King Lear
Themes
Nothingness
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Cordelia has nothing to say to her father
when he requests she praise him with her
love.
King Lear has nothing to give Cordelia
because she has no words for him.
Kent has no job because he disagreed
with King Lear.
Burgundy has no wife because Cordelia
comes with no dowry.
Nothingness
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Edmund has no title and will do anything to get
one
Goneril, Regan, & Edmund have no morals
Gloucester has no eyes
Edgar has nobody he can trust
It is unnatural that King Lear would give up his
land and authority before he died.
Gloucester committed an unnatural act by
committing adultery under the stars.
Blindness
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When many characters can literally see, they are
figuratively blind BUT when they are literally blind, they
can, for the first time, figuratively see
King Lear is figuratively blind to the fact that Goneril and
Regan are lying to him about how much they love him
King Lear is figuratively blind to the fact that Cordelia
truly loves him
King Lear is figuratively blind to the fact that Kent only
has his best interest at heart.
Gloucester is figuratively blind to the fact that Edmund is
dishonest and the fact that Edgar is always faithful
Blindness
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Albany is figuratively blind to the fact that
Goneril is an evil woman because of his
great devotion to her.
Gloucester is literally blinded because
Cornwall, Regan, and Goneril consider him
a traitor for helping King Lear after they
threw Lear out into the tempest.
Ingratitude of Others
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Goneril & Reagan are ungrateful for all their
father has given them
King Lear is ungrateful for being taken care of
by his daughters
Burgundy is ungrateful for the gift of Cordelia
which he was offered
Edmund is ungrateful for the fact that his father
loves him and accepts him as a legitimate son
Appearances vs Reality
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At the beginning of the play, the Lears and
other characters are presented as normal
and caring. But as Shakespeare rubs away
the pretty veneers of the characters, we
find greed, betrayal, lust for power, and
cruelty. In other words, they are anything
but normal and caring.
Loyality
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King Lear is disloyal to Cordelia, yet she is loyal
to King Lear
King Lear is disloyal to Kent, yet he is loyal to
King Lear
Goneril & Regan are disloyal to King Lear and he
treats them poorly too.
Goneril is disloyal to Albany, yet he is loyal to her
until he discovers her attempt on his life.
Gloucester is disloyal to Edgar, yet Edgar
remains loyal to Gloucester
Edmund is disloyal to Gloucester, yet Gloucester
is loyal to Gloucester
Edmund is disloyal to both Goneril and Regan.
Justice
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Greed and lust result in the character’s downfall
Duke of Cornwall has Kent placed in the stocks
and Gloucester’s eyes plucked out so towards the
end of the play, he is killed.
Lear banishes Cordelia and Kent then so Lear
driven out into the storm by his own wicked
daughters
Q: How is justice served for Cordelia?
Hospitality
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Being a good host is essential during the
Elizabethan era…do you remember Capulet?
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Goneril and Regan are not gracious hosts
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King Lear is not a good guest
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Cornwall and Regan are not good guests whilst
in Gloucester’s home.
Madness and Insanity
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The inclusion of madness and insanity in the
play is Shakespeare’s comment on Elizabethan
society and the clear lack of morality during this
era.
It is especially significant that those characters
who go mad are of great nobility. Thus, a
comment on the ignorance of the monarchy and
the lack of concern the monarchy has for lower
class society.
Also, note that characters such as Mad Tom and
the Fool are representative of the unrecognized
wisdom of the lower class.
Nature
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The storms act as pathetic fallacy. When the
tempest is in full force, it is a reflection of the
inner turmoil/torment that King Lear is forced to
suffer.
The nature of the stars, under which Edmund is
conceived, dictates that illegitimate children will
be as evil as the Elizabethans believed astrology
and witchcraft to be.
Guilt
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Both King Lear and Gloucester live rich lives,
with no understanding of the suffering those
living in poverty experience on a daily basis. It
is only after all has been taken from these two
men that they finally feel guilty for ignoring the
plight of the poor and forgotten.
Once King Lear and Gloucester recognize the
error of their ways, they feel such great grief
and guilt for what they have done to their
honorable children, that their betwix’d emotions
were the ultimate cause of each of their deaths.
Age & Wisdom
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Advanced age and wisdom do not go hand-inhand.
Lear is probably about 80, but he is often
childish in his judgments until suffering reforms
him. Shakespeare's depiction of Lear may have
been, in part, an attempt to discredit or satirize
the tendency of people in Elizabethan England
automatically to revere elders and authority
figures.
The truth
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Telling the truth can deeply wound the
listener as well as the speaker.
Cordelia wins our admiration because she
is forthright and sincere. However, her
honesty offends her father, and he
disowns her.
The Earl of Kent, a loyal subject of Lear,
suffers banishment for speaking up for
Cordelia.
References
A few concepts were applied from the
following website:
 http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xKi
ngLear.html#Themes