King Lear and Nature
The concept of nature in Shakespeare's King Lear is not simply one of the many themes contained within the tragedy, but rather it can be considered to be the foundation of the entire play. Through Edmund and Edgar, Shakespeare shows us examples of the struggle between civilization and nature (good and evil). The very definition of nature seems to be brought up and debated during the course of the tragedy as well. In order to completely understand the concept of nature in King Lear it's imperative to examine some of the characters, especially Edmund who's defined as nature. Edmund is the most complex and sympathetic of all villains in King Lear. He's an expert conspirator and a deceitful character that's eager to seize any opportunity and willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals, which seems similar to Hobbes' idea that mankind is always at war with one another to secure their desires. However, his ambition is interesting because it reflects not only a desire for land and power but also a desire for the recognition denied to him by his status as a bastard. Edmund rejects the social order and laws that denied him the same status as Edgar, Gloucester's legitimate son. In a sense he's the ultimate self-made man, a
He also criticizes the notion of any kind of supernatural or divine influence over one's destiny. Cordelia, not being of nature, has a conscience, and is unwillingly to tell her father that she cares for him more than a daughter should. As Frances Bolen mentioned, Lear, is in fact, two tragedies therefore the play simplistically is about the eventual recovery from stubborn, self-righteous blindness of both Lear and Gloucester. Lear appears to consistently believe that nature is similar to a heavenly justice right up to Act three Scene two, which is about where we start to see another change in Lear's character. Edmund understands that he is indeed nature, and he even says, "Thou, Nature, art my goddess. Despite the cruel nature of Goneril, Regan, and Edmund, it's easy to understand, at least partly, why they are the way they are. It's very difficult to know whether Shakespeare intends the more animalistic characters to still be seen as part of nature, or whether they are indeed unnatural as Lear describes his two daughters. An admirable evasion of whoremaster man, to lay his goatish disposition to the charge of stars! My father compounded with my mother under the Dragon's tail, and my nativity was under Ursa Major, so that it follows I am rough and lecherous. Edmund is also fully aware of his evil nature, and he reveals it in the following quotation:This is the excellent floppery of the world, that when we are sick in fortune - often the surfeit of our own behavior - we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars, as if we were villains by necessity, fools by heavenly compulsion, knaves, thieves, and liars, and adulterers by an enforced obedience of planetary influence; and all that we are evil in by a divine thrusting on. It's not surprising that Goneril and Regan are able to flatter Lear's ego, while Cordelia is unable to because they, like Edmund, also take after nature. 112-26)Clearly, Edmund recognizes his own evil nature and decides to use it to his advantage. Consequently nature is removed from its position of superiority and shown for what it truly is, an immoral action. So while it can be argued that Lear has risen above the self-love image of his daughters, and developed a humanlike nature, comprising of solid ethics and reason, it has in reality made no difference.
Common topics in this essay:
Act Scene,
Goneril Regan,
Thou Nature,
Ursa Major,
Lear He's,
Cordelia There's,
Due Gloucester's,
King Lear,
Lear Gloucester,
Regan Edmund,
goneril regan,
king lear,
heavenly justice,
goneril regan edmund,
nature goneril,
legitimate son,
evil nature,
survival fittest,
it's surprising,
idea nature,
play edmund,
nature goneril regan,
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Acceptance Essays
