Most would assume that those who have completely gone insane are lost forever. While this is a fair opinion, there are exceptions. This may depend on the degree of the madness. Is it simply abnormal behavior or outright lunacy? Furthermore, can a positive outcome result? It is entirely possible that irrational behavior can allow for the development of the most rational thoughts. For example, in the play King Lear, Shakespeare highlights how the delusional behavior of the characters leads to them being able to make better choices, revealing that power can warp one's sense of reality. Both of the characters of Gloucester and Lear, along with many others in the play, fall victim to the allure of power. However, despite their previous mania, they are able to make more sensible decisions in the end.

It is not until Gloucester is blinded that he is able to recognize who his true allies are. Gloucester, while not the main character of the play, has a storyline similar to Lear’s. He has two children: Edmund, the “whoreson” of which Gloucester is “often blushed to acknowledge,” and his legitimate son Edgar (King Lear 1.1.10–24). Edmund abhors his father for his ill behavior towards him and manipulates Gloucester into thinking Edgar is actually a “villain” and a “monster” (1.2.99–121). The absurd turn of events that follows is one of the most noticeable examples of irony in this play. When he is blinded, Gloucester calls out to Edmund to stop “this horrid act,” yet it is Edmund himself who “made the overture of [Gloucester’s] treasons” known (3.7.105–9). Gloucester is only able to realize that Edgar “was abused” by Edmund when he is stripped of his eyesight (2.7.111). This is ironic as, prior to this, he is unable to see Edmund's true motives. Gloucester’s figurative blindness to Edmund’s character can be explained by a repeating theme in this play: power can distort one’s ability to recognize what is true and what is false. Edgar’s supposed evil plans pose a threat to Gloucester’s authority; therefore, Gloucester’s urge to protect his title causes him to ultimately suffer a far worse fate.

Like Gloucester, Lear trusts the wrong characters in this play. But by descending into insanity, Lear is able to develop as a father and a ruler.  When dividing his power over the kingdom, he gives his daughters Goneril and Regan more than Cordelia simply because they flatter him with false affection. Cordelia recognises this and asks “why” her “sisters [have] husbands if they say they love [him] all” (1.1.109–10). After banishing Cordelia, Lear slowly loses his mind due to the abuse that Goneril and Regan unleash on him. However, when it seems that Lear is at his wits’ end, he begins to regret certain things about his life and thus begins to mend. He remarks that he wishes he were kinder to the “houseless,” as “how shall [their] windowed raggedness defend [them] from seasons such as these” (3.4.34–36). Believing that Poor Tom is a spirit, Lear continues to lose his grasp of reality. After hearing of Poor Tom’s struggles, Lear rips off his garments exclaiming “Off, off, you lendings!” so that he is clothesless like Poor Tom (3.4.115). Lear’s insanity stems from his fatal decisions when dishing out his authority. He is, similarly to Gloucester, unable to realize who is on his side at first, but when the idea of power, of control, of dominance is stolen from him, he is able to become a better and more humble person.  

Both Gloucester and King Lear suffer from the intense madness that plagues this play. They repeatedly are tortured by the effect that power has on one’s sense of reality. As seen in this play—an acclaimed classic—greed and selfish acts rarely end well. Even throughout history, humans are consistently drawn to having absolute authority. From the time of which this play was published up till now, it is safe to say that control has not lost its appeal. Perhaps Shakespeare thought to demonstrate these themes in King Lear so that hopefully, this lesson will eventually resonate with the thousands of students that study it. 

Work Cited

Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Folger Shakespeare Library, 2015.