a result he is overcome by their flattering remarks.
His youngest daughter and the most loved one on the other hand tells him that she loves him according to her bond and refuses to shoot "flattery bows" at her father. Cordillia's answer cuts him to the heart and Lear shows his weakness by not giving her a part of his kingdom because "nothing" comes "of nothing" (I, i, 92). Lear's character is filled with pride and when someone does not please him, his pride turns to greed and thus takes unpredictable actions against the people who respect and love him the most, "I loved her most... So be my grave my peace... Call France... Call Burgundy... my two daughters' dowers digest the third" (I, i, 125-130). The king gives away Cordillia's part of the kingdom, even though he says that he loves her the most, but his pride does not let him change his mind.
In turn, just as flattery leads King Lear to his downfall and madness, so too does power. King Lear is used to having absolute power and when he looses control of his kingdom, he begins to fall deeper into madness. After giving away his kingdom, Lear fails to understand that he cannot share the same power as he once had before. As a king, he was not used to being contradicted and when Goneril and Regan try to take away his 200 knights, Lear is reaching a new stage of madness not evidenced before. He looses patience with his two evil daughters and kneels in front of them begging for their understanding, "On my knees I beg that you'll vouchsafe me raiment, bed, and food" (II, iv, 154-155). Lear needs his knights not because of their service, but because they symbolize power and authority which he has lost. As a result of losing his knights and having no where to go, Lear is brought to inner turmoil and starts to understand the mistakes that lead him to despair and madness,
"You see me here, you gods, a poor old man,
As full of grief as age, wretched in both.
If it be you that stirs these daughters' hearts
Against their father, fool me not so much
To bear it tamely;..." (II, iv, 271-275)
The grief that Lear describes is his regret of having divided his kingdom. At this point, Lear feels powerless and descends into the storm, which represents chaos and madness, and foreshadows his own actions by saying "O fool, I shall go mad!" (II, iv, 285). This is also significant because this is the first time he is accepting the madness that has overtaken him.
Finally and most tragic of all is his desire of love. King Lear is an old man that ultimately wants to be loved. When there is no one to take care of him there is only chaos is in his mind. By Act 4, Lear is at the peak of his madness. In Act 4, Scenes I, II and III, Lear becomes quite a different man and his character has deteriorated to that of a madman. In this act there is just cause to believe that he has in fact become insane. This is evident when he talks to a mouse and tells his loyal servants that they will go to supper in the morning, "Look, look, a mouse! Peace, peace;" (IV, vi, 89) and "We'll go to supper I' th' morning" (III, vi, 83). As Lear's madness progresses even deeper, he realizes that Cordillia is the only daughter that loves him the most, while Goneril and Regan used their charms to get control over his kingdom. The more Lear falls into this ultimate state of madness, the more desperate he becomes.
From the beginning of the play his intentions were to be flattered, to have absolute power and to be loved, even if it's not true love. Having now realized that he lost all; flattery, power and love, it is only fitting that his inner turmoil turn to madness. The only redeeming quality left is the love of his daughter Cordillia. Thus in Shakespeare's King Lear, the tragic hero Lear, descends into madness due to his desires of flattery, through appearance, loss of both his physical and mental power (kingdom), and finally and most tragic of all the emotional loss of love.
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