Around the time of Shakespeare, a philosophy was born; one to define the relationship between all entities, living and non-living. Descending through the links from the Divine to Noblemen to Countrymen to inanimate objects, the Great Chain of Being winds through heaven, earth, and hell. The two pertinent factors of this philosophy are a hierarchy based on a ratio of spirit to matter, and a connection of all things through subordination. The Supreme Being in the hierarchy, God, is independent. Everything under God is dependent on him and is, in different degrees, less perfect. The lowest state on the Great Chain of Being contains the least possible amount of perfection - nothingness. As Shakespeare's title, King Lear suggests, Lear begins his emotional journey as king. King and Queen being the third ranking assembly in the Great Chain of Being, Lear is as close to the top as he could ever become. However, because of the inevitable rotation of the wheel of fortune, King Lear descends from this nearly divine state to the lowest possible position in the Great Chain of Being.
             Lear's tumble down the Great Chain of Being begins gradually. His first action is stepping down from the throne. Lear has been brooding over the task of dividing his land between his three daughters for some time. After the unfortunate events in Act 1, Scene 1, the bequest of his lands, Lear discontinues his use of the royal "we". This is only fitting, as he has just distributed his power to the heiresses to the throne. In Act 1, while talking to Kent, Lear acknowledges his lack of power: "If thou be'st as poor for a subject as he is for a king..." (Lr.1.4.21-22). This seemingly insignificant element, that he is no longer king, sets Lear's fate.
             As the king has now ceded all of his worth to his daughters, they begin their climb up the Great Chain of Being. The Fool's comment "...thou madest thy daughters thy mo...