The concept that nothing is a crucial and even integral element of man's existence, this paradox of the importance of nothing, has been a difficult one for man to grasp. In his renowned play King Lear, William Shakespeare attempts, through the story of a king suffering the consequences of his poor judgment in assessing the character of each of his three daughters, to illustrate the significance of nothing.
             In the opening scene of the play, King Lear unreservedly awards his kingdom to two of his three daughters, believing that they love him most. Lear's fool later describes this rash act, saying, "thou hast pared thy wit o' both sides, and left nothing i' the middle" (1.4.180-181). Because Lear has kept nothing for himself in respect to property, he loses also his identity. This loss is also observed by the fool when he speculates, "I am better than thou art now; I am a fool, thou art nothing" (1.4.187-188), and again in the same scene when Lear asks if there is anyone who can tell him who he is and the fool responds, "Lear's shadow" (1.4.225). The fool's comment that he is "better... now" reveals a decline in Lear's status since the surrender of his kingdom to his daughters, that the loss of his material wealth has led to a loss of personal identity. When the fool likens him to his own shadow, his belittlement is complete, as he is compared to an illusion, something entirely intangible, nothing of worth or substance. Because Lear has nothing, he is nothing; thus nothing leads to more nothing.
             In the same way that forfeiting his fortune leads to Lear's loss of identity, his daughters' commitment to allow him to keep nothing of his previously agreed entourage and offer him nothing in regard to power or their love spurs a complete loss of Lear's mental ability. When he realizes their betrayal, Lear laments, "Our basest beggars Are in...