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Act 3 - Coggle Diagram
Act 3
lear
The act is characterized by short, swift scenes that emphasize the rapid pace of Lear's descent into madness and the escalating tensions within the kingdom. Each scene adds to the sense of urgency and chaos, heightening the dramatic intensity of the play.
Lear's presence on the heath, exposed to the elements and accompanied only by the Fool, reflects his internal turmoil and unraveling sanity. His futile defiance against the forces of nature mirrors his futile attempts to maintain control over his kingdom and his destiny.
Lear expresses concern for the Fool's suffering, showing a newfound empathy for those who are marginalized and oppressed.
This moment underscores Lear's growing awareness of the plight of the poor and outcasts, coinciding with his descent into madness.
Lear's violent imagery and accusations directed at the storm mirror his own state of mind, filled with rage and despair.
He accuses the storm of being in league with his treacherous daughters, Gonerill and Regan.
Lear expresses his desire for revenge on the world, wishing to destroy mankind and punish ingratitude.
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v He exclaims that he doesn’t blame the elements for the way they are treating him but he does accuse them of being “servile ministers” to his daughters.
v He calls himself a “poor, infirm, weak, and despis’d old man”
By saying “I am a man more sinn’d against than sinning” he takes some responsibility – he acknowledges that he as sinned, he just argues not so much.
Although this is being performed to a post-reformation audience some will have still been aware of the catholic sacrament of confession. The first step in confession is acknowledging your sins – this offers hopes, as maybe from here Lear will go up.
Lear tells the Fool to take shelter (He is putting the Fool above himself) whilst he seeks isolation to pray in the storm. He is praying, not to the gods, but to the ‘poor naked wretches’ which he ignored when he held power. We see Lear learning compassion through his devastation and suffering. (This idea of sharing wealth is later echoed by Gloucester when he gives his purse to Poor Tom).
He calls Poor Tom and the Fool to assist him on the bench and thinks his eldest daughter has escaped from the ‘courtroom’ (this mock trial is a parody of the ‘love test’, however here his judgment is not faulty, his madness has helped him to see his daughters clearly). The trial scene is not in the folio edition of the play.
v In the mock trial, pieces of furniture become representative of the people in the trial. Wooden stools represent the sister, the wood is described as ‘warped’ – this works on a literal level and also a metaphorical level as the daughters have an unnatural, twisted and perverse nature.
v Lear opens up a discussion on the nature of evil as he wants to find what made his daughters have such a heard heart
v The trial is seen like the form of plays named “the absurd”. “The absurd refers to the conflict between the quest to find some meaning to human life and the inability to do so”. Absurdist’s believe that since no meaning to life is obvious the question is that once individuals become conscious of the absurd how should they react to it? Gloucester felt the way to help this was through suicide but, like Edgar and Kent, the majority of people, place the blame of life on higher Gods and, lastly, the ones like the Fool use humour to help them.
gloucester
Oswald brings news that Gloucester has helped Lear escape to Dover and so Cornwall decides pass his sentence without trial (like Kent, Gloucester will suffer because he has tried to help Lear)
v Gloucester is brought in and tied to a chair and Cornwall gouges out one of his eyes whilst Regan urges him to pull out the other. She is clearly enjoying the violence. A number of directors present Regan as deriving some sort of perverse sexual satisfaction from the torture scene to highlight her unnaturalness and depravity. Before this it seemed to be Gonreil that was the instigator but Regan as an independent character is fully developed here and, in some ways, is more unpleasant than her sister. Regan’s language is particularly
chilling and even calls Lear the “lunatic king” and it is sadistic that she is plucking Gloucester’s eyes out just because he was helping her father.
v Gloucester wants Edmund to pay back the horrid act. This is ironic as Edmund was part of it and would be one of the last to help him. Regan shows this clearly by saying “thou call’st on him that hates thee”
v Gloucester says “I would not see” – foreshadowing his punishment and also is metaphorical for his and Lear’s blindness. Gloucester then realises that he has been deceived now and taken in by outward appearances. He acknowledges that he has wronged Edgar. It can be seen, perhaps, that through suffering Gloucester has now, metaphorically, achieved better vision. Now that he is blind he can see the truth of his children.
v Gloucester comes across as brave and determined and becomes the voice of the audience, voicing their outrage.
v One of Cornwall’s servants bids him to stop (a miscarriage of justice; a servant turns on his master. Prepares is for the kindness the servants show Gloucester). The two men fight and Cornwall is wounded (though he still finds the strength to pull out the other eye). The physical torture here matches the mental agony.
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« Gloucester is preoccupied with thoughts of justice and suggests that man needs to be stripped of his excess wealth in order to see clearly. His interest in social justice reflects Lear’s and his want to help the poor.
« For Gloucester, clarity of vision brings despair. He says “I stumbled when I saw”
« He conveys his desire to die and tells Edgar he will be financially rewarded if he takes him to the cliff. He has been pushed to the limit of endurance. Now that he has lost his vision he can see the truth of his sons and cannot bare it to know that. He believes there is no goodness or order in the universe, only cruelty. He says he “has no way” – everything in his life has been destroyed. His suicide plan is set in motion.
the fool
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The Fool speaks of Merlin - Merlin is supposed to have lived a 1000 years after Lear (so the Fool mentioning it gives it an element of magic – he is like a prophet who can see into the future. He becomes almost timeless and very closely linked to the Fool of the tarot cards) and 1000 years before Shakespeare. So essentially, the prophecy is still unfulfilled after 2000 years. Leo Tolystoy, who hated the Fool, believed this was “still more senseless words”
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