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"When the mind's free,
The body's delicate. This tempest in my mind
Doth from my senses take all feeling else
Save what beats there." (3.4, 13-17).
Context: Lear is outside in the storm, talking to the storm about his daughters and their betrayal. He is agonizing over why they have turned against him even though he has given him so much.
Lines on their own:
When the mind is not troubled by anything,
The body is sensitive. The storm in my mind
Takes all the feeling from my senses
Except for the feelings in my mind.
Lines together in context: In this statement, Lear is saying that when a person is not troubled by anything in their mind, their physical body is more sensitive to pain. But when the person's mind is troubled, they are too pained by that trouble to be sensitive to physical pain any storm can inflict on them. For example, Lear does not mind being outside in the violent storm because he is too focused on agonizing over his daughters than he is aware of the discomfort inflicted on him by the storm. If he had nothing weighing down his thoughts, he wouldn't be willing to stay out in the storm.
Personal Response:
To me, this passage shows a surprising side of Lear. For one thing, I'm not used to hearing him share pieces of wisdom like this one. Usually he speaks much more bluntly and non-poetic, but these lines are surprisingly flowy and meaningful. After reading this passage, I also see a different side of Lear that I had not before. Previously, it has seemed to me that Lear was just being selfish and stubborn in insisting he be accompanied by 100 knights at his daughters' houses. However, this passage makes me see that part of Lear actually feels hurt by his daughters' unwelcoming attitudes towards him. He is an old man with no power or land left, and he only wants to spend time with his daughters; however, they are shunning him (and possibly planning to overthrow his kingdom). I didn't expect to ever change my perspective on him so much, but this passage actually makes me feel a little sorry for Lear, who just needs family to fall back on and is being let down by his daughters whom he thought loved him but are not welcoming him in to their homes.
The motif I have been tracking is the idea of keeping secrets and withholding information. Two passages that show this motif are:
"Edmund: I do serve you in this business.
A credulous father and a brother noble,
Whose nature is so far from doing harms
That he suspects none; on whose foolish honesty
My practices ride easy. I see the business.
Let me, if not by birth, have lands by wit" (1.2, 186-191).
In this passage, Edmund reveals his secret plot to turn his father against his brother, Edgar, so that he will get the land inheritance instead of Edgar. Since Edmund is an "illegitimate" child, this seems to be his only chance at gaining the inheritance. I chose this quote because it is an example of the motif of secrets. Edmund keeps his plot a secret because of course it would not work if anyone knew what he was up to. In this case, it seems that Shakespeare is highlighting a person's willingness to keep secrets for self gain, not to help anyone else. It's not possible to fully assess Shakespeare's intentions, however, without knowing how Edmund's plan works out.
"Kent: If but as (well) I other accents borrow
That can my speech diffuse, my good intent
May carry through itself to that full issue
For which I razed my likeness. Now, banished Kent,
If thou canst serve where thou dost stand
condemned,
So may it come thy master, whom thou lov'st,
Shall find thee full of labors." (1.4, 1-8).This quote also shows the motif, because it is when Kent reveals his secret plan of disguising himself so he can go back and work for King Lear, who has banished him. I think that he is keeping his plan a secret because he is going to do something harmful to the king that can only be committed from the "inside". Also, there have been clues that maybe Cordelia knows about Kent's plan, and that would give the motif more insight regarding who keeps a secret, who they choose to tell, who they choose not to tell, and why. I'm not completely sure, but I think that like Edmund, Kent is keeping his secret for self-gain.
I need to find more examples of secrets to really assess their purposes, and also need to see how the secret plans created by Edmund and Kent turn out in order to come to a conclusion. So far, it seems like the secrets being used are secret plans of single characters created to somehow help the one character who created the plan. It also seems like the secret plans are harmful to others....that is why they have to be kept a secret in the first place - so no one finds out and prevents the plan from being executed.
Respond to the character of the Fool - what characterizes his role/relationship to Lear? How do you perceive him?
I like the character of the Fool, because he brings humor to otherwise serious scenes. However, he is not only full of jokes - he also has good insights into the events happening in Lear's life and the decisions he makes. It almost seems like through the Fool's rhymes and songs, he is trying to give Lear advice, even though Lear doesn't pick up on much of it. An example of this is found in 1.4:
"Have more than thou showest,
Speak less than thou knowest,
Lend less than thou owest [...]" (122-124).
Lear's attempts at advice suggest that he is at least a middle-aged man, if not old. He speaks of life lessons that were likely gained from experience. His advice to the king also help the reader understand his relationship with Lear. The Fool is not afraid to tell Lear outright what he thinks, and he even goes so far as to plainly insult the king to his face, calling him a fool (several times). The Fool is a unique character because he actually gets away with it. I think Lear doesn't get seriously upset at the Fool for insulting him because he has had a long relationship with him, and realizes that Fool's actions are just part of who he is - an entertainer. If any of his daughters or kingsmen called him a fool, Lear would probably be much more upset, because he expects them to respect and honor him. However, the Fool is not expected of much, and the king takes what he says as jokes, not as anything serious. That is one of the reasons why Lear does not absorb the valuable advice the Fool tries to share with him. Likely, the advice that Lear ignores will end up hurting him when he does not follow it later on in the play.
In King Lear, Lear asks that his three daughters each profess their love to him before he gives them their inherited land and power. The first daughter to speak, Goneril, uses a language of flattery to profess her love for Lear. She includes flowery words and is in general overly dramatic and exaggerated. She compares her love for her father to many things, such as "grace, health, beauty, honor" (line 64) as well as "eyesight, space, liberty" (line 62), saying that she values her father's love over everything she has mentioned. Her overly exaggerated profession of love shows her selfishness as well as desperation. She only speaks with such flattery in hopes that she will receive the best piece of land her father is offering, and apparently does not think that a truly honest answer will earn it for her. Regan is the second sister to speak, and like Goneril, she also uses language filled with flattery. She also takes the approach of trying to appear better than her sister. At one point, she says: "I find she names my very deed of love; / Only she comes too short" (lines 78-79). Her attempt to one-up Goneril shows not only her competitive nature, but her similar desire to win her father's good graces and recieve the best land. In a clearly overlydramatic last statement, Regan even goes so far as to declare herself "an enemy to all other joys" (line 80) besides her father's love. Again, this ingenuine statement highlights her desperation and selfish desires. Cordelia is the last of the three sisters to speak. Unlike her sisters, she uses few words to profess her love for her father - however, what she says appears to actually be genuine. She does not take the approach of overexaggerated flattery, because she knows that whatever she says will not be able to compete with her sisters' over the top proclamations. Instead, she gives her father an honest answer by saying that she cannot give her father all of her love, because when she marries, her husband will receive half of her love too. "Haply, when I shall wed, / That lord whose hand must take my plight shall / carry / Half my love with him" (lines 110-113). This earnest statement shows that Cordelia is more honest than her sisters. They likely love their husbands as much as or more than their father, therefore their claims that they only love their father are simply empty compliments. Cordelia is honest and genuine, because she is willing to express her true feelings, unlike her sisters. In addition, Cordelia's declaration highlights her bravery - her opinion is sure to be rejected, and she will likely be punished for insulting her father the king, but she speaks her mind anyway.
