Studying Character – Lear


yyLear once again focuses on Kent’s imprisonment in the stocks and asks who ordered it. At that moment, Oswald enters, much to Lear’s annoyance. He recognises Oswald as Goneril’s servant but is still shocked to see Goneril arriving.


y yLear is deeply distressed to see Goneril and Regan unite and wonders if he can survive the shock: ‘O sides, you are too tough! / Will you yet hold?’


yyGoneril and Regan agree that Lear does not need all his followers and take turns reducing the number. Lear makes the unpalatable decision to return to Goneril as she said he could keep half his knights: ‘Thy fifty yet doth double five-and-twenty, / And thou art twice her love’. The sisters continue to insist that Lear needs fewer and fewer knights until they come to the conclusion that he needs none. Lear reminds his daughters of his generosity but to no avail. He attacks them for their cruel treatment of him and threatens them with ‘The terrors of the earth’.


yyA storm begins as Lear rushes out of Gloucester’s castle, vowing that he will not weep but fearing that he may go mad:


I have full cause of weeping,


But this heart shall break into a hundred thousand flaws Or ere I’ll weep. − O fool, I shall go mad!


Analysis of Lear’s character and role in Act 2 Scene 4


yyLear is shocked to find Kent locked in the stocks and does not want to believe that his daughter and son-in-law could be so disrespectful. He tries to deny the reality of his situation, coming up with reasons why Cornwall has not come to greet him. However, he cannot ignore the fact that his messenger has been treated so poorly because the evidence is right in front of him. Even still, he tries to persuade himself that Regan will take his side against Goneril. Regan’s coldness and her subsequent reunion and alliance with Goneril shatters any hopes Lear may have entertained. He now knows the truth about his daughters.


y yLear’s sanity begins to crumble under the combination of all these shocks. He tries to hold on to his reason but is unable to retain his composure.


yyHaving forced his daughters to undergo a love test, Lear is now on the receiving end of a parody of that same test. In Act 1 Scene 1, Goneril and Regan strove to outdo one another in professions of adoration of their father; now, they compete with casual cruelty to see how much they can reduce the number of his followers and thus his dignity and authority. Lear joins in this grotesque mockery of the love test, saying he will stay with Goneril as she will allow him fifty knights and is therefore worth twice as much love as Regan. Despite all that has happened, Lear still clings to the idea that love is somehow quantifiable, controllable and linked to material things.


y yFaced with the choice of remaining with these ‘unnatural hags’ who have rejected all the bonds of family or turning to the natural world, Lear takes his chances in the storm. This decision is also Lear’s attempt to hold on to what little pride and dignity he has left. The coming storm reflects the tempest in Lear’s mind.


y yLear’s helplessness and obvious suffering in the face of his daughters’ abuse makes him a sympathetic figure. He begs, curses and rails against Goneril and Regan but can do nothing to change their minds. Nowhere is this clearer than in his rather pathetic claim that he will unleash ‘The terrors of the earth’ in revenge for their betrayal.


yyThe threat is obviously empty and Lear’s disjointed speech patterns reflect his distress and confusion, evoking the audience’s pity.


Leaving Certificate English Excellence in Texts


227


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