Madness

Madness

1. L - caused by grief and disillusionment and characterised by a lack of harmony with himself and the world around him.

   • L - easily angered and 'riotous' - erratic behaviour = early sign of mental breakdown - caused by loss of C. G attributes L's behaviour to old age.
     • C calls L's madness a disharmony or breach with his true nature.
   • L's decent occurs in stages - aware grasp is slipping and appeals to heavens for help - desperation.
     • "O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heavens!"
     • "O fool, i shall go mad!"
     • Storm - Lear's decent into madness - "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage, blow" - power of nature - L challenges nature - nature reflects state of mind - pathetic fallacy.

2. Madness = sanitary for truth - time when lies are honoured and power is corrupt

   • L seems mad until speaks of daughters and speaks feelingly about their betrayal and remembers the way they treated him. - realisation.

3. The Fool - constant reminders to L that he has caused his own misery seem harsh - meant to motivate L to come to terms with situation.

   • "Thou should'st not be old til thou hadst been wise"

4. Kent - asked by CW is mad as has no regard for customs and rules of polite society - respect for customs becomes an unreasonable standard for sanity in a uncontrollable world.

   • K & Edg - world where nothing makes sense - only sane thing to do is adopt roles of fools and madmen. - disguise suggests detrimentally inverted world
     • Edg's vow to outface "winds and persecution of the sky" - foreshadows L later behaviour.
     • K: "When L is mad. What wouldst thou do, old man?" - ominous foreboding - foreshadows later events of play.

5. variations of theme of insanity - L losing fight against madness, F uses guise of madness to speak freely, Edg pretends madness to save life - pathos heightened when all together but S doesn't allow them to truly communicate with eachother.