IMAGERY AND SYMBOLISM
*Sight and Blindness
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Literal and metaphorical
Sight is linked to good judgement
Lear’s blind to daughters
Gloucester is blind to reality of children’s nature
Gloucester’s moral blindness to punished with actual blindness
Lear and Gloucester see too late the loving and honest natures of Edgar and Cordelia
*Clothing and Disguise
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Highlight power and corruption
Distinguish between appearance and reality
Many characters forced to adopt disguise for protection
Edgar and Kent’s disguise emphasises their humility and goodness
Edgar’s disguise is tested when he meets Gloucester
Dramatic irony
No matter the appearance, characters true nature remains
By casting off status, true self-awareness is achieved
Lear’s nakedness on heath show he was blinded by material possessions
When Lear reaches true self-awareness he is clothed again
*Animal Imagery
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Linked to pain and suffering
Evil characters are compared to predators
Ultimately these characters turn on one another
Highlights how inhuman and dangerous their actions are
Goneril frequently likened to a snake
Play shows us what happens if humans are reduced to level of beasts
If we behave like animals, we’re subject to pain and suffering
If we reduce ourselves to level of beasts, we lose our basic humanity