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Although it is never too late to learn, those lessons learned in old age are the most difficult and the most costly. In his play KING LEAR, Shakespeare illustrates that wisdom does not necessarily come with age. The mistakes that Lear and Gloucester make leave them vulnerable to disappointment and suffering at a time in their lives when both should be enjoying peace and contentment. Although both Lear and Gloucester achieve wisdom before they die, they pay a dear price for having lived life blindly.
Lear and Gloucester both illustrate that wisdom does not always come with age. Lear asks his three daughters to express their love for him in public. Both Goneril and Regan have no problem competing for his love, but when it is Cordelia s turn she refuses to compete because she feels, she can t express the way she feels through words. This refusal enrages Lear, hurts his pride, and causes him to make the foolish mistake of disowning Cordelia: ...
for we Have no such daughter, nor shall ever see That face of her again. Therefore be gone Without our grace, our love, our benison. (I, i, ll 261 - 264) Because of Lear s high position in society, he is supposed to be able to distinguish the good from the bad; unfortunately, his lack of sight prevented him to do so. Lear s first act of blindness is his foolish need of displayed affection by his daughters. First, he was easily deceived by his two eldest daughter s lies, then he was unable to see the reality of Cordelia s true love for him, and as a result, banished her from his kingdom. Lear s most loyal follower Kent, notices Lear s mistake, and attempts to make Lear see how foolish of an action he has just executed. Kent s effort to steer Lear in the right direction backfires.
Lear is offended by Kent s attempt to make him go against his word and reverse the disown ment on Cordelia. Lear, feeling his pride in jeopardy, goes into a fit of rage and banishes Kent for questioning his judgment: On thine allegiance, hear me! That thou hast sought to make us break our vow, Which we durst never yet, and with strain d pride To come betwixt our sentence and our power, Which nor our nature nor our place can bear, Our potency made good, take they reward. (I, i, ll 166 - 171) Lear s blindness causes him to banish his most loyal follower. Kent was able to see Cordelia s true love for her father, and tried to protect her from her blind father s irrationality.
Although Kent s intentions were noble, Lear foolishly misinterprets this as an insult to his mental capabilities in making a decision. The problem with Lear is that he cannot admit he has made an error. Shakespeare hits upon the characteristic human frailty by which denial of a deficiency actually announces the deficiency. (This Great Stage: Image and Structure in King Lear. Robert Beehtold Heilman) Beehtold perfectly describes Shakespeare s intent when portraying Lear as such a blind individual. Through showing his blindness Shakespeare is able to show how large Lear s problems actually are.
Gloucester also has the problem of distinguishing between good and bad. Edmund, a bastard son of Gloucester, tricked him into believing that his brother, Edgar wanted to kill him and take his inheritance. He wrote a phony letter which implied all of this. Gloucester became outraged and gave all his trust to Edmund. He even declares: O villain, villain! His very opinion in the letter!
Abhorred villain! Unnatural, detested, brutish villain! worse than brutish! Go, sirrah, seek him; I ll are- he him. Abominable villain! Where is he? (I, ii, ll 71 - 74) When Edmund shows him the letter that is supposedly from Edgar, it takes very little convincing for Gloucester to believe it.
As soon as Edmund mentions that Edgar could be plotting against him, Gloucester calls him an Abhorred villain, unnatural, detested, brutish villain. He does not even stop to consider whether Edgar could do such a thing because he cannot see into Edgar s character. Gloucester quickness to believe prevents him from pondering the idea of Edmund being after his earldom. The first part of Edmund s plan has now been executed. Feeling content with himself, for out witting his father so easy, Edmund can t help but to remark on Gloucester s gullibility: A credulous father, and a brother noble, Who s nature is so far from doing harm That he subjects none; on whose foolish honesty My practices ride easy! (I, ii, ll 169 - 172) Gloucester s blindness denies him of the ability to see the goodness of Edgar and the evil of Edmund. Although Edgar was the good and loving son, Gloucester all but disowned him.
He wants to kill the son that will later save his life. Gloucester can not see what is truly going on around him. Instead, he only sees what is presented to him on the surface. Both Lear s and Gloucester s blindness was the primary cause of the bad decisions they made; decisions which both of them would eventually come to realize and regret.
The mistakes that Lear and Gloucester make leave them vulnerable to disappointment and suffering at a time in their lives when both should be enjoying peace and contentment. Gloucester s lack of effort to see the bad blood in Edmund, leads him to entrust Edmund with information that could jeopardize his life. Edmund, seeing the opportunity to benefit himself, runs directly to Cornwall with this information. As an end result, Gloucester is forced to receive the punishment of having his eyes gauged out by Cornwall: All dark and comfortless. Where s my son Edmund?
Edmund, enkindle all the sparks of nature To quit this horrid act. (III, vii, ll 82 - 84) Gloucester s description of his situation shows the hellish nature, of torture being inflicted on him. He received this torture because he was not able to detect the unnaturalness of his bastard son, Edmund. Gloucester is led to his son, Edgar, who is disguised as Poor Tom. Gloucester who believes in fate and a higher power, is upset with the way the Gods have treated him in taking his eyes: As flies to wanton boys, are we to th gods; They kill us for their sport. (IV, i, ll 36 - 37) Gloucester s simile comparing the nature of the Gods to torture him the way young boy torture flies, shows that he is suffering for the foolish mistakes he has made. Lear also suffers severely, as result of his stupid decisions. Edgar has tricked him into thinking he is at the edge of a large cliff.
