Shakespeare's King Lear presents mental illness as a serious character trait, a concept that was not commonly used in Elizabethan drama. The nature and extent of Lear's mental illness are debated, but it is evident from his actions that he had deranged morals and irrational thought. His actions, such as abdicating the throne and dividing the kingdom among his daughters, suggest deranged morals and irrational thought.
Lear's actions at the beginning of Act I, such as dividing the kingdom, are irrational and selfish, hints at a deeper disturbed mindset. Kingship was a divine right, and for Lear to surrender before his death, he would reject it. His demands for gratification were set before summoning his daughters, serving no greater political aim but corrupting his family's morality.
Goneril and Regan, who are around Lear, acknowledge his infirmity and concerns about the consequences of his impulsive whims. The turmoil that ensues throughout the play suggests a state of mind far from stable. Lear's actions are portrayed as a tragic defect that spurs his later madness and turns him back to reality, delivering him to redemption just before his demise.
In Shakespeare's play, Lear, a character confronted with the unintended consequences of his abdication, struggles with a temporary affliction of madness. He laments his fading grasp on sanity, warning others and even threatening to go mad. Lear's self-awareness pulls him back to reality, allowing him to reconcile with Cordelia. By the end of Act IV, Lear's madness is in its most violent throes, and he wanders aimlessly near Dover. When reunited with Cordelia in the French camp, he wakes from his psychotic trance and shows a biting self-awareness, waking to make amends and settle his unfinished business with Cordelia. This newfound clarity, sanity, remains with Lear for the rest of the play, lasting to the ruin of his family and the death of Lear himself. This lifting of his madness allows him to see through the clouds of his narcissism and delusions of grandeur. The genesis of this madness remains uncertain, but Lear's temporary insanity serves as a catalyst to redeem his character and provide bittersweet closure on an otherwise brutal tragedy.