Gloucester can no longer tolerate the suffering that has been bestowed upon him, so he decides to end his life: O you mighty gods! This world I do renounce, and in your sights Shake patiently my great affliction off; (IV, vi, ll 34 - 36) Gloucester has been driven to the edge, the edge of his sanity and the edge of the cliffs of Dover. He realizes what he has done and it tears him apart. On one hand he has rewarded a son who has betrayed him, on the other he has caused his other son to live the life of a beggar to survive.
Gloucester must also live with the guilt and shame of his blindness; of how easily he was fooled into believing Edmunds fantastic tale of parricide. Lear suffers differently than Gloucester. In Lear s case he becomes so obsessed with the fact that he, gave his daughters everything and received great mistreatment, that he goes mad. Cordelia describes her father s madness to a doctor and asks for his help in restoring him: Alack, tis he!
why, he was met even now As mad as the vex d sea; singing aloud; Crown d with rank fumier and furrow-weeds, With haddocks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers, Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow In our sustaining corn. (IV, iv, ll 1 - 6) Lear is only in this position because of the way he treated his daughters earlier. He rewarded Goneril and Regan, who later betrayed him, and he disowned his only loyal daughter Cordelia. Lear values the superficial words of Goneril and Regan over the somewhat blunt, yet true words of Cordelia. If he had reviewed his actions earlier he might have been able to avoid his current situation.
In this play we see the upheaval of all Nature, the reversal of all histories. In the begin non of the legend, Cronos devoured his own offspring. In King Lear, the brood devours the parent. (Edith Sitwell) This is a fitting comparison because in King Lear both Lear and Gloucester are metaphorically devoured by their offspring. Lear even makes reference to this with the pelican allusion earlier on. Instead of the order specified in the Greek legend of Cronos, there is a reversal where the unnatural brood destroys the parent. Both Lear and Gloucester do achieve wisdom before they die.
Following Gloucester s lose of his eyes he is led by an Old Man to his son, Edgar, who is in disguised as Poor Tom. As he leaves the Old Man, Gloucester speaks these words showing that he has truly realized his mistake in his judgment of his two sons: I have no way and therefore want no eyes; I stumbled when I saw. Full oft tis seen, Our means secure us, and our mere defects Prove our commodities. Oh! dear son Edgar, The food of thy abused father s wrath; Might I but live to see the in my touch, I d say I had eyes again. (IV, i, 18 - 25) When Gloucester loses his physical sight, his vision actually clears, in that he can see what is going on around him. He is able to see his mistake in believing his bastard son, and discarding his true and noble son Edgar.
Along with realizing that he has made mistakes in the judgment of his sons, Gloucester recognizes that he has been ignorant all his life: Let the superfluous and lust-dieted man, That slaves your ordinance, that will not see Because he does not feel, fell your power quickly; So distribution should undo excess, And each man have enough. (IV, i, ll 66 - 70) Gloucester has suffered much by this point. He has been betrayed by his own son and has lost his eyes and released to survive on his own. He is led out of his own castle by a loyal old man who delivers him to Edgar. Upon realizing how poor some men are, Gloucester comes to a great understanding.
He realizes that the rich posses far too much for their own good and that their excessive riches could be better distributed. Shortly after this Gloucester and Lear have there first meeting after their descent into hell. Both Lear and Gloucester have learned the same lesson through their suffering. Lear shows he has learn a lesson when Gloucester asks to kiss his hand: Gloucester: O, let me kiss that hand!
Lear: Let me wipe it first; it smells of mortality. (IV, vi, ll 131 - 132) Lear has finally learned that he is just a man; a man who was once king and was once all-powerful. Now he has been reduced to avoiding his own daughters to survive. It has been a long fall for Lear, but he has landed on his feet and can now begin to rebuild himself. The most important fact is that he realizes that he is just a regular man whether his titles are with him or not. Lear s first conscience meeting with Cordelia proves that Lear is a new man.
He now has symbolically has 20 / 20 vision and can see that he was a fool: I am a very foolish fond old man, Fourscore and upward, not an hour more or less; And, to deal plainly, I fear I am not in my perfect mind. Methinks I should know you and know this man Yet I am doubtful: For I am mainly ignorant What place this is, and all the skill I have Remembers not these garments; (IV, vii, ll 60 - 67) Lear s reunion with Cordelia is symbolic of his rebirth. He was, until recently, half naked and covered in brambles and other weeds, now he has been dressed in new clothing. Also, he has awakened with no recollection of how he arrived at where he is now, but he does remember the lessons he has learned.
Do not trust the gilded serpents Regan and Goneril, and give your excess to thy fellow man so that he does not have to live in poverty and despair. Unfortunately Lear and Gloucester s lesson was hard earned, and paid for with blood, including their own. From foolishness to suffering and to learning through there mistakes, both Lear and Gloucester have taken a trip around the Wheel of Fortune. Lear s downfall was a result of his failure to understand that appearance does not always represent reality.
Gloucester avoided a similar demise by learning the relationship between appearance and reality. It is amazing that only through great hardships, such as Gloucester having his eyes plucked out, could he and Lear receive true insight. Unfortunately, Gloucester s blindness cost him his eyes and a natural relationship with his son. Lear s blindness ended up costing Cordelia her life and consequently the life of himself. 332
